Data-Transformed Teaching
By Mamie Hall
I’m an English teacher, and self-proclaimed math dolt. Data is definitely not my first language and for many years I relied much more on observation and anecdote in my classroom than on any concrete measure. In the last couple of years, though, that has all changed. The catalyst for that change came when my school adopted the Summit Learning Platform and data became much more easily accessible for classroom teachers.
Prior to our adoption of the platform, data was something that was reviewed and valued mostly by the administration. It was something wielded AT teachers to either encourage or scold. We were given the “big picture” view of whether or not our students met growth expectations, but never had student specific data to help drive instructional decisions. Now, I have more data, and it’s revolutionized my teaching.
My role has shifted from leading the classroom to coaching the individuals. Each day, I enter my classroom armed with the knowledge of how each individual student did on the assignment they were working on yesterday. In the platform, I review their assignments (completed using Google Docs), give them individual written feedback, and tag them as “green” — successfully completed, the student can move on to the next assignment, “yellow” — needs some work, the student should review my feedback before moving on, or “red” — incomplete, the student needs some assistance to successfully complete the assignment. I can then use this information to organize students into workgroups and plan appropriate supports.
This has revolutionized how my classroom works. It is rare that students are engaged in whole group instruction. Gone are the days of lecture and universal assignments. On any given day, individuals or groups of students are working on learning content or improving skills based on their own abilities. One student may need two weeks and lots of practice and teacher support to successfully analyze a complex poem, while another may be able to do it in two days with limited support. That student is then able to use the the rest of those two weeks diving into reading poetry they find interesting or writing their own book of poems.
The result? Each and every student shows growth on those administrative-level measures. Struggling students are able to get the support they need to improve their knowledge and skills. Strong students are able to explore and grow their knowledge in deeper and more meaningful ways. In the three years I taught using this model, every single one of my students has “met or exceeded expected growth,” and I have the data to prove it!
Mamie Hall is a National Board Certified English teacher and Dean of Students in Durham, NC, at the Research Triangle High School she helped to start in 2012. Serving in the first cohort of Hope Street Group’s North Carolina Teacher Voice Network from 2015 through 2017, she is now a member of the organization’s Teacher Advisory Council. Follow her on Twitter via @RTHSMrsHall.
