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Strategies for turning data results into instructional strategies

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Strategies for turning data results into instructional strategies

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Analyze collected data regularly

Use formative assessments during and after lessons or units

Make sure students are learning everything they need to know about a lesson or unit

Formative assessment ideas:

- Exit tickets (can be specific to the lesson)

- Having students list 3 things they learned/don’t understand

- Show me 5 (students use their hands to rate their level of    understanding)
- Conferring with students as they work
- Clipboard tally sheet (write specific goals, tally those who are meeting goals)

- Informal polls (thumbs up, quick nod)
- Verbal confirmation

- Visual observation

Focus on figuring out students’ individual needs

Group students based on similar needs

Use assessment data to analyze your teaching strategies

Take what you learn from your assessments to differentiate instruction as needed

Identify students’ strengths and weaknesses

Allow data collection to give you feedback about whether your teaching methods are effective

Use data results to positively influence future instruction

Keep data organized in a way that you can access it easily

Discover who your students are as learners

Know when and how to use instructional strategies so your students can learn in a variety of different ways

Be open to learning new techniques and strategies

Differentiate as often as your students need you to

Let the data guide you

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Using Differentiated Instruction to Support All Learners

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Using Differentiated Instruction to Support All Learners

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Differentiated instruction begins with knowing who students are as learners. Formative assessment and data collection and analysis gives teachers this information. Effective differentiation involves knowing when and how to use certain instructional strategies so students can learn in a variety of different ways.

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Author, Nancy Sindelar talks about the importance of using assessment to analyze teaching strategies to assure students are learning everything they need to know about a lesson or unit. Looking at the results of students' tests is a great way to start turning data in the instructional differentiation.

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Clarkson University Center for Online Teaching

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Assessment Methods for Domains of Knowledge

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New Methods of Test Analysis to Improve Student Learning | Teaching Strategies

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Corwin author Nancy Sindelar shares how to use teaching strategies that use item analysis software for analysis of classroom test results. Learn more at http://www.corwin.com/books/Book235513

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Data-driven decision making (D3M) is becoming more and more important. This form of teaching allows educators to identify students’ strengths and weaknesses. It gives feedback on whether or not students are meeting required learning objectives. Teachers can then turn this knowledge into strategies that will influence future instruction.

http://www.citejournal.org/volume-14/issue-4-14/science/data-driven-decision-making-facilitating-teacher-use-of-student-data-to-inform-classroom-instruction/

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Is Data Collection Changing the Way Teachers Teach?

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Is Data Collection Changing the Way Teachers Teach?

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Collecting data allows students to hone in on their students' individual needs. Students can be grouped based on their needs and the teacher can work with these smaller groups to assure those students are getting the help they need.

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Of the hundreds of educational apps and software programs on the market, most fall into three categories: analytical, motivational and instructional tools. And of these, many cross over and serve more than one purpose.
Pinpointing Student Needs
At Roosevelt Elementary School in the small, affluent San Francisco suburb of Burlingame, Calif., teacher Angelique Barry gives students short reading assessments, and uses DIBELS literacy software, an analytical tool, to determine precisely where a child needs help. As an intervention specialist, she checks the analytics daily, then circulates between classrooms giving extra instruction to kids who need it.

"The data allows me to hone in on what specific area the student needs," she says. "Instead of just saying 'Johnny's not a good reader,' well, what makes Johnny not a good reader? Is it his fluency? His comprehension? His decoding?"

"You don't just pop a kid on a computer for an hour and a half everyday. That'd be as boring as worksheets or writing out times tables."

Barry says the numbers allow her to group children with similar needs together and come up with diagnoses and solutions without subjective input from teachers or parents.

"It takes the narrative out of a teacher's story about Johnny. Whatever he comes to the table with - behavior, family or whatever. That might be a different part of what Johnny needs, but he doesn't need reading help," she says.

Down the hall, third-grade teacher Christy Novack says the OARS program, which stores assessment scores and tracks alignment to Common Core standards, helps her communicate with parents. " I can say a child is fine, but if I'm not showing data, it's hard to convince a parent." Novack, who has been a teacher for 14 years, says she already knows which children need help, but that the analytical software pinpoints specific needs more precisely than she can -- and it removes subjectivity. "How I perceive something is not how another teacher perceives something," she says. "If I have data, we can examine it."

But does having access to student data have a real impact on learning? "It's hard to attribute student growth to any one factor, there are so many variables," says Daniel R. Venables, author of How Teachers Can Turn Data into Action. But he says, "If we don't use data, we are left to rely on our hunches for making important instructional decisions."
Can Software Really Teach?

