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Getting Started with Data Teams
Justin Baeder
Olympic View Elementary | Seattle Public Schools
www.eduleadership.org
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Session Description

How can teams of teachers use their meeting time to
work on substantive issues of teaching and learning?

Data teams focus teachers’ attention on student
learning by identifying a specific skill or topic with
which students are struggling, and collaboratively
developing a set of strategies to bring all students to
mastery.

This presentation will describe an elementary school’s
experience in starting data teams, and will examine the
issues surrounding successful implementation.
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“Best practices don't pay off until they
have been implemented and fine-tuned
in short-term, closely studied cycles.
Such empirical efforts need to become
the norm, the stuff of a new, more
professional culture of experimentation
in teaching.”
Mike Schmoker, Results Now
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The Instructional Core
Teacher
Content
Students
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The Instructional Core
 Too
much PD is removed from teaching and
learning
 Even
when we do focus on the teacher-studentcontent relationship, we don’t focus adequately on
instruction
 Teachers
practice
tend to avoid discussing instructional
?
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The Buffer
Teacher
Conversations
Buffer
Instructional
Improvement
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Data Teams & The Buffer
Data Teams
Teacher
Conversations
Buffer
Instructional
Improvement
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Doug Reeves’ Data Team Model

Detailed and robust process

Focuses on student proficiency on common assessments

10-step cycle, starting and ending with standards

5-step process for data team meetings
More info: www.LeadAndLearn.com
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Doug Reeves’ 5 Steps for Data
Teams
Collect and chart data
Analyze strengths and obstacles
Establish goals: set, review, revise
Select instructional strategies
Determine results indicators
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Four Recommendations for Getting
Started with Data Teams
Start Small
• Provide a basic framework for data teams
• Get people started
Focus on the
core
• Spend time actually talking about instruction and its
effect on student performance
Zoom in
• Be as specific as possible
• Select a concept or skill that can realistically be
taught and assessed over the course of a few weeks
Iterate and
refine
• Complete multiple cycles
• Adjust process in response to feedback
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Reeves’ Steps in Action
Collect and chart
data
• Pretest
• Previous assessments covering same skill
Analyze strengths
and obstacles
• Focus on factors you can influence
• Focus on concept/skill acquisition
Establish goals:
set, review, revise
• SMART goals
• Start small and stay focused
Select instructional
strategies
Determine results
indicators
• Not status-quo practice
• Agree on what strategies to implement
• Are we actually implementing the strategy?
• Is it working?
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Example: 5th Grade Math
1. Collect & Chart Data
Topic: Adding & subtracting fractions with like & unlike
denominators
Pretest: 30% of students proficient
Baseline Student Performance 2/5/09
Proficient students
• A.
• M.
• C.
Close-to-proficient
students
Far-from-proficient
students
• None
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
S.
J.
R.
J.
N.
M.
S.
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Example: 5th Grade Math
2. Analyze Strengths & Obstacles
Strengths & Obstacles
Strengths
Obstacles
• Students are able to add and
• Paying attention to whether the
subtract fractions with like
problem calls for addition or
denominators
subtraction
• Students understand how to find • Lack of understanding of need
the Least Common Multiple
for common denominators
when adding/subtracting
• Difficulty converting fractions to
a common denominator
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Example: 5th Grade Math
3. Establish goals: Set, Review, Revise

The percentage of students scoring proficient and higher on
the fraction addition/subtraction assessment will increase
from 30% on 2/5/09 to 80% by 2/27/09, as measured by the
teacher-made fraction addition and subtraction assessment.

Generic format:
The percentage of students scoring proficient and higher on
_______________1 will increase from __________%_2 on
______________3 to __________%_4 by _________________5 as
measured by ____________6 administered on ____________7.
1. Assessment name, 2. Baseline %, 3. Pre-test date, 4. Goal %,
5. Post-test date, 6. Assessment description, 7. Assessment
date
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Example: 5th Grade Math
4. Select Instructional Strategies

Teach Unit 6 lessons
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Provide extension work for students at mastery, and spend
extra time providing direct instruction and extra practice for
students not at standard – such as…?

Have students play fraction addition & subtraction game online
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Review 6.2 introductory mini-lesson with small group

Teach mini-lesson and do practice sheet on finding common
denominators
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Example: 5th Grade Math
5. Determine Results Indicators
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Post-assessment scores higher than pre-assessment scores
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Students are observed to go through each of the steps to add
or subtract fractions
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Completion of specified instructional activities
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Example: 1st Grade Math
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Example: 1st Grade Math
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Example: 1st Grade Math
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Example: 1st Grade Math
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Example: 1st Grade Math
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Example
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Practicing the 5-Step Process
Reeves’ 5 Steps:
Try It:

Collect & chart data

Consider a problem you face
as a leader

Analyze strengths and
obstacles


Establish goals: set, review,
revise
Record data you can
reconstruct from memory or
have with you
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Set a SMART goal
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Select instructional strategies
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
Determine results indicators
Brainstorm strategies for
moving toward goal
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List indicators of fidelity and
success
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Outcomes of the Data Team
Process
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Improved student performance in specific, targeted areas
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Reduction of “the buffer”
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Collaboration focused on specific instructional strategies
with proven impact on student learning (not just “penguins
or puffins?” discussions)
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Next Steps for Olympic View
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More regular meeting times
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Clear deadlines for when forms are due
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Regular reference to data team work in other forums
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Public posting/sharing of data
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Celebrating successes and addressing challenges
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Four Recommendations for Getting
Started with Data Teams
Start Small
• Provide a basic framework for data teams
• Get people started
Focus on the
core
• Spend time actually talking about instruction and its
effect on student performance
Zoom in
• Be as specific as possible
• Select a concept or skill that can realistically be
taught and assessed over the course of a few weeks
Iterate and
refine
• Complete multiple cycles
• Adjust process in response to feedback
+
Doug Reeves’ 5 Steps for Data
Teams
Collect and chart data
Analyze strengths and obstacles
Establish goals: set, review, revise
Select instructional strategies
Determine results indicators
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Q&A
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Thank You
Slides available at www.eduleadership.org