|
June 16, 2003
A New Kind of Coach
In an age of accountability, here's how one district has recruited staff to become student information gurus.
By Amy Poftak
Mr. Williams, a fifth-grade teacher at Woodland Elementary, sits at the back of his classroom, reviewing last year's state test scores for his current students. Sally scored a Level 2 in reading, placing her in the 40th percentile. He's surprised she didn't score much higher because she performs at the top of his class. This child is a mystery to him.
The above scenario is a familiar one to many educators, and one of several being used in a new online professional development course developed by the Santa Rosa County School District in Florida. The four-week class, Closing the Loop, is one component of what may be a new trend in the burgeoning area of data-driven decision making: data coaching.
"Data coaches" are staff members who are student information experts. Coaches are trained in several areas:
- Understanding key assessment concepts and terminology (for instance, the difference between criterion- and norm-referenced tests);
- Knowing how to use special data mining software tools that allow them to explore key information such as the academic performance of specific sub-groups of students; and
- Learning techniques for interpreting data correctly.
For example, in the case of the fictitious Mr. Williams, he collected information about Sally such as test scores, health records, and interviews with other teachers. As a result, he discovered that Sally performs better on multiple-choice tests than on open-ended "show your work" tests, and he also learned that she has a seizure disorder that may be affecting her academic performance. All of this is significant information Williams can now use to develop appropriate intervention strategies.
Santa Rosa officially launched its data coaching initiative last December. It began by training its principals, district-level technology directors, subject-area coordinators, guidance counselors, and teachers to interpret data effectively and then make appropriate classroom decisions. They also learned to use the district's new data mining tool, Achievement Management System from TurnLeaf (www.turnleaf.com). This summer these school-based "data teams" will take a two-day train-the-trainer session that will prepare them to conduct a half-day data analysis course with their faculties, and other personnel, at the beginning of the school year. In addition, teachers are encouraged to take Closing the Loop to gain a deeper understanding of how to use data to drive instructional decisions (www.santarosa.k12.fl.us/opd/ClosingLoop/onlineclosingdetails.cfm?ID=85).
"The bottom line as to whether this is worth all the effort is that we maintain or improve student achievement," says Santa Rosa instructional technology trainer Eric Englert. Among the indicators they'll be tracking are dropout rates, FCAT scores, and the percentage of students going on to higher education.
Amy Poftak is executive editor of Technology & Learning.
Read other articles from the June Issue
Send a letter to the Editor in response to this article.
|
