Using data to inform instruction

By DR. NICOLAS TANCHUK

In partnership with PS114 in Brooklyn, our team recently conducted a needs assessment focused on two areas:

1. the possibility of a curricular and pedagogical shift based upon recent work in cognitive psychology, and
2. deepening and better contextualizing data use within teacher teams to guide decisions made about how and when a teacher uses more or less direct modes of instruction.

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As a result, we saw PS114’s pass-rate on NYS tests double from 16% to 32%, and a marked increase in performance among the school’s lowest achieving students, who are also among the city’s lowest third. For the diverse students of this school, many of whom experience economic hardship, and the teachers who work hard to meet their needs each day, this growth was a great source of hope and inspiration.

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Here’s how we approached the project:

To address the first goal, we ran pilots using units from JUMP Math, a curriculum written by Dr. John Mighton, an award-winning playwright and mathematician from Canada. After a successful pilot in the 2016-17 academic year, we expanded our use of JUMP to all of PS114 in the 2017-18 school year. Relative to state targets, the school improved from well below the city average for impact on student achievement to above average.
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To address the second area of focus, we ran cycles of inquiry — a structured, ongoing process of goal setting, intervention, data collection, analysis, and adjustment of plans — with teacher teams to ensure that we were optimizing our use of the curriculum.

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As you improve your own practice, consider:

• Looking to the findings of cognitive psychologists — especially the large body of work on cognitive load theory — to critically analyze recommendations from districts and consultants. If you or your consultants don't know this literature, there's an important piece of the instructional design research that’s missing.

 

• Finding curriculum developers who are committed to education and rigorous research first and to profits second. JUMP is a non-profit started by a mathematician and has participated in two large Randomized Control Trials, the second funded by the US Federal Government. Many curriculum developers do not engage deeply with the cognitive science literature nor with subject area content, even when they advertise otherwise;

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• Engaging reflectively as educators through cycles of inquiry to contextualize literature to fit your context and the developmental stage of your students. Research can help you avoid some errors, but optimizing the impact of research always requires figuring out what, when, and how much of any intervention best serves the values and goals your school aims to advance for its actual learners. New York State's metrics reward schools that create a distribution of student achievement that is egalitarian and progressing toward higher levels of achievement. By supporting students who are most marginalized and who often count up to five times in these metrics schools can both foster greater educational justice and a better culture of achievement and excellence.