1. Using Excel more efficiently. I've used Excel for years but have never really learned all that it could do in terms of filtering, making graphs, etc. I learned many valuable Excel skills while completing the tasks for this course and completing the Data Overview.
2. Learning to truly dig into the data. As teachers, we constantly have data shoved at us. This course showed me how to break it down and truly dig deeper into the data in order to fully understand the story it tells.
3. How many data sources my school actually has. Completing the Data Inventory and Instructional Initiatives Inventory, I learned that my school really has several data resources. However, not all of them are utilized to their full potential.
For me, the most valuable field experience for this course was completing the Data Overview. This assignment required a significant amount of time looking at specific data for my school and I gained a much better understanding of how our students have been performing over the past three years. I enjoyed sharing this information with my administrators.
I will continue to apply what I have learned in this class, as I currently serve as a department chair and I am a member of the SIP committee and our local School Council. All of this positions involve the use of data, and I know feel much more confident and capable of using data wisely, and understanding what the data shows.
The biggest challenge that I foresee is just continuing to encourage teachers to use data to guide their instruction and to illicit conversations about our students and how to best serve them. Many teachers get overwhelmed with data, or say that they don't have time to really look at it. My hope is that I can encourage others to see the benefits of using data to drive instruction and promote learning for all students.