Data can be immensely helpful to educators–but anyone who hopes to learn from data must know how to analyze and interpret it.
Although the word “data” can raise red flags when it comes to protecting student privacy and sensitive information, it can help students, parents, teachers, and administrators learn from and adjust practices. The catch, though, is that these stakeholder groups need access to the education data and must be able understand what it means.
“Collecting the right education data at the right time, if the right people have access to it, can be a very powerful tool to help improve teaching and learning,” said Doug Mesecar, vice president of strategic partnerships at IO Education, who also has extensive experience with education data and blended learning solutions.
In a blended learning approach, it’s important that education data be used in real time, or near real time to provide a feedback loop so the data doesn’t go unused, Mesecar said. “It needs to be put to use by teachers in real time to make adjustments and provide interventions and supports.”
Too much education data can overwhelm, but looking at it constantly could cause educators to get lost and not see valuable trends. Finding a balance–perhaps weekly–is as important as knowing what to do with the data when it is accessed.
“We put data in front of people and say, ‘OK, take action!’ But you have to understand what it says first,” Mesecar.
(Next page: Best practices for education data)
Mesecar shared four best practices as they pertain to blended learning and learning as a whole.
1. Regular conversations. Do administrators and teachers meet on a regular basis and do they have data team meetings? Those meetings should involve multiple grade-levels or multiple staff, and might pull in special education teachers or specialists, or anyone specializing in behavioral aspects. Though there isn’t a magic number when it comes to meeting frequency, once a month probably isn’t enough, Mesecar said. Part of the meetings likely will focus on what the data implies and what educators need to change.
2. Data availability and visibility. How easy is it for administrators, teachers and students to access data? Students need to see their own data and understand how they are performing in class so they can draw their own conclusions and connect the dots. Do classrooms have data up and posted (while protecting student privacy)? Many schools and classrooms put up data walls so they can track the most important points. Parents also need to be communicated with so they understand what’s going on.
3. Is everyone looking at the same data? Are decision-makers and administrators, principals, and district staff examining the same sets of data? Does everyone have access to the same data and can everyone view it at their level?
4. Analyze feedback loops. Data isn’t a one-way conversation, Mesecar said. Setting up feedback loops at every level–between students and teachers, teachers and principals, and parents and teachers–ensures that information will be analyzed and interpreted, that changes will be made in real time, and that any results from those changes will be analyzed. “If you don’t set up feedback loops, you lose a lot of the data’s power,” he added.
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