{"id":1647,"date":"2017-01-25T08:00:25","date_gmt":"2017-01-25T08:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/braindevs.net\/blog\/blog\/?p=1647"},"modified":"2017-12-30T16:49:23","modified_gmt":"2017-12-30T16:49:23","slug":"without-data-youre-just-another-person-with-an-opinion-%e2%80%95-w-edwards-deming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learningandthebrain.com