# data[].attributes.body
What are two significant observations you have as you watch this group of educators?
The first observation I have is that it is all about the students.  These teachers are collaborating based on data as to how they can improve so that their students will be more successful.
My second observation is the manner in which these teachers are communicating.  They are thoughtful and mindful of their students as well as each other.  They are trying to soak in information from others ideas.  It is truly a professional collaboration based on what is best for the students.

What structures does your district have in place in place to make collaboration around student data possible?
We have monthly assessments where the data is monitored and analyzed. I, for one, base a great deal of my instruction in this area on these assessments. We structure our in-service time around collaboration and how we can be better teachers.  We collaborate at grade level as well as grade to grade.  We have a one building district, K-8.  We make sure our grade level teachers are consistent with the material being taught as well as timelines.  I know what has been taught below me and what will be taught above me so that I have baseline and goals.

I would love to have a huge group like this to collaborate with

# data[].attributes.body
The first thing that stands out to me when watching this group is the high levels of activity and interaction among the teachers. They have a lot of energy and there is constant engagement
.
The second aspect of this that catches my attention is the specificity of the data, which in turn narrows the focus of the collaboration. They are able to see that students incorrectly answered one question at a much higher rate than a another question even though both questions cover the same standard.

My district has taken a turn toward data-driven decision making and collaboration over the past couple of years. The primary way I have experienced this is through a PLC in my building; every week, I meet with my colleagues who teach the same age and subject. One of our primary responsibilities is design shared formative assessments that will give us shared data that reflect our students' strengths and weaknesses. Some of this also occurs at the district level, as our language arts departments across all of our district's high schools design and administer Inter-district Writing Assessments (IWAs), which are scored blindly and then assembled into data that is later distributed to all of the teachers and administrators. While our processes have not been nearly as involved, energetic, or efficient as that which was demonstrated through the video, it has been helpful, and is getting better with time.

# data[].attributes.body
The first thing that I noticed was (as educational leaders) they were engaging in a collaborative effort to gather and interpret student data in an effort to make grounded decisions for their schools.  The discussions that were taking place were very similar to those that we have in my school at our weekly professional learning community (PLC) meeting.  We take assessments and work from the week and break it down to determine what specific areas our kids did well in and, alternately, areas where we could have the opportunity to improve our own instruction.  We focus on a collaborative style of education where when one teacher have success in a certain topic, they are given the opportunity to share the strategies and methods they used during that time.  Teachers and administrators in our district have agreed that the  initiation of PLC's have been the best initiative in our generation.

# data[].attributes.body
What are two significant observations you have as you watch this group of educators?

I was impressed by the questions they were asking about Data, I.E. why did they miss this question when if is directly related to the standard.  They were finding patterns in the grouped results/data for their students.  I also feel this approach where multiple eyes are on the same data, enables the teachers to find answers they may not have noticed on their own.

What structures does your district have in place in place to make collaboration around student data possible?

There are some great policies already in place with my district.  They are getting teachers together in PLC meetings each week.  They meet as an entire body, by subject, and by core teacher teams.

Our teachers also participate in shared by subject end of term assessments. which during their PLCs where they meet in departments they can evaluate what is working and what needs tweaking.

We also as a middle school team our teachers in core groups where they can meet at least weekly during common prep times and discuss their shared students and how to better address their needs.

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1.) I love the process, we have undertaken in this process in my school on the end of course assessment. I like the idea that they are trying to make things better. They are trying to figure out why students got any question wrong. Collaboration is extremely effective when you ask these kinds of questions. You can determine, is it the question or is it my teaching? What can I be doing better?
2.) We have the PLC framework setup in my school right now, and I really enjoy getting together and discussing the process of teaching with other professionals. I love to learn and I feel like in this process there is a lot of learning that takes place. I learn a lot about my teaching and I can also learn a lot from my other colleagues. If the majority of my students didn't get a question right and other teacher's class did, a dialogue can be started about how that teacher taught that concept.  This is one of the great benefits of being in a PLC.

# data[].attributes.body
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# data[].attributes.body
What are two significant observations you have as you watch this group of educators?
1.  They had a willingness to have the student excel.  From the reason why they missed a question to a standard that they had already mastered to working to ensure that students should struggle to promote learning was something that interested them.
2.  I thought that the use of data to not only utilize in the school building but also to use outside of the school was great.  To provide feedback to other school about procedures on data as well as recieving strategies from other schools to adhere to successful practices that are happening other places.

