Overview

This workshop was conducted with a group of 60 teachers and administrators, with the goal of analyzing their longitudinal data across various data sets to determine whether their current Continuous Improvement Goal was still appropriate or whether a new need had arisen with greater priority since the goal had been set. Individuals were grouped by subject matter expertise and guided through the Data Analysis Process outlined in Dr. Victoria Bernhardt's book, Data Anaylysis for Continuous School Improvement.

The Problem

The stakeholders created an organization-wide goal two years ago. In the intervening time, there has been significant staff turnover and sweeping demographic changes through the student body. Leaders want to confirm that the data still supports their goal and that stakeholders are working towards its accomplishment.

The Solution

After consulting with organizational leadership and brainstorming possible solutions, it was determined that a hands-on workshop with key stakeholders was the best solution. We wanted the individuals who were most invested in the data to be the ones to analyze it and determine whether we were on the right path.

Design Theory

This workshop was created with the participants engagement in mind and used Gagne's nine events of instruction as a framework. The attention of the participants was first gained through an attention getting device that allowed them to start considering the upcoming process. Norms and objectives were then introduced to set expectations. Background knowledge was accessed and participants were presented with the necessary information before being given guidance on their upcoming performance tasks. Stakeholders were then given time in their small groups to work through the data - identifying strengths, challenges, and implications. When this was complete, the data was aggregated through several methods. Groups were invited to share out their findings to the larger group both orally, and then through an online, shared document.

After analyzing the aggregated data findings, leadership will provide the participants with feedback based on their individual notes from the data dig. Performance will be assessed and any necessary follow up will be determined.