Roosevelt Elementary in Burlingame is piloting an instructional - or prescriptive - software tool called iXL, which provides homework exercises aligned with the Common Core. Students can log into the iXL program from home and a teacher can get an analysis of the student's homework right away.

Third-grade teacher Megan Horan says she likes using the software program because "it tracks how they're doing and adjusts the problems accordingly. If they keep missing a certain type of problem, it makes it a little easier; if they're excelling, it makes it more challenging. So it's not everyone doing the exact same things." The program awards students virtual medals when they achieve certain levels and parents are emailed decorated certificates with messages like, "Congratulations! John has answered 200 math problems!"

While some may argue online practice and certificates are the equivalent of decorated certificates, Horan says the fact that it's online is capturing students' attention. "There's a lot of buy-in from the kids," she says.

For Novack, the other third-grade teacher at Roosevelt, moderation in using data is key. Novack gives kids access to the iXL program about two hours a month during class time. "You don't just pop a kid on a computer for an hour and a half everyday. That'd be as boring as worksheets or writing out times tables," she says. "It's a supplement. You're not replacing teaching."

But at Mendez High School in Los Angeles, a school serving low-income kids, reality buffs the shine out of instructional software. Math teacher Geovanni Arellano says he tried assigning online homework using ST Math, but less than half of the students ever logged in. "A few had legitimate reasons, like 'I don't have a laptop at home,'" Arellano said. Other students only have internet access on their mobile phones but there was no phone app for ST Math, a format problem echoed by other teachers seeking educational software access for low-income students. And when it comes to using instructional software in class, he rarely has enough working computers to go around. Unlike third graders, Arellano finds high schoolers aren't impressed by the tech, and when kids do get a chance to get online, they often wander away from the instructional sites.
Creativity With Software

While online homework and exercises aren't proving effective with Arellano's classroom full of high school students, he's finding that a combination of access to learning software, real-time data and including his students in analyzing the data motivates his students.

Arellano teaches Algebra 1 to teens who didn't take or pass the class in eighth grade. "All of my students have experienced failure in math. They hate math, so motivation is a big piece of it," says Arellano. "I have to look for a lot of teaching strategies to get their attention."

Almost every week, Arellano gives the students a quiz, and when they're done, they immediately scan their bubble sheets into an Illuminate analytical program on Arellano's laptop and get their results. "As soon as they're done, I project the data in front of the class, and together we're able to have a data discussion," he says. He shows the students the Response Frequency Report, which indicates how many kids answered which questions correctly. He then asks the students what they think the class needs to focus on. "Students like the data," he says. "They're very competitive. They want to see how they did compared to the other class. Did we beat them this time?"

At Roosevelt Elementary in Burlingame, Novack is also using data collection as a hook for her students - but in a completely different way. Novack's third graders are learning about surveys by conducting them. The kids posted QR codes in the community and then used an app to collect and analyze the data.

"We are really pushing to be creators, not consumers of technology," says school principal Matt Pavao.
Drawbacks of Data Software
While teachers' use of data and software can help motivate, engage and specify instruction, some teachers find the obligation to input data time-consuming, they're skeptical of the intentions of the software developers and they fear judgment from school administrators.

Roosevelt Elementary teacher Novack says inputting student test scores into the school's data program can be chaotic. "January is a huge benchmark for a lot of school districts. If you have writing and ELA all at once, and there's an expectation to get it in the data base by a certain date, and that is stressful," Novack says. "You're not given extra time to do this." She says some teachers were so busy scoring and inputting assessment data that it took away from time usually spent preparing the curriculum. Teachers at this school reported spending as little as two hours annually to 40 hours a year to keep the data systems updated.

At the Los Angeles high school, Arellano says when he uses tests and answer keys that the district has already uploaded, the process takes virtually no time for him. However, when he creates his own exams and teaching tools through the software, it takes more time. "You get out of it what you put into it," Arellano says.

While Roosevelt Elementary's Megan Horan likes the software, s he says, "I know there's been a lot of resistance with teachers because they're afraid it's like Big Brother looking at them because the principals and district offices have access to it."

There's also the persistent argument that the educational software surge is investor-driven, with developers pushing software just to make a buck. Principal Pavao in Burlingame says he gets solicited every week to buy new software.
Teacher Training
Educators who report the most satisfaction with educational software have functioning computers for students and strong training on data software for teachers. "I see a great need to support teachers on tech. Training makes things easier and more engaging," Novack says.

A Gartner Group study concluded that teachers found data more accessible and useful when they were allotted time and given training on the software. The study of the Fairfax County Public school district, the 11 th largest in the nation, also found that when stakeholders (teachers, students and parents) were consulted on which tech to use in the school, there was a higher likelihood of tech alignment with the schools' vision.

