On February 8th our District Data Team will meet to analyze and review mid-year data. The Iceberg Model provides not only a picture of what needs to be considered when determining where a student is, but more importantly 'why?'. What are all the underlying factors that might be causing the success or the lack of progress? The presenters had a slide that read, "If you answer 'why?' you'll never get to 'how?' and 'what?' I have always said that teachers need to be diagnosticians if they are going to meet every child's needs and bring them forward. This is an educator's important work. When we determine the 'why' when analyzing student performance, we will be able to determine 'what' we need to do and 'how' we can enhance student achievement.
The Iceberg model shows the big data as the what is under the surface, and really what is bigger and more important. Little Silver teachers collect multiple data to show a complete picture of the students, and this data helps us to figure out why they are where they are. It is crucial that we delve deep and see what is beneath what we see with our eyes. We can determine areas of strengths and weakness, such as a student reads with fluency and accuracy but the assessments show a weakness in vocabulary- which is impacting comprehension.
So, our analysis brings us to what and how to change or inform our instructional practices. We need to keep learning to find new methods to teach. Educators are learners at heart! When we reflect on student data, we need to explore new methods and strategies to move both our instruction and our students' achievement forward.
Two books by Jennifer Serravallo are helping to identify and determine instructional strategies that work: Reading Strategies Book and the recently released, Writing Strategies Book.
Click on the images below and watch Jen Serravallo as she walks you through the books. These resources will improve your skills as you create goals and implement instructional strategies and help us answer why and get to the how and the what!
English Language Arts
http://www.rtinetwork.org/essential/tieredinstruction/tier1/effectiveteaching
http://www.interventioncentral.org/academic-interventions/reading-fluency/sc
hool-wide-strategies-managing-reading
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/effective-reading-interventions-kids-learning-disabilities
Math:
http://educationnorthwest.org/resources/mathematics-interventions-what-strategies-work-struggling-learners-or-students-learning
http://www.interventioncentral.org/academic-interventions/math/school-wide-strategies-managing-mathematics
http://www.mathwire.com/strategies/intervention.html