This semester I completed a class on data analysis and school improvement. This class was extremely valuable for my future as a technology coordinator and data coach. The three most important things I learned in this course were excel, how to analyze data without blaming a group, and how to run an effective data meeting. Excel was something I was excited to dig deeper into because it is a great tool to visualize data. It is difficult to just look at numbers so excel makes it easier to understand data. I am glad I know how to create graphs though excel. I also learned that when trying to draw conclusions with data you should not blame a group- “what are these teachers doing wrong.” This will help teachers feel less blame and be more willing to come up with solutions and work with data. Lastly, this class taught me to create roles in meetings so that the analysis will run without any issues. This will help my school get more done in meetings because everyone knows what is expected.
The most valuable field experience in this course was the Data Overview Presentation. This data overview gave me the opportunity to look at the real data at my school and come up with ways that we can improve student achievement. My school is always discussing data and talking about how we can use assessment data to guide instruction and form groups but we have never done an overview of all data including assessment and demographic. This overview can be presented to my school so that it can be a basis for improvement. Also, now that I know how to analyze the data and come up with ideas for improvement, I can teach other teachers and we will be able to use this process in the future.
As stated, I plan to continue applying this learning at my school by creating visuals like the ones in the data overview to help me look at future data. I would also like to relay the information I learned to others so that other teachers will be able to see the data from their class and grade level. This class has proven to me that data is so helpful and shows trends as well as strengths and weaknesses that can be fixed as long as we are aware of the data.
One challenge that I anticipate as I continue to implement these ideas at my school is teachers being on board with data analysis. We talk about data a lot but many teachers will not be willing to put in the extra effort it takes to dig deeper into their data. Many times, you see teachers do a surface overview of data but the don’t really understand its meaning. I will have to prove to the teachers that data is useful by showing them all of the findings that this class taught me. If teachers see how useful it can be, they will be more likely to use data to help them in the future.
The most valuable field experience in this course was the Data Overview Presentation. This data overview gave me the opportunity to look at the real data at my school and come up with ways that we can improve student achievement. My school is always discussing data and talking about how we can use assessment data to guide instruction and form groups but we have never done an overview of all data including assessment and demographic. This overview can be presented to my school so that it can be a basis for improvement. Also, now that I know how to analyze the data and come up with ideas for improvement, I can teach other teachers and we will be able to use this process in the future.
As stated, I plan to continue applying this learning at my school by creating visuals like the ones in the data overview to help me look at future data. I would also like to relay the information I learned to others so that other teachers will be able to see the data from their class and grade level. This class has proven to me that data is so helpful and shows trends as well as strengths and weaknesses that can be fixed as long as we are aware of the data.
One challenge that I anticipate as I continue to implement these ideas at my school is teachers being on board with data analysis. We talk about data a lot but many teachers will not be willing to put in the extra effort it takes to dig deeper into their data. Many times, you see teachers do a surface overview of data but the don’t really understand its meaning. I will have to prove to the teachers that data is useful by showing them all of the findings that this class taught me. If teachers see how useful it can be, they will be more likely to use data to help them in the future.