1. Next Practice: What are we learning about teaching from student data? Daniel Balacco & Katrina Spencer Quality, Improvement & Effectiveness DECS South Australia

2. 2 Learning from two SA Department of Education and Children’s Services (DECS) initiatives: The Supporting Improved Literacy Achievement (SILA) Pilot Project and The DECS Classroom Inquiry Project These projects are supporting DECS to explore next practices to inform teaching through the analysis of student data at the system, school, class and learner levels. Intro and Overview

3. 3 Improvement & Accountability Framework

4. 4 “….a process of systematic, rigorous and critical reflection about professional practice, and the contexts in which it occurs, in ways that question taken-for- granted assumptions.” Reid 2004 Inquiry

5. 5 DECS Inquiry model Central Office Preschools, Schools & Regions Plans, policies and programs Practitioner Inquiry Knowledge, insights & issues Government Priorities External Influences

6. 6 ‘…emergent innovations that could open up new ways of working, are much more likely to come from thoughtful, experienced, self-confident practitioners trying to find new and more effective solutions to intractable problems’ Leadbeater 2006 Next Practice

7. 7 Supporting Improved Literacy Achievement (SILA) Context / overview Key data sources –SILA Survey- teacher perceptions of literacy knowledge and confidence –Follow a student- observations of learning, explicit teaching, feedback and monitoring –NAPLAN and achievement data analyses –Teacher, parent & student interviews and focus groups What we are learning about teaching

8. Pitler & Hubbell- Changing Schools Summer 2009 Can we judge a school from one classroom?

9. 9 The knowing-doing gap at the teacher, site and systems levels characterised by: Lack of differentiation and personalisation Lack of coherent learner pathways R-7 Limited range of pedagogy in operation Low levels of student engagement Lack of systems to monitor and intervene in individual’s learning Limited use of data to drive decisions Key Issues Observed SILA- Learning from Practice

10. 10 The SILA coaching strategy is working to: Develop whole school, student-centred approaches to literacy teaching and learning, Improve teacher and leader capacity to support literacy teaching and learning, Effectively use data to analyse and monitor learning at the class and school levels, Build new connections with parents and community services to support learning, Achieve significant improvement of literacy performance for all students. Next Practice- moving forward

11. 11 DECS Classroom Inquiry Project Inquiry: How do we best support teachers to gather and use data to drive decisions about learners and pedagogy? “… learning begins with questions ” www.inquiry.uiuc.edu www.inquiry.uiuc.edu

12. 12 4 Stages: Planning Observations & Teacher Reflections Development & Implementation Documentation & Evaluation Project Implementation “Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known”. Carl Edward Sagan

13. 13 Data Collected at Class Level … The school has a common literacy data approach and therefore common data sets are collected. Differences between classroom assessments for several standardised assessments exist.

14. 14 Documentation Findings Data indicated in Site Learning Plan Does not indicate clear student learning outcomes for teachers Difficult to identify data needed at the school or class level to monitor achievement Does not describe measurable or time related terms- by when?

15. 15 DIAf Rubrics Staff know about what data are being collected. The ‘Why’ or value of some data was unclear. Data collection processes in place and accessible. The site is mostly operating at the strategic levels. Further questions regarding learner achievement data in some learning areas (e.g. Arts) were raised, as well as process/perception data.

16. 16 At the school level The school uses a wide-range of learner achievement data Analyses of state/national NAPLAN data occurs Progress of different cohorts is monitored At the classroom level Some achievement data is used to inform planning NAPLAN data helps to form student ability groupings Observations, questioning, rubrics, tests and student work are the key data sets used Learner information is recorded and stored in multiple forms and locations Deep analysis of multiple measures of data or systematic collection of process/perception data about pedagogy/learning are limited Planning & Observation Phase Summary

17. 17 Reflective Questions Q: How do teachers evaluate the effectiveness of programs/strategies via progress against standards and targets in the school plan? Q: What data perception/process data are collected that enables teachers to gather feedback about their own practice and performance from peers/learners to inform planning/pedagogy?

