Data Collection: Is it all in your head?

I want to backtrack for a minute and quickly hit informal data collection. In the "Data Driven Series" over the past weeks, I discussed many different types of student data that can be used to inform instruction and I think observed data is something that deserves a little more credit (and clarification). 

When we talk data, most teachers' brains jump immediate to standardized and summative testing- the big stuff. Of course tests have a time and a place to be and should be used, but it's really the formative and observational data that play the greater role in day to day planning and adjusting of instruction. With that said, the method in which you collect your data can be just as important as the data itself. If you're one who thinks all of your student data is safely in your head, here's my soapbox: 

While these smaller data snippets are generally informal, the formal collection of this data is beneficial to you and your students. You cannot (or at the very least are highly unlikely to) keep it all straight if you only keep it in your head. 

Over the years that I have been teaching, a consistent theme has emerged- teachers believe that they "just know" what their students need and how they are doing. I'm not going to argue that teachers aren't among the most observant and intuitive group of people on this planet; however, if you are only keeping it all in your head, then you are taking up valuable working memory space and you are probably doing your students a disservice. Yes, there are some things that we "just know"- Johnny needs to have an audio book, Susie needs to do her work on paper instead of the computer, Sally needs an environmentally appropriate fidget and prioritized seating, Steve needs a check-in every 5 minutes during independent work time. These are in your head things. But these things are not all the things. 

When it comes to tracking student progress and using data to inform instruction based on that progress, there is simply too much for even the most capable headspace to manage. If I asked you to break your students down into general above-on-below level groups, I'm confident that you could do that without batting an eye. What if I asked you to make groups based on reading progress on your current assigned novel? Progress on a recent Checkpoint based on quality of completion or amount of completion? By PFA scores? By students who are struggling with a specific concept? By students who have been absent x or more days during your most current project? To accomplish any of these grouping tasks, I hope we can all agree that you would need data based on a formal collection system. Even if it's something you are observing, the act of recording those observations in some kind of organized system is the step that many classrooms are lacking. Fortunately, technology has made life easier by auto-collecting data.  Aspire collects specific attendance data and summit auto-sorts all kinds of formative data, etc but there are still some things you may not have a system for and I have very simple, no nonsense, low prep, differentiated solutions for you! 

1) For my paper and pencil peeps- 

• Clipboard and roster

2) If you're more technologically inclined-

• Spreadsheet

That's it! You have your students names, what you're tracking, and then you record dates and create your marking system. ✅❌⭐️  

Practical application: 

➡️ I'm teaching English and want to record what page # each student is on at the end of every week to track students who are staying on par with my course reading goals. I might walk around with my clipboard (hi, paper/pencil person here 🙋‍♀️) and roster and ask students what page they are on and record in a column under the date. I can color code or symbolize or just write a page number for each student to indicate how far ahead/behind/on track they are in their reading. Alternatively, I could give each student a sticky note and instruct them to put their name/page number on the note to turn in before leaving class. I'd quickly run through the stickies and make my marks (to make sure everyone turned one in and determine who was missing). From this data, I'd send home a generic email to students who were the farthest behind, giving the current reading goal and instruct that reading would need to be done outside of class. I might also create reading groups based on reading progress for my next class meeting. 

➡️ During a math activity, students are working collaboratively but I know that some students aren't contributing to a discussion. I walk around with a clipboard/roster, listening to student groups, and mark off students who are actively contributing to the discussion and engaging with the work. The next time I do a collaborative assignment (or I might plan another collab activity for the next day with similar content), I pull the students who were the bystanders for a group with me. 

➡️ My students are working on a project and I need to know what component they are on. While they are working, I move through the room and check in with each student and make a mark by the date on my spreadsheet with their progress. The next day, students who are to a certain point work on one side of the room- they can listen to music and chat while they work. Students who are behind a certain point work on the study hall side of the room- independent and silent. I pull the students who are the farthest behind and give them preferential seating so I can easily check in with them the most frequently.  

Gone are the days of the spiral bound "teacher gradebook" but just because we no longer grade everything doesn't mean the tasks you are asking your students to do aren't important (and if they aren't important, then that's a conversation for another day). So much of your data is already tracked for you that identifying other pieces that you need to know about your students on the fly on any given day shouldn't be "one more thing"- it's an easy and important thing that you can do to that will help you AND your students thrive in your classroom. What's something that you're keeping in your head but would be better suited to be tracked in a formal system? The next time you find yourself in a situation where you don't have the data you need readily available to you, set up a system and give it a try!