The Data-Driven Instruction Series
To
advance student achievement, teachers must understand what students know and
what they need to further their education. But while schools gather these data
through standardized testing and ongoing teacher assessment, they may not have
enough time or resources to interpret the data. Schools need to translate the
data into practical decisions for planning and implementing effective
instruction.
Using Data to Advance Student Achievement
The Data Driven Instruction Series helps teachers improve how they interpret and use data. As a result, they can make informed instructional decisions to boost student achievement. The Data-Driven Instruction Series also focuses on ways school leaders can change or enhance the processes and strategies they use when working with data. In addition, they can learn how to overcome the common obstacles involved in building and sustaining a data-focused school culture.
Series experts include Dr. Kay Burke, Jay McTighe, Grant Wiggins, Betsy Eaves, and Lyn Reggett.
Summary of online topics:
1. Finding Focus and Getting Results
2. Leading and Supporting Effective Work with Data
3. Data-Focused Instructional Decision Making
4. Effective Formative Assessment
These modules focus on the unique needs of school leaders to establish, develop, and sustain a data-rich culture at their schools. Participants implement strategies to create the appropriate infrastructure to support effective work with data.
- Finding Focus and Getting Results
Helps school leaders develop processes and implement successful strategies in their current work with data. Participants will analyze real-life case studies in three areas of data work—Assessment of Learning, Analysis of Data, and Taking Action Based on Data Analysis.
- Leading and Supporting Effective Work with Data
Focuses on the most effective ways school leaders can establish a data-rich environment in which teachers and staff at their school are all adept at using data to engage in a continuous improvement process. This module includes ways to enhance the infrastructure so that current work with data yields better results, strategic processes for focusing on the effective use of data, and ways to overcome common obstacles to implementing change and building a trusting, supportive environment.
These modules focus on providing classroom teachers with the tools to develop and implement formative assessment techniques, and then use the data from their assessments to make ongoing instructional decisions that help increase student achievement.
- Instructional Decision Making
Models and presents opportunities for teachers to practice the process of data collection, analysis, interpretation, and decision making that results from that work. This module presents a systematic process for organizing and analyzing student data in order to define actionable instructional implications. This process involves grouping for instruction and the creation of working hypotheses about what children in each group know and are able to do.
- Effective Formative Assessment
Focuses on effective ways to conduct and analyze traditional and alternative methods of formative assessment. This module presents how to implement these strategies with both individual students and groups of students, including ways to involve students in their own assessment.