To start this course, I was a little worried because so much of the course focused on data and I didn’t have much experience analyzing school data. Also, the culture of our school is one where the principal does all the work in terms of data collection and analysis and just communicates that information to the rest of the staff. Perhaps the most important thing I learned in this course is that to have ownership of the data, staff members have to be involved in the collection and analysis too. I think that’s also why my preconception of the data tasks involved in this class was what it was, because I never really had any ownership in the data either. Another thing I learned in this course was how many different ways data can be interpreted based on graphs and how the author choose to represent the data graphically. I especially had practice doing this while creating the data overview assignment as I had to make sure the data I wanted to be communicated to the audience was best represented by the graphs I chose to use. The final thing I learned in this course was just how much data is actually reviewed and analyzed by each school. While doing the data inventory and instructional initiatives inventory I could not believe how much data is examined by the school (or more specifically the principal) on a regular basis. The instructional initiatives inventory was also enlightening to see how many different instructional initiatives are actually in place at the school.
Personally, I found the data overview assignment to be the most valuable field experience of the course. I thoroughly enjoyed researching the data and analyzing it to determine how best to communicate these findings to my department. I liked being able to use Excel to create various charts and graphs to make the overview visual and appealing while still communicating the essential facts of the data. I plan to show this overview presentation to my department during pre-planning and also discuss the possibility of creating a data team within my school with my principal. Our school does not have a shared vision and our technology implementation needs to be more focused on how the implementation will truly benefit students and the teachers. The major challenge I foresee is that the administration likes to take control of the data and essentially be the “data team.” I’m sure my department will respond enthusiastically to the data overview and take ownership of the data to help close the writing gap of our students, but I’m not so sure the administration will be on board with other staff members having a leadership role in the data and its analysis. The biggest roadblock I will encounter is helping foster an environment where all voices can be heard within the school in regards to data and technology. The administration will need to loosen the current grip on technology and data and teachers will need to step up to fill the role of teacher leaders within the school. Even so, doing this will still be a hard sell in a school with so many veteran teachers that are comfortable where they are and do not want any more tasks on their plate to complete in addition to normal teacher duties.
Personally, I found the data overview assignment to be the most valuable field experience of the course. I thoroughly enjoyed researching the data and analyzing it to determine how best to communicate these findings to my department. I liked being able to use Excel to create various charts and graphs to make the overview visual and appealing while still communicating the essential facts of the data. I plan to show this overview presentation to my department during pre-planning and also discuss the possibility of creating a data team within my school with my principal. Our school does not have a shared vision and our technology implementation needs to be more focused on how the implementation will truly benefit students and the teachers. The major challenge I foresee is that the administration likes to take control of the data and essentially be the “data team.” I’m sure my department will respond enthusiastically to the data overview and take ownership of the data to help close the writing gap of our students, but I’m not so sure the administration will be on board with other staff members having a leadership role in the data and its analysis. The biggest roadblock I will encounter is helping foster an environment where all voices can be heard within the school in regards to data and technology. The administration will need to loosen the current grip on technology and data and teachers will need to step up to fill the role of teacher leaders within the school. Even so, doing this will still be a hard sell in a school with so many veteran teachers that are comfortable where they are and do not want any more tasks on their plate to complete in addition to normal teacher duties.