Data Driven Instruction

Now more than ever teachers need to use data to drive their instruction.  Let’s face it, teachers have always had to meet a variety of abilities in their classrooms.  The pandemic has only widened the gap as children have been taught virtually or had to miss extended blocks of time for quarantining.

Teachers need to make every minute count.  How can you do that?  Use your classroom data to drive your instruction.

How to Use Data-Driven instruction

When I was a beginning teacher, I didn’t always know how to do this effectively.  Making missteps in this area can lead to wasted instructional time and students not achieving mastery of important concepts. As I progressed in my career, I learned how to effectively use data to drive my instruction.

If you are not sure where to begin, I have you covered.

One way I use classroom data is to give pretests for any major unit of study.  The goal of a pre-test is to see which skills students know and which skills they will need to be covered in-depth.  

This is an instant time-saver because you can uncover the material your students already know and not waste ANY time on it.

Utilizing Pre-tests

After giving the pre-test, I always do an item analysis.  A simple way to do this is to create a tally chart that is numbered to match the test items.  As I grade each student’s test, I tally the test questions that they missed.  

When I am done grading, I can take a look at the items that were missed by most students.  First, I reread the test question and answers.  I try to decide if there is anything wrong with the clarity of the question or if there have been any mistakes on my end.

If not, I see if the skills addressed in those particular questions warrant a whole group lesson.  If I am only teaching in small groups, I would make sure that every group gets taught those skills.

Next, I look at the other test questions and take note of which students missed those skills using my never-ending stash of sticky notes. #obsessed

I take the post-it for each skill and plan my small groups.  Sometimes the skill will be picked up quickly and mastered in one small group reteaching session.  Other skills or concepts may take multiple lessons.

Assessments

Then, as my unit of study continues, I like to sprinkle in some quizzes.  These will help me determine if students are learning as we progress through a unit.

Of course, I am always using a variety of forms of informal assessment, but I’ll save that for another post!

If there is a student that is not performing well, I will plan one-on-one sessions with him/her for reteaching.  A great time to schedule these sessions is during morning work or right after lunch or recess.

Lastly, it is time to give the post-test.  This is when you find out if your students are ready to move on to the next unit of study.

If not, that is OKAY.

Let me say it one more time.

IT IS OKAY!

Sometimes we get caught up in the mountain of work that is facing us during the school year, and it is tempting to plow on.  This really does a disservice to you and your students.  Take the time they need.  Other topics of study will go faster than expected and it will all balance out in the end if you are judicious with your time.

Use pacing guides to keep yourself on track.

Reteaching

You may only need to do reteaching for small groups or individual students. Make sure when you reteach you think about how you can use a new method to teach the lesson.

• Can I incorporate a song?
• Am I making this hands-on?
• Did I use visuals?
• How could we act out a part of the lesson?
• Can we create movements to go with the concept?
• Are there vocabulary, background knowledge, or prerequisite skills that my students were missing?

Another way to help your struggling students is to collaborate with other teachers in your building.  That student may be seeing a special education teacher, an ENL teacher, or a Title One teacher.  They may be able to work with an aide or a parent volunteer.  Get creative when trying to find ways to reach those students.

If none of that is an option, consider your grade-level team.  Is there a way to do some combined student groups from another classroom?  You could reteach one skill while your partner teacher does enrichment for advanced students.

You can apply these ideas to your district or state tests as well.  The only problem is that you do not always get results back as quickly, so students may have changed by the time you are able to implement small groups to address the problem areas.

You can use these tests to see the big picture for your instruction.  Are there areas that your students are struggling in year after year?  

Consider these questions:

• Do I need to seek some professional development in this area to teach my students better?
• Is my curriculum weak in this area?
• What can I do to supplement? 
• Have I asked successful teachers in my grade level how they are getting the needed results?
• Is classroom management a factor in why I am not being successful?

If you are looking for easy behavior management techniques, read this post.

The Steps to Success

In summary, using data to drive instruction doesn’t have to be complicated!  Follow these steps to success!

1. Give a pre-test.
2. Do an item analysis.
3. Decide which skills/concepts the whole class will need.
4. Plan small group lessons based on the students’ needs.
5. Give quizzes and do informal assessments throughout the unit.
6. Give a post-test and repeat the item analysis.
7. Determine if you need whole class, small group, or individual reteaching.
8. Find creative ways to get those students the help they need.
9. Slow down to ensure mastery!
10. Use results from district and state testing as well.

Now that you are armed with this beginner’s guide to using data to drive instruction, you will know exactly how to plan your instructional groups.  The best thing you can do is never give up.  Here’s why:

According to adlit.org, “Words are usually learned only after they appear several times. In fact, researchers estimate that it could take as many as 17 exposures for a student to learn a new word. Repeated exposure could be in the same lesson or passage, but the exposures will be most effective if they appear over an extended period of time.”

Students need lots of repetition to achieve mastery!  Here’s to repeating ourselves. 😆

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