Data collection is very useful and important when it comes to teaching and learning, but it is often overlooked. In instances where teachers ask themselves what did we do before and how can we do it again, data saved throughout the years can answer those questions. Data can be useful for the students in cases where they need a sample assignment to help them decide how to model their assignments. Mandinach and Gummer (2016) defined data as more than just students’ past assessments, but any physical documents related to the class. Aspiring teachers can benefit from different types of data related to the subject they plan to teach and use those data to prepare for their educational careers (Mandinach & Gummer, 2016). In my classroom, I plan to produce data throughout my years of teaching and share it with those who can benefit from it, such as parents, teachers, and students.

In my documentation and communication plans, I laid out my plan to conduct quarterly teacher-parent conferences to build a relationship with them and keep them informed about their child. Part of my documentation plan is to fill out a “conference documentation form” during each meeting, jotting down the key information we discussed. I want to also give a copy of this form to parents as well, so they can have a reminder of what we talked about and can possibly share it with their kids. In my conference documentation form, I will ask parents a general question about how they feel about my class and ask for any suggestions on how I could improve their experience, as well as their child’s. This is important because I want parents to have a voice in my classroom and to know what is going on with their child.

For student-teacher conferences, I plan to fill out a sheet that guides the discussion on how students feel about the culture of my classroom. Meetings with the students are the most valuable source of data I could collect as a teacher because students can provide me with an honest answer or reaction to certain assignments or procedures I have come up with. The class is for them after all. For certain assignments I will give students a brief questionnaire about how they felt about the assignment and what could have been better or what they wish I would have done. Maybe they have good ideas they experienced in other classes. I believe my job as a teacher is to base my pedagogy and structure on what students like best about my classroom, and what does not work for them.

To make these data useful for future instruction, I would summarize my findings and articulate what worked and what needs to be improved (Mandinach & Gummer, 2016). I would do this practice at the end of the school year when I have a variety of data. This is important because it becomes more than an assortment of documents and notes that is only privy to my knowledge. Not to say that “dispositions and habits of mind” (p. 372) are unimportant to data collection, but they do not immediately spell out how the data could be useful towards future instruction (Mandinach & Gummer, 2016).

Being data literate and “data-driven” (p. 372) as a future teacher is important because it could be helpful with making adjustments to my own instruction (Mandinach & Gummer, 2016). Mandinach and Gummer (2016) stated that data literacy is more than just saving students’ assessments. There is more diverse data that could be collected and useful for many others. Suggestions and advice from teachers working closely with me about the environment of my classroom is useful information to store as data. All in all, I believe the best people to inform me on the climate and culture of my classroom are the students.

References

Mandinach, E., & Gummer, E. (2016). What does it mean for teachers to be data literate: Laying out the skills, knowledge, and dispositions. Teaching and Teacher Education. 60, 366-376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.07.011