Engaging Faculty Members in Data Analysis Activities

“People without information cannot act. People with information cannot help but act.” Ken Blanchard .

1. Reconnect people to a sense of purpose.

Ask people to answer questions such as “Why did you become a teacher?” or “What do we want for the students we serve?” or “What is the learning mission of our school?” Use post-its or partner talk to generate responses.

2. Establish guidelines and ground rules. Either engage participants in the development of guidelines and ground rules or ask people if they are willing to agree to a pre-established list such as:

Ground Rules for Group Work Each person gets a chance to speak. Each person listens while someone is speaking. Ideas are expressed calmly, clearly and succinctly. All ideas are accepted and valued. Comments focus on future possibilities and not on placing blame.

Brainstorming Guidelines All participants take turns offering ideas and insights. All ideas are recorded without criticism. People are never criticized. Ideas are not discussed until brainstorming is complete.

3. Introduce the data. Ideally, information should be presented in the form of a graph, which may be accompanied by a chart that includes the numerical data. Describe what information is included (the percentage of third grade students who scored in each proficiency category on the most recent PARCC), who is represented (total students, general ed only), and how the information is organized and depicted (yellow represents Approaching Expectations, green represents Meeting Expectations).

4. Engage the group in a data analysis activity. Emphasize the importance of being curious. Invite people to ask questions of themselves, the data, and each other. (What do I notice? Why might that be?) Data Analysis Activities

Creating an Affinity Diagram a. Provide each participant with a copy of the data (graph and corresponding chart with numerical data) and several (at least 10) post-it notes. b. Ask participants to examine the data and decide upon a focus area or problem. c. Write the problem statement on the top of a piece of chart paper (All students are not reading on grade level by the end of grade 3). d. Ask participants to brainstorm as many ideas as possible about factors that may be contributing to the problem on individual post-it notes using at least a noun and a verb. Ask that they do not use single words because this becomes confusing later on. Request a minimum of four ideas (post-it notes) per person. (Examples might include: Parents do not help students at home; Class sizes are too large; There is no reading specialist to assist struggling students; Teachers need more professional development; Materials are outdated and inadequate in number). e. Ask participants to sort the post-it notes into categories (that they develop). Encourage people to decide what to do with factors that could go in more than one category and items that seem to stand alone. f. For each grouping, create a header card (i.e. Teachers, Students, Parents, Programs) and decide on a sentence that could be used to represent the ideas contained in the category. g. Divide large groupings into subgroups, if needed, and create subheadings to represent these smaller groups. h. Complete the final affinity diagram by organizing the ideas (post-it notes) under the respective header cards. i. Ask people to reflect on the final diagram and share their observations with the group. j. Use “Las Vegas voting” to identify factors that will become a focus area for intervention. (For Las Vegas voting, participants express their preferences by allocating ten “chips” among an array of choices. For example, a person could put 2 “chips” on one idea, 3 “chips” on another idea, and 5 “chips” on a different idea. After participants have distributed all of their “chips,” the “votes” are tallied to determine the top choices.

Force Field Analysis a. After providing faculty members with an opportunity to examine data, ask them to identify the ideal state or optimal outcome at the top of a piece of chart paper (i.e. “All students are reading on grade level.”) b. Brainstorm the forces that are driving toward the ideal state on the left side of the paper. c. Brainstorm the forces that are restraining movement toward the ideal state on the right side of the paper. d. Score the intensity of each of the forces. Prioritize and select driving forces that can be strengthened and restraining forces that can be diminished. e. Distinguish between problems (challenges we can do something about) and conditions (circumstances over which we have no control). f. Identify strategies to strengthen driving forces and reduce or eliminate restraining forces.