Dr. Candace Bocala talked with us about the Data Wise
process on the afternoon of day 5. The Data Wise process is outlined in The
Data Wise Process: A Step by Step Guide to Using Assessment Results to Improve Teaching
and Learning by Kathryn Boudett. As with all of these posts, I will not go
into detail about the Data Wise process because it’s not my work to share, but
I do want to touch on some of the “a-ha” moments I had during the presentation.
I think it’s fair to say we’ve all looked at data. We talk
about it all the time, reference it in conversations about how our schools are
performing. Learning about the Data Wise process made me question how well we
look at data, including what pre-conceived notions we bring to data analysis
and how we may actually use data to reinforce our current thinking rather than to
challenge us to question what we think. I know I’ve been in data meetings where
the data reinforces what everyone already knew. The result is that all of the involved
parties and their accompanying practices remain unchanged. Seems a little pointless
when you think about it.
Bocala asserts that data conversations are conversations
about diversity and equity. Data review should be grounded in inquiry and is a
great way to get an entire team working to solve a problem together. I also
greatly appreciated that Bocala references “all sources of information that
give us information about student thinking and classroom instruction” as appropriate
data to consider, which encompasses so much more than test scores.
We went through a process of reflection that included
putting red, yellow, and green dots on the parts of a data review cycle. It was
a great visual to see what parts of the process we do well and where we could
improve. I’d like to use this process with teachers for other reflective conversations.
We also learned about the Ladder of Inference. This is so
interesting to me because it articulates what I realized we’re missing in our
data conversations. I found this great article on
the ladder, and I think it would be worth your time as an educator to
review it. Going through data review with the ladder in mind allows us to
maintain our focus on facts and realities rather than our assumptions.
I learned about the Objectivity/Specificity Matrix. I haven’t
found a clear online resource for this to link here, but if I do I’ll go back
and add it. The concept is basically a way to give feedback that is specific
and descriptive rather than judgmental and general.
And now for the really exciting part! The Data Wise Project has a twitter account you can follow. Even
better, you can take a
free online course on Data Wise from Harvard! They have a great group of
MOOCs which I’ll cover in another post, but I had to share this one here.
We need to spend some time in our staff development talking
about data, and I’m glad that I can now organize those conversations in the
context of data wise. It will make us really consider what we can do to improve
instruction for all kids.
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