Saturday, July 16, 2016

Digging into Data

When school begins, there will be mountains of data asking for our attention. Whether it is results of the state-required assessment from last spring or new IRI scores, we’ll need to dig through these mounds and look for patterns and trends. When I’ve supported faculties in approaching this task, several protocols have been helpful.

A simple favorite of mine is the Chalk Talk Protocol. It is a protocol of many uses, and one of them is examining data. I take different data reports and put each in the middle of a large sheet of bulletin board paper, then hang them around the room or place them on tables. (Choose enough different views of data so that there is at least one board per 5 teachers; they’ll move fluidly between charts during time for reflection.) Each faculty member has a colored marker, and during the silent thinking time, they leave a trail of comments on each chart. Anything they notice is worth jotting down. Teachers can draw arrows linking similar comments and use their pen to comment on or argue with the ideas that have been written. It’s a good way to literally get everyone’s thinking out on the table, which I usually end with a gallery walk to synthesize the thinking. 

I’ve also used National School Reform’s protocol for examining the data. Working in small groups, teachers are given a set of data to consider. Multiple rounds are sequentially introduced by the facilitator, asking teachers questions that encourage them to look at the data differently, first by responding silently in writing and then through discussion in their small group. During round 1, teachers record and discuss what the data tells them at first blush. What jumps out and seems significant? What surprises them? What patterns are noted? During round 2, teachers make inferences about the data. What is it telling us? What is it not telling us? They look beyond obvious relationships. Round 3 is a time to look for celebrations. What good news is there in the data? Round 4 looks at the flip side. What problems of practice might be underlying this data? This round of cause-and-effect thinking can be overwhelming and might require its own separate protocol. (More about this process in next week’s blog.) During the 5th and final round, the group describes the key conclusions and recommendations that they will share. Taking this layer-by-layer approach stops us from jumping to unwarranted conclusions.

There are plenty of other protocols with merit for guiding data discussions (see http://qualitycommunityschools.weebly.com/data-protocols.html for some other examples). If using protocols is unfamiliar to your staff, the structured discussion formats may take some getting used to, but your data-digging efforts will be more fruitful because of their use.


This week, you might want to take a look at:

A free preview of the entire book, The Author’s Apprentice, full of ideas for writing workshop:



This Pinterest Board with a back-to-school idea: Student Selfies!



Questions for choosing read-aloud titles (plus some great recommendations that fill the bill; these are meant for choosing texts to begin the school year, but good any time!):



Giving real feedback (lessons for writing and more):



That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!

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