Venables adds that another critical factor is collecting ongoing data, as formative assessments, throughout the year. "Macro data can indicate what is happening and perhaps even to whom it is happening, but to find out why it is happening and how to fix it, teachers and teacher teams need to turn to the more detailed and frequent microdata," he says. Analyzing and acting on microdata during the course of learning is where real change can take place.

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Is All This Student Data Changing the Way Teachers Teach? | KQED

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With so much access to student data these days, teachers are experimenting with different tactics, and figuring out what's working and what's not. As with most scenarios using education technology, it's a mixed bag. How it's used depends on a variety of factors in each school and in each teacher's classroom.

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This site contains a ton of free resources to help keep collected data organized, including a printable student information binder and printable data tracking sheets.

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Collecting data is not necessarily every teacher's cup of tea, but in today's teaching climate, it's definitely a necessity. After all, good data can provide important information to teachers and students and go a long way toward improving teaching and learning. And if keeping track of all the streams of data coming your way is not exactly your strong suit, here are a few hacks we found to make the process easier and maybe just a little bit more fun.
1. Teacher Binder for Student Data
In the world of data collection, this binder is going to be your best friend. Think of it as command central for all things numerical. This version has sections dedicated to parent communication, behavior and assessment data-all brilliantly organized and easy to set up for even the most organizationally challenged.
2. Data Tracking Sheets for Your Binder
In addition to the documents included above, you can add these documents to your fabulous binder as well.
3. Color-Coded Data Clipboards
If you teach special sections or small-group classes, you can keep each student's data conveniently attached to a clipboard-color coded so there's no need to rifle through to make sure you've got the right one-hung on a pegboard. These are quick and easy to grab so you can take notes when meeting with individual students.
4. Storage Crates
Often you want to hold on to papers after you record the numbers. Rather than keeping copies of assessments in your teacher binder, making it bulky and overstuffed, this crate system is a great way to keep track of work samples and other portfolio items.
5. Labeled Bins
If your school requires weekly data reports, you can store them here for easy access. Each student can collect his or her report to take home on the assigned day.

Also, if your students use their own folders to track data, this is a handy storage place. Kids can access their folders when they are needed, but there's no chance of them getting crumpled into their desks or being lost.
6. Sticky-Note System
Be still our hearts: sticky notes! They're right up there in the popularity ranks with ziplock bags for most teachers. This is hands-down the easiest, quickest way to keep track of anecdotal notes and informal observations.
7. Easy Bar Graph
Under the category "Work smarter, not harder," this genius idea enlists your students' help to record their individual data onto a strip of graph paper, which the teacher then pastes together inside a manila folder. Voilà! Instant data bar graph!
8. Data Folders for Students
Keeping track of their own data (for certain types of assessments like spelling tests, math facts, reading fluency scores, etc.) gives students ownership of their work and progress and provides them an opportunity to work on their graphing skills to boot!
9. More Data Tracking Sheets for Students
We like these sheets from blogger Bunting, Books, and Bright Ideas as well!
10. Citizenship Binder
Another genius hack! A tracking system for student accountability-all collected by students as part of weekly jobs. Kids take responsibility for monitoring their own behavior, organization and homework. What a great tool for cultivating ownership of their own learning!

SOURCE: One Teacher's Take

11. Data Walls: A Touchy Subject
There's no doubt that publicly displaying student achievements on classroom data walls as a means of motivating students is a controversial subject. However, we found some adorable examples of data walls that might just do the trick. The key to these boards is that they are limited to a single skill set of foundational skills that mostly require memorization. Giving students permission to monitor their own progress makes it feel more like a game than a report card.
12. Flying High
Kids can add their own bow to the tail of each kite as they master the skills listed.

SOURCE: Creativity to the Core
13. Fact Family Flowers
Students get to decorate and attach their own butterflies to each fact family flower.

SOURCE: Blooming in First
14. Sight Word Gumball Machines
Each student gets to add a gumball to the gumball machine as they master each sight word.
15. Letter/Sound Correspondence
Early learners can add a banana with their name on it to each cluster as they master the individual letter sounds.
16. Scooping Up Sight Words
Kids can add their favorite scoop to each sight word ice-cream cone.
This blog is sponsored by Apperson, a company dedicated to making assessment easier for educators. Click here to learn more about our special, end-of-the-school-year offer, 25% off of your first order for first time customers.

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16 Teacher Hacks for Making Data Collection a Piece of Cake

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Collecting data is not necessarily every teacher's cup of tea, but in today's teaching climate, it's definitely a necessity. After all, good data can provide important information to teachers and students and go a long way toward improving teaching and learning.