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The Local Connection: Building a Data Use Learning Community. Gilda Rubio-Festa Baerbel Schilz Randy L. Whitfield November 2009 Slides taken from National Reporting System (NRS) Training. Professional Development Objectives. By the end of this session, participants will be able to
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The Local Connection: Building a Data Use Learning Community Gilda Rubio-Festa Baerbel Schilz Randy L. Whitfield November 2009 Slides taken from National Reporting System (NRS) Training
Professional Development Objectives By the end of this session, participants will be able to • Identify barriers to, and motivators for, local programs to use data; • Describe strategies for encouraging a culture of data use at the local level; • Define the characteristics and essential elements of a data use learning community; • Identify steps in the process of establishing and sustaining a data use learning community; • Select appropriate technology tools for specific purposes related to data use and sustaining the learning community; • Develop a local action plan.
Why Promote Data Use at All Levels? • To demonstrate program effectiveness • To assist management • To promote program improvement
Uses of NRS Data at the Local Level • To monitor progress toward performance goals; • To manage programs and identify areas for improvement; • To meet reporting and accountability requirements.
Poor Data Quality Can Result From… • Incorrect test administration • Low rates of pre- and post-testing • Poor goal setting procedures • Flaws in data entry • Lack of quality control systems • Little or no data monitoring
Underlying Assumption… When programs and staff use their data, data quality will improve.
Changing the Culture Around Data How can you help local program administrators and teachers to view data Not as a Hammer, But as a Flashlight?
Effective Data Use Moves Us Along the Accountability Spectrum FROM: Accountability (rearview mirror view— looking back to what we did well/not so well) TO: Continuous Improvement (looking out the front window at where we’re headed)
Top 10 Uses of Data in Education • Uncover problems that might otherwise remain invisible • Convince staff of the need for change • Confirm or discredit assumptions about students and program practices • Get to the root cause of problems, pinpoint areas where change is most needed, and guide resource allocation • Help evaluate program effectiveness and keep the focus on student learning • Provide feedback that instructors and administrators need to keep going and stay on course • Prevent over-reliance on standardized tests • Prevent one-size-fits-all and quick solutions • Give schools/programs the ability to respond to accountability questions • Build a culture of inquiry and continuous improvement • - Nancy Love, 2000
To Implement Effective Data Use at the Local Level… Staff Need • An organizational framework through which to organize activities; • Motivation to use data; • Training on how to review and use data; • Tools for conducting data analyses; • Ongoing communication and interaction among local staff around data
The Framework:Communities of Learners • Professional Learning Community (PLC) is a group of instructors, administrators, and other staff that • meets regularly, • reviews practice, • asks questions and focuses on learning, • then uses this learning to implement program improvement.
Constant Findings in the Research Literature Notable improvements in education almost never take place in the absence of professional development. At the core of each successful improvement effort is a thoughtfully conceived, well-designed, and well-supported PD component. Thomas Guskey (2000)
The Concept of Learning Community • Arose from Peter Senge’s Fifth Discipline (1990) • Promoted the idea of a work environment in which employees… • Engage as teams; • Develop a shared vision to guide their work; • Operate collaboratively to produce a better product; • Evaluate their output. • The creation and implementation of a LC is crucial to the future success of organizations facing change (Fullan, 1993; Senge, 2000)
So—What is a Professional Learning Community? • A purposeful gathering of individuals who share common interests and goals for learning improvement, or professional development. Individuals within the learning community are committed to supporting one another’s and their group’s development. (NSDC, 2001) • A way to transform personal knowledge • into a collectively built, widely shared, • and cohesive professional knowledge base (Wikipedi)
What is a Professional Learning Community? (Cont.) • Instructors and administrators participating in and fostering a culture of continuous inquiry and improvement. They meet regularly, ask questions, focus on learning and sharing their learning, and implement changes based on their new learning. (Astuto, Clark, Read, McGree, & Fernandez, 1993) • A school in which the professionals (administrators and instructors) continuously seek and share learning to increase their effectiveness for students and then act on what they learn (Hord, 1997)
Attributes of Professional Learning Communities • Supportive and Shared Leadership • Collective Creativity • Shared Values and Vision • Supportive Conditions • Shared Personal Practice
A Shared Vision • Motivates and energizes people; • Creates a proactive orientation; • Gives direction to people within the agency; • Establishes specific standards of excellence; • Creates a clear agenda for action.
Essential Actions of a LC • Determine school and staff readiness—announce the establishment of the LC—make participation voluntary (bring food to first meeting); • Identify possible issues/concerns for the LC to address (e.g., student learning gains, learner persistence) –look at the school’s/program’s data; • Ask LC members to prioritize issues/select one to address; • Work on developing shared vision and values among members; • Begin with the learning —e.g., read about and discuss factors affecting student learning gains or persistence; • Ensure that new learning and sharing are a part of every meeting;
Essential Actions of a LC (Cont.) • Pose a small problem for LC members to address/solve at first few meetings, or a strategy to try out—to give them the experience of successful collaborative problem-solving; • Encourage individuals to try out a strategy, or peers to work together on a problem, or individuals to research something or take some training, between meetings and report on results at next meeting; • Publicize to rest of staff what the PLC is doing, and invite/involve any staff members who express interest; • Develop a strategic plan—include barriers and ways to overcome barriers, timeline, evaluation strategies;
Essential Actions of a LC (Cont.) • Ensure that every member of the PLC is aware of his/her role in implementing the strategic plan; • Implement plan; • Evaluate progress and make refinements, as needed; • Celebrate successes—no matter how small! (Bring food, recognize individuals, recognize team effort, publicize progress); • Welcome other interested members to join the learning community; • Develop strategies for communicating and for sustaining the learning community.
Michael Fullan, 2001 “The leaders’ new work for the future is building learning organizations where people continually expand their capacities.” -
STEPS – ESTABLISHING A LEARNING COMMUNITY • Experience from the Field - CPCC - Goal: The purpose of this learning community is to explore and recommend ways we can promote the use student data to improve our program practices, assist in managing, and demonstrate program effectiveness.
Tools Demo • Wikis • Blogs • Microblogs
Wiki Wiki (Hawaiian word for “Fast”): A Web site that allows easy creation and editing of interlinked Web pages. Wikis are often used to create collaboratively created books, encyclopedias or dictionaries. Project Ideal NC Data Learning Community (source: Wikipedia)
Blog A blog (a contractionof the term Weblog): A type of Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. (source: Wikipedia)
Microblog Microblogging: A form of blogging that allows users to send brief updates and publish them, to be viewed either by anyone or by a restricted group that can be chosen by the user. (source: Wikipedia)
CHANGE What reasons for not using data have you heard?
It’s really an annoyance…takes time away from the important stuff.
We don’t believe what it tells us! Data don’t give a true picture of what goes on in our classrooms!
Data don’t really tell us anything…we just collect data to keep the state happy…
TECHNOLOGY http://airlearning.org/course/enrol.php?id=32
Tools Demo • Online Sharing Applications • Social Bookmarking • Social Networks • Podcasts
Online Sharing Applications Online document sharing application: allows users to upload and share documents, including word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, forms, and, in some cases, databases. (source: Wikipedia)
Online Sharing Applications “in Plain English” • Google Docs in Plain English Video (YouTube) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRqUE6IHTEA
Podcasts Podcasts: Audio or video files that can be downloaded and made available through an mp3 player, an iPod, or a computer. Podcasts are a form of social media—anyone can publish content instead of only viewing it. (source: Wikipedia)
