I have learned a lot about myself as an educator over the last twelve weeks as a result of experiencing the Data Action Model process. It challenged me personally and professionally in ways that I couldn't have possibly imagined. Here is a short list of "a-ha" or "light bulb" moments I walked away with:
- Data is not that scary and it is important:
- I was wholeheartedly terrified of this course in the beginning (Dr. Hansen can attest as much) because as far as I was concerned I had no "conventional" data to share. As an instrumental music teacher, my data looks very different from say a fifth grade classroom teacher's, and that realization alone was utterly vexing to me. However, moving through the Data Action Model showed me that I did and still do have countless worthwhile teacher and student artifacts to collect for analysis. Venables' process now provides me with guidance and a method to the madness.
- Data is more important to my classroom than I had previously realized; while this isn't an easy admission to make, I feel a weight lifted from my shoulders in putting it here. My classroom holds many opportunities for many types of assessment, and I need to do a better job of administering them and collecting data. I have come to understand through the Data Action Model that to build a case for the learning and instructional gaps that effect the students I teach, I need to cast a wide net. A wide net helps ensure that I will have things to notice and wonder about, things that I need to challenge and change in my classroom. It is only by analyzing many types that one can gain insights and make improvements.
- PLCs are great:
- Where PLCs are concerned, I was always rather indifferent to their existence and potential usefulness. I looked at building one as being mildly helpful in the long run, but mostly, as just another thing to have to do that would ultimately take up more of my already limited time. I held this silly sentiment until I created a presentation on PLCs for an assignment during Week 8 of this course. I realized quickly while making the presentation ... sort of ashamedly after eight weeks ... that online coursework is at its core one giant PLC. While group work has never been my favorite activity, I have learned to appreciate it far more than ever before during this class. I developed a very strong working and personal relationship with my Data Action Model partner, Judy. I learned a great deal from her and know that I will learn more as the program progresses.
- My PLC presentation can be viewed below:
- Reflection is important:
- One of the most rewarding aspects of completing my Data Action Plan was amount of reflection -- personal and regarding my students -- that I was required to do because it highlighted just how important it is to do it. More often then not, I don't have or don’t give myself time to sit down and truly consider what is really going on in my classroom, especially since I teach at three schools with three sets of very different students. The copious amount of reflecting during each meeting sometimes felt daunting; however, in the end, the payoff is so glaringly obvious that I appreciate ten fold the opportunities I have been afforded to reconsider events, thoughts, and feelings from a fresh perspective.