What structure does your district have in place to make collaboration around student data possible?
In the district that I work we have weekly collaboration efforts to provide opportunities for teachers to get together and discuss topics that relate to student achievement. We recently this year have been required to adhere to a practice known as a Student Learning Objective. Based on random decisive data teachers are required to categorize a student into 4 sub categories. Above average, average, below, and far below are rated at the beginning of the grading period. As the grading period continues, data is collected and analyzed by teachers in specific departments to determine the growth and progress of the individual students. Teachers are encouraged to work collaborativly in their efforts to establish norms with areas to improve on or keep the same. It is in the beginning stages and has areas to improve on but overall something that is a positive and effective use of data.

# data[].attributes.body
What are two significant observations you have as you watch this group of educators?
1. They appear to be uniformly earnest and dedicated, with none of the eye-rolling and snark I have witnessed at too many meetings and conferences and trainings. 2. They do not shy away from dressing
professionally; this is an increasingly scare thing in today's educational landscape.

What structures does your district have in place in place to make collaboration around student data possible?
Few, if any. Ours is an old-fashioned, top-down district. During our "collaboration" days we never get an opportunity to actually collaborate (although to be fair my principal is implementing schedule changes to fix that), and data is presented very seldom, and even then it is not something we are given time to absorb and process or utilize as a brainstorming tool. It is simply presented in a slideshow and then we move onto the next item on the agenda.

# data[].attributes.body
What are two significant observations you have as you watch this group of educators?
1. I noticed that all of them seemed to be interacting with one another and have those discussions need to improve practices. Often as educators we want to have those discussions, but time becomes the factor. It is nice that they have the time set aside to review, analyze and discuss next steps.

2.  I noticed that they all had their computers so they can all see the same data to have those important discussions. This also gives them the ability to type out next steps to take back to their team/school.

What structures does your district have in place to make collaboration around student data possible?
We have set PLC times each week that should be designed around student data and curriculum. This year we finally have early release once a week where we have a set schedule for the year to particpate in certain activities. Some of those actives include data driven decisions. Often it is taking the time to look at students data to determine group place for intervention and areas of focus. Some of the other days include additional PLC time where teachers can collaborate about students and/or academic performance activities.

# data[].attributes.body
What are two significant observations you have as you watch this group of educators?

The "meeting" is active and collaborative. There is energy. Educational/Assessment data is not a four-letter word with this group. How refreshing!!

What structures does your district have in place in place to make collaboration around student data possible?

We (NNU faculty - not a school district) are sure trying to wrap our heads around student data analysis. We meet within our departments, and other councils sometimes review our data. We have an assessment day slated for the Monday after Easter (a student holiday). I am looking forward (I think) to the leadership for that day. Personally, as the director of student success programming, I need to grow in my vision and ability to lead in data-driven assessment.

# data[].attributes.body
Even this glimpse of what appears to be an intentional and effective day of educator collaboration, gives me hope! The focus on student achievement in this demonstration is obvious.
As the Head of Schools at a PK - 12 school, I am struck by the openness of these teachers and the input/discussion design of the experience.  Teachers' commentary on the good feeling of understanding they are not alone in their endeavors speaks to a shift in the educational model of teacher being the expert of her room and the lone captain of her domain, to reaching across the threshold of the classroom door to other educators. Watching this team of district educators work together to discover what the data is saying about their learners and what they are going to do about it is both encouraging and inspiring.
The structure of the training time seems to involve both input from an expert, guiding a thought process, as well as meaningful time to talk with colleagues about real student data. I noticed teachers are seeking trends on individual questions, aligning these with standards and seeing the disparity of answers. What a thoughtful approach. This process validates the teaching/learning process and empowers educators to advance in their own instructional skills. How affirming to see that others are experiences the same outcomes, then try some new methods and see if the data changes.

# data[].attributes.body
I observed that educators were looking at their data for courses and evaluating the areas that were showing success and the areas that were not. They were also discussing with their peers what they did for that lesson and if it was working, they shared that as well.

I also observed that the collaboration was between both teachers and coaches/admin. The sharing of strategies or information that was working was what was making it a strong PLC. They understood that they need to continue to refine the process of teaching and learning and were able to come together or this process.

My district has designated a day of the week for an early release so that teachers can come together and look at student data. The intent being that there is provided time for this to happen weekly. At my school, we have the ability to review student data 2-3 time a week and make course corrections a bit more quickly. My staff uses the district time to dive into individual student data for determining what their mentor conversations will look like the following week, and then they look at grade level data during the week to adjust their projects to the student needs. *much of this flexibility is due to our small scale and close relationships with students