Strategies 9 and 10:
Strategy 9 is about reviewing assessment data to plan instruction. By reviewing assessment data teachers can change, modify, or examine their current teaching practices. When assessment is reviewed it can ultimately help improve student achievement. The chapter goes on to explain how a literacy coach can conduct an assessment meeting. I liked the agenda given. I also like the emphasis on managing time. Having someone keep time is crucial. It keeps the meeting flowing and keep everyone on track. The discussion questions help guide the meeting too. It was very straight forward.
Strategy 10 is very similar to 9, but it's more specific. With this strategy, the teacher examines specific student work not an assessment, yet can include assessments/test. Routinely examining student work should be a common practice. Sharing work of students with other teammates and coaches helps have a new set of eyes to see if teaching practices are helping students meet their goals of learning. As a group, you use a critical eye to examine the work to determine not only if the students are meeting the standard, but if the teacher needs to tweak their instruction. The chapter gives 5 guiding questions that should be asked when examining work. These questions keep the group on track.
How do you think these strategies support each other in program improvement?
These strategies are very similar to me. Strategy 9 seems to be broader, like you are looking at the assessment as a whole to see trends. Strategy 10 is more student driven by looking at the individual. Each strategy meets different needs, yet both strategies need to be implemented to see true improvement.
What are the strengths and challenges of doing each, do you think, in your setting?
I will begin with challenges. I think a big challenge is finding the time. Assessing data doesn't seem to be as big a time issue as examining student work. I think most schools implement an assessment data review one way or another. It's easy to look at assessments and quickly see where the holes are in teaching instruction. I think finding the time to assess student work is more difficult. To have this strategy work, I would suggest only bring one student at a time and the one who needs the most help. Strengths of these strategies, especially when meeting in a group, is that a fresh set of eyes can see things you can't. As a teacher you can feel defeated by trying to come up with ideas on your own. By working with a group there are lots of ideas you might not have thought of. Another strength is if the agenda is implemented with each, the time is used efficiently. I think in the past the reasons these strategies haven't been as successful in my settings were because people got off topic. At times it was a grip fest. We needed to appoint positions and have an agenda. When I'm a literacy coach, I think I might bring a poster with the agenda on it and give everyone a job title: time keeper, strategy recorder, etc. This will keep everyone on track.
How would they help the faculty you surveyed to make change?
I'm not sure if the school I surveyed in using strategy 10. I do know they were implementing data teams and meeting with grade levels. I think assessing student work would help look deeper into a child's struggles along with looking at the assessment data. Seeing their work would help the team make more specific changes for that specific child. I think when RTI meetings are happening, student work is brought to the meeting, but I don't think student work is the main focus. I think having meetings that used the work as the main focus would be more helpful.
If I was the literacy coach at the school I surveyed, I would sit in on these meetings and take notes. I would write down common challenges I heard and possibly develop a PD based on those concerns.
Questions:
Does your school setting use data assessment to change instructional teaching? Have you ever used student work as the main culprit for change?
