Yesterday in class we focused on data. How to read data. How to apply data to future lessons. How to organize data. Dr. Clark had done the prior research and actually found a 4th grade math teacher's recent test data. So, that put us ahead of the game and able to really start analyzing what this teacher had done. This math educator was so on top of it. She was organized and knew exactly what she was doing. She had created this test and gave it as both a pre-test and post-test so she could see some student growth. But, she also had each question marked down to what standard it came from. This was genius to me! Now, when she reflects on her teaching she can go down the list in her little chat and pin point exactly which student understood which standard, and which needed a recap.
The most tricky thing we did in class was after decoding the data and what the teacher was actually doing we had to then go and think up some new strategies of reteaching the concepts. Number one this was difficult just because we were unaware of how this teacher taught these lessons the first time. Number two, math can be a very visual subject, but the students scored highly on the visual aspect, so finding a new method of teaching was hard. Number three, this was hard to believe that we are going to be doing this one day for our own students. This has standard number five written all over it from the NCTCS: teachers will reflect on their practice. By using this data she is able to see where she went right and where she needs to recap.
One of my favorite quotes from John Dewey is, "We do not learn from experience... We learn from reflecting on experience...". I think this is correct! Until we sit down and say, "okay where do I need to do better?" we are not being active educators in this 21st century education world. Some students are going to pick up on the concepts we teach and soar with them, and others are going to struggle and need more and more examples to help them understand.
In my future classroom I hope I can adopt this spreadsheet type of records for all of my summative assessments. This just seems to make it so easy to pull it up and see right there where each students is struggling. It also is a great way to show any parent or administrator if they ever question you about a particular student. I am an organize freak and can defiantly be OCD at times so this was right up my alley when Dr. Clark presented it to us. I just could not believe I had never seen something like this done before!
I completely agree with the quote that you found. As educators, we need to understand how important it is to reflect on our teaching. Looking at feedback from assessments and analyzing your lesson plan to see what can be done better is essential to push our students learning one step further. Our students deserve to have this opportunity, and as educators we need to make sure we are always doing our best for our students by consistently analyzing our teaching through the use of their feedback.
ReplyDeleteThat data sheet was so impressive!! I hope one day I can be that detail-oriented to collect data that way! It really proved how data can be an effective part in our classroom. It really isn't just a bunch of numbers (even though it looks like it). It serves a purpose and can actually be really helpful!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked this method of organizing data. I really think this is a great way to know what your students are doing in class. I love the connections you are making to your future classroom! What outside research are you doing to continue to support your learning of these concepts?
ReplyDeleteI also thought that the way the teacher organized that test data was genius. I, myself, have thought about organizing my tests in this way, but have never thought how I would do it. I think I will also adopt this spreadsheet method in to my classroom. It is super way to keep organized and have good feedback ready for students and parents.
ReplyDeleteOrganizing data seems like a lot of fun to me. The sheet we looked over in class was pretty intimidating, but i think after some practice, you will be able to nail it!
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