18. 18 Action – Connecting the site plan Development of classroom level targets occurred with the classroom teachers for display in class and to support monitoring of progress.

19. 19 Class Planning and Assessment The classroom teachers worked together to do cross-year level planning and design of assessment in SACSA Standard 3 – Number.

20. 20 Results – Class Targets & Assessment Pre/Post tests developed and administered Tests aligned with SACSA joint planning developed Test information used to develop whole class learning progress Tests and scores not directly comparable from Year 5  Year 6.

21. 21 Results – Class Targets & Assessment Charts displayed in Class B indicate progress towards targets measured by nos. of students achieving outcomes The pre-test (purple) chart indicates students prior knowledge of the outcomes The post-test (orange) chart indicates progress made in each learning outcome ANALYSIS: the class targets set appear to be realistic in majority of areas - most learning outcomes were achieved by about 85% of students. Class target

22. 22 What can we learn about teaching … Pre-assessment data provides important information to teachers about starting points for learning at the whole of class level It further enables the need for differentiation for individuals to be identified based on their prior knowledge/skill level It identifies areas for explicit teaching and skill development Collaboratively establishing learning targets connects students to the learning and enhances teacher, individual student and group ownership and motivation

23. 23 What can we learn about teaching … Feedback that is timely, specific, ongoing, structured and visible can maximise opportunities to ensure every child meets learning goals It further supports teachers to monitor and intervene for learning extension and support with individual students It supports teachers and students to report accurately on progress, growth and next steps/needs Timely feedback enabled students and teachers to review progress and refine directions during the learning process Establishing specific targets helps to ‘raise the bar’ and ‘reduce the gaps’ in student achievement

24. 24 Perception & Observational data

25. 25 What can we learn about teaching… Perception data at the class level was reported as highly useful to influence teaching and learning Affirmed to teachers the importance of engaging students in pedagogies that provide challenge, interest and support for learning tasks Confirmed effectiveness of the ICT/resources teachers provided to students in class Provided teachers with feedback on their enactment of the school’s quality teaching and learning principles Provided information to evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching program and identified opportunities for improvement

26. 26 What can we learn about teaching… Observation data at the class level was powerful for influencing teaching and learning Provided authentic feedback to teachers about which learning tasks best engaged students and supported learning Provided cues for trialling alternative teaching strategies and extending successful strategies in order to meet individual and group needs Next Practice: Observation data is time intensive to collect It requires level of professional expertise/knowledge Sharing this data requires professional trust/respect Potential to use this for students to guide own actions

27. 27 “ This project gave me insights and I did change my pedagogy and trialled ideas. I saw potential in using the classroom graph and capturing student engagement on video” (Year 5 Teacher)

28. 28 Next Steps for our System… Developing strategic whole of school approaches to data gathering and analysis incorporated within classroom teaching practices and connected to school plans. Developing teacher expertise to deeply analyse and interpret data within a professional culture Extending the involvement of students in this process to set targets, gather data and conduct observations to inform their own learning Ensuring the efficient access and storage of learner data so that it supports teaching practices and learning transitions from year to year

29. 29 Lessons Learned: Next Practice At the system, school and classroom levels an action-inquiry learning model stimulates new ways of working on complex issues of school improvement The use of data and evidence in the teaching and learning process impacts positively on student and teacher behaviour and supports learning outcomes Working in partnership with schools helps to incubate and trial successful practices and accelerate their spread and adoption Using this learning to inform systems policies and directions is more likely to positively influence student learning outcomes and the quality of teaching.

30. 30 Contact Details Daniel Balacco balacco.daniel@saugov.sa.gov.au Katrina Spencer spencer.katrina@saugov.sa.gov.au DECS Quality, Improvement & Effectiveness Unit www.decs.sa.gov.au/quality balacco.daniel@saugov.sa.gov.au spencer.katrina@saugov.sa.gov.au www.decs.sa.gov.au/quality