Monday, September 28, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Data Driven Instruction
Data driven instruction is essential in not only supporting our school's vision, mission and goals, but in creating the goals as well. Data should be analyzed and used to make instructional decisions rather than just collected and never used. Data collecting and analyzing should be an on-going process and decisions should be flexible and fluid. As the school looks at performance data, they should be willing to make changes as needed during the year to ensure the students' academic needs are being met. For example, kids placed in an on grade level class whose assessment data show they are exceeding the standards should have the chance to move to a more challenging group and have their performance continue to be monitored. Using the data to keep groupings and placements flexible and fluid in this manner supports the school's mission of providing rigorous and appropriate instruction for all students and supports the school's AMO targets and SIP goals.
Data drives instructional decisions at the more individualized level also. Classroom teachers should be using formative and summative assessment data to make decisions about reteaching, acceleration, grouping, assignments etc. Collecting and analyzing performance data with students helps them set goals, strive to meet them, monitor their progress along the way, and increase their motivation through stakeholder buy-in. Using data to drive instruction decisions school wide and classroom based, gives parents and the community an objective rationale for decisions they may wonder about and keeps them informed on the school's performance across the board.
Some of the data collection tools we use at my school include: MyMCPS, rubrics, MCPS Grading and Reporting collection sheets, MClass, Dibels, Progress Monitoring, MAP R, attendance records, excel, running records, math unit assessments, county formatives for math, BCR graphs, quizzes, tests, Survey Monkey, ENCORE, teacher surveys, anecdotal records and ActivVotes.
These tools could be better utilized if our data chats included more of the tools. Many of these tools are used by classroom teachers to collect performace data in different ways, but often school based data chats and instructional assumptions are made based on a handful of tools such as MCPS math unit assessments, MAP R, and MSA prep tools like CARS and STARS. While these are indicators on how the school's MSA data might look, they do not always represent the academic abilities of the child.
While I think it is important for the school to look at data and make predictions of high stakes testing and I certainly know as an administrator, I will have to be concerned with this, it is also important to make grouping choices based on other data collected in the classroom as well. For example, guided reading placements can not be made based on MClass scores alone, formative running records taken over time and looked at for trends and patterns should be used as well.
Data drives instructional decisions at the more individualized level also. Classroom teachers should be using formative and summative assessment data to make decisions about reteaching, acceleration, grouping, assignments etc. Collecting and analyzing performance data with students helps them set goals, strive to meet them, monitor their progress along the way, and increase their motivation through stakeholder buy-in. Using data to drive instruction decisions school wide and classroom based, gives parents and the community an objective rationale for decisions they may wonder about and keeps them informed on the school's performance across the board.
Some of the data collection tools we use at my school include: MyMCPS, rubrics, MCPS Grading and Reporting collection sheets, MClass, Dibels, Progress Monitoring, MAP R, attendance records, excel, running records, math unit assessments, county formatives for math, BCR graphs, quizzes, tests, Survey Monkey, ENCORE, teacher surveys, anecdotal records and ActivVotes.
These tools could be better utilized if our data chats included more of the tools. Many of these tools are used by classroom teachers to collect performace data in different ways, but often school based data chats and instructional assumptions are made based on a handful of tools such as MCPS math unit assessments, MAP R, and MSA prep tools like CARS and STARS. While these are indicators on how the school's MSA data might look, they do not always represent the academic abilities of the child.
While I think it is important for the school to look at data and make predictions of high stakes testing and I certainly know as an administrator, I will have to be concerned with this, it is also important to make grouping choices based on other data collected in the classroom as well. For example, guided reading placements can not be made based on MClass scores alone, formative running records taken over time and looked at for trends and patterns should be used as well.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Reflection-What is a visionary leader?
After reading the article on visionary leadership, I believe that a visionary leader is an administrator who shows progressive leadership in the areas of student needs, staff development needs, central office demands, and their own personal development.
Visionary administrators believe in student - centered learning which can be drastically enhanced through the use of technology. Being a visionary leader means you need to know what types of technology your students are using outside of school and be willing to listen to what they say will motivate them to learn more. The visionary administrators who listen to students and put their needs on the front burner, do so because they believe that the use of technology will have a large impact on student achievement. They often have the same technology priorities as the students themselves and so I believe these adminsitrators are therefore more likely to see gains in student motivation.
Visionary leaders are not only responsible for meeting students' needs and motivating them to push forward and achieve more; they are also charged with doing the same for their staff. Frequently there is a big disconnect between what students are doing in the way of technology outside of school and what teachers are familiar with in their own personal lives. A visionary administrator has to ensure that his/her staff has the resources to learn about the technology being incorporated into instruction and that they feel comfortable using it. An administrator who doesn't focus a lot of energy into training, supporting and increasing comfort levels of staff, will not be able to realize their technology vision as they will have anxious staff letting expensive technology go to waste.
Visionary administrators in addition to balancing the needs of their students and staff, have to contend with the demands / limitations of central office. One of the biggest limitations in this category is funding. I can see this being one of the biggest obstacles any administrator can face when trying to see a comprehensive technology plan come to fruition. Especially now that the national economy is feeling the strain that school systems have been feeling for years, money for anything not publicly deemed as "crucial to instruction" can be very hard to come by. Visionary leaders have to be very creative and prioritizing with funding sources. Administrators who are dedicated to incorporating more technologyare more likely to do things like writing grants to various foundations, saving money on other budget items and redirecting it towards technology needs and having fundraisers dedicated to their technology desires.
Administrators also have to creatively contend with central office in order to make visionary changes to their programming like online classes, and 21st century assessment strategies, both of which are new ideas that visionary leaders are more likely to believe will be successful.
Visionary leaders also stand out in their personal lives as far as the use of technology goes. They are far more likely than their non-visionary peers to use updated technology outside of school. They are more involved with different web 2.0 tools such as Twitter, Facebook and Myspace. They are more likely to use ipods and texting cell phones as well. I believe that it is through this personal understanding of how much one's life can be enhanced with technology, that they are able to understand better what their students crave in the way of technology and see the benefits of bringing everyday instruction into the 21st century.
Visionary administrators believe in student - centered learning which can be drastically enhanced through the use of technology. Being a visionary leader means you need to know what types of technology your students are using outside of school and be willing to listen to what they say will motivate them to learn more. The visionary administrators who listen to students and put their needs on the front burner, do so because they believe that the use of technology will have a large impact on student achievement. They often have the same technology priorities as the students themselves and so I believe these adminsitrators are therefore more likely to see gains in student motivation.
Visionary leaders are not only responsible for meeting students' needs and motivating them to push forward and achieve more; they are also charged with doing the same for their staff. Frequently there is a big disconnect between what students are doing in the way of technology outside of school and what teachers are familiar with in their own personal lives. A visionary administrator has to ensure that his/her staff has the resources to learn about the technology being incorporated into instruction and that they feel comfortable using it. An administrator who doesn't focus a lot of energy into training, supporting and increasing comfort levels of staff, will not be able to realize their technology vision as they will have anxious staff letting expensive technology go to waste.
Visionary administrators in addition to balancing the needs of their students and staff, have to contend with the demands / limitations of central office. One of the biggest limitations in this category is funding. I can see this being one of the biggest obstacles any administrator can face when trying to see a comprehensive technology plan come to fruition. Especially now that the national economy is feeling the strain that school systems have been feeling for years, money for anything not publicly deemed as "crucial to instruction" can be very hard to come by. Visionary leaders have to be very creative and prioritizing with funding sources. Administrators who are dedicated to incorporating more technologyare more likely to do things like writing grants to various foundations, saving money on other budget items and redirecting it towards technology needs and having fundraisers dedicated to their technology desires.
Administrators also have to creatively contend with central office in order to make visionary changes to their programming like online classes, and 21st century assessment strategies, both of which are new ideas that visionary leaders are more likely to believe will be successful.
Visionary leaders also stand out in their personal lives as far as the use of technology goes. They are far more likely than their non-visionary peers to use updated technology outside of school. They are more involved with different web 2.0 tools such as Twitter, Facebook and Myspace. They are more likely to use ipods and texting cell phones as well. I believe that it is through this personal understanding of how much one's life can be enhanced with technology, that they are able to understand better what their students crave in the way of technology and see the benefits of bringing everyday instruction into the 21st century.
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