OVERVIEW OF ESSENTIAL FUNCTION 2: ANALYZING DATA
| EF 2 and GAINS Step 2 | Actions |
|---|---|
| Educators implement a process for examining and interpreting data = Analyze. | Develop a purposeful data analysis system.
Identify a common problem and relate it to a learning goal or target. Predict a link to teacher practice. |
Developing a Purposeful Data Analysis System
After your team selects what data to analyze, the next decision is how your team will analyze the data. By establishing a system, teams can be efficient when looking at data. Three important elements need to be considered:
- meeting guidelines,
- a meeting protocol, and
- a meeting agenda.
Meeting Guidelines
Setting meeting guidelines helps teams focus on their goal and shared values. Meeting guidelines should be
- Individualized to the group.
- Overarching thoughts and considerations about how the team will approach the data.
- Approached differently from norms, which address basic codes of behavior.
Guiding Questions
- What do we expect students to learn?
- How will we know students are learning?
- How will we respond to students who are not learning?
Sample Meeting Guidelines
- We value student outcomes as important for improving achievement.
- We are accountable for evaluating and modifying our instructional practices in ways that meet students’ needs based on the data.
- We work collaboratively because we know it helps us to better understand our students’ learning needs.
Meeting Protocols
A meeting protocol guides teams through specific data analysis steps. Using a protocol that includes goals and a step-by-step process ensures data analysis is more thorough and consistent. In this sample data meeting agenda, each step is an element that will help the team dig into the data; it’s their data analysis protocol embedded into the meeting agenda.
Sample Data Meeting Agenda/Protocol
Meeting Agenda
A meeting agenda outlines the flow and goals of the meeting. A meeting agenda should
- Keep the team on track during the meeting.
- Include talking points.
- Address team questions.
- Be collaboratively developed.
- Be accessible to team members prior to the meeting.
- Change from meeting to meeting (guidelines and protocols generally do not change from meeting to meeting).
Review the Sample Meeting Guidelines, Protocol and Agenda Handout, and reflect on the strengths and needs of your teams’ current Data Analysis System.
