Data Driven Decision Making

Currently, Twinsburg City Schools collects numerous amounts of data. Similar to the McIntire article, a tremendous amount of data is collected including; student data, test scores, staff and faculty data, counseling data, financial data, book lists, student rankings, community data, discipline reports, special  education meetings, faculty meetings, School Board meetings, PLC meetings, medical records, grades, transcripts, teacher evaluations, paychecks/direct deposits, sports statistics and so on and so on…

Much of the recorded data is being stored in three major software programs, DASL, SchoolCenter and ProgressBook. Additional “storage” services include district- wide servers and shared drives, personal computers, p-drives, Microsoft programs like Excel and Word, hard copies of medical records, grades, transcripts, teacher evaluations, and sports statistics saved on Web 2.0 applications, and on and on…

Much of the data that is saved is typically maintained and managed by the individual directly in charge of the department or group. For example, within our Social Studies department, our department chair is principally responsible for maintaining our records. Based on my observations and informal questioning, similar departments and groups operate in the same fashion. For example, guidance counselors maintain their own data, just like the central office employees’ facilitate data specific to their interests and responsibilities. Typically, many individuals are response for data collection and storage.

For the most part, DASL and ProgressBook are compatible. Unfortunately, teachers have only limited access to the full capabilities of these data sources. I am slightly unaware of the full potential of our data sources at this point in time. However, after speaking with individuals who are directly involved with these systems, I can report that our district feels confident with the available systems and technologies.  

On the contrary, I do not think that we collect data quickly enough. Similar to what McIntire argued in his article, I often feel that data is collected too late, like high stakes testing. The results return once the students have already moved on to the next grade level. McIntire suggestion of trying to establish in-house practice tests, which could provide data to teachers on a monthly or quarterly basis, would be beneficial.

I would suggest that I have a decent amount of access to data which enables me to help promote student success in the classroom. Much of the data that I am privileged too is focused on special needs students. IEP and 504 information is available in detailed format to classroom teachers, and is utilized to help ensure quality instruction. Although this is enormously beneficial, it would be even more powerful to have more information about all of the students. Knowing as much as possible about your students can only help to establish a better learning environment. Past information can be important when trying to develop differentiated lessons for a diverse student body.

Lastly, our MIS system is certainly robust enough to handle the needs of our district, although it is difficult to assess the extent of the successfulness of this system without having full knowledge of the capabilities.

Prezi Link

http://prezi.com/pgbrrvqiicon/technology-vision/

WebLog 3

Lived experiences:

During my years at Twinsburg High School, I have been fortunate enough to experience numerous professional development opportunities regarding educational technology. I will briefly discuss two instances of professional technology development.

Currently, Twinsburg City Schools uses School Center design to design and create websites for teachers, administrators, clubs, athletics and various other organizations. The professional development and instruction used to help integrate SchoolCenter has been thorough and continuing. Multiple workshops directed by technology coordinators and professionals were administered to ensure successful understanding and implementation. Additionally, the administrative team established teacher led subcommittees that could be used as quick references and informal assistants for staff members in need. The experience has been supportive, ongoing and exceeding expectations, especially in terms of increasing student learning and support.

            Contrastingly, the professional development associated with Turningpoint Technologies could be understood as somewhere between slumping and achieving. Much of the development has been self-taught, with only limited support. Although the implementation of the technology has been successful, many fellow teachers are unaware of the technology and few instructional opportunities and time for development and exploration exist.

Mouza and Szymanski/Morrell Readings:

(A) Discuss criteria which define successful Educational Technology Professional Development

(B) Discuss criteria which define the effective school administrator and/or technology coordinator in the context of successful Educational Technology Professional Development.

 Mouza discusses the need for teachers to understand technology professional development as an ongoing career-long initiative. Successful teachers will develop skills that will enable them to explore and new and unfamiliar tools. Addiitonally, successful educational technology development will focus on (similar to TPCK) Content Knowldege, Pedagogical Knowledge, and Pedagogical Content Knowledge. Additionally, teachers and administrators who had limited access to resources and technical support was a major obstacle to successfully incorporating technology. Research-based professional development, focusing on how teachers learn, can foster teacher sustained teacher development. Importantly, reflection on how technology and technology development has impacted student learning and achievement is equally important for teachers and administrators.

Szymanski and Morrell suggest that “the theoretical construct of situated cognition as the basis for increasing the development of technology integration skills for K-12 teachers.” Situated Cognition, according to Szymanski and Morrell, is learning that normally happens during an activity which occurs in a context and a culture; “that is, people build knowledge structures and learn skill sets in specific physical and social contexts…Situated cognition is a characterization of how learning takes place not just where it takes place.” According to this model, designing professional development that is context specific and firmly based in the theoretical framework of situated cognition is a very effective way to assist teachers in integrating technology into their instruction.