Article

Be Your Own Evaluator

For teachers looking to improve their practice in real time, a free toolkit from the Institute of Education Sciences can be a valuable resource.

We’re living in the era of “big data.” New technology and advances in processing power mean that we’ve got answers to questions we once didn’t even know to ask. Schools have taken a while to catch up to master data collectors like Google and Facebook, but now, most teachers have access to all kinds of data on their students’ performance. And groups like the Data Quality Campaign are showing educators how to use data to answer essential questions, such as “In which standards and content areas do I need to improve my instructional skills?” and “Which of my students are struggling and need more support?”

But the problem with big data for teachers is two-fold. First, the data don’t always tell you what you want to know. Test scores don’t help you pick and choose instructional strategies. Second, sometimes it takes a long time to collect data. By the time students have taken a test, it’s often too late to change course in the classroom. This can be frustrating when you’re looking to improve your practice in real time.

Fortunately, you don’t have to wait for other people to give you data. Because you’re “on the ground” every single day, you are best positioned to collect and learn from data gathered from the learning laboratory that is your classroom.

In May, the Institute of Education Sciences, in collaboration with the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Central, published a toolkit designed to help teachers assess the effectiveness of their instructional strategies. It’s free, online and just might change the way you and your colleagues think about data. Since it only involves data that you already collect as part of regular student evaluations, it shouldn’t require any special research permissions from school administrators (though it’s always good to check).

The toolkit begins with the idea of an instructional improvement cycle. From the teacher’s point of view, this means setting up two groups for comparison. You teach one group (the control group) as you normally would. You teach the second group (the experimental group) with a new strategy. Then you compare the outcomes using a pre-programmed Excel spreadsheet and a reflection guide that teaches you how to interpret the results. (REL Central also offers the toolkit as Word and Excel files.)

Regardless of subject or grade level, you can use this toolkit to evaluate your instruction because the student-level outcomes are flexible. And what’s more, the toolkit can be used to reflect on and improve anti-bias instruction. For example, if you are looking to improve student outcomes selected from the Teaching Tolerance Anti-bias Framework, you could experiment with different strategies from Perspectives for a Diverse America to see which works best.

Shuster is an independent education researcher and evaluator who has worked on multiple studies assessing curricular and co-curricular reforms. 

x
Illustration of person holding and looking at laptop.

New Virtual Workshops Are Available Now!

Registrations are now open for our 90-minute virtual open enrollment workshops. Explore the schedule, and register today—space is limited!

Sign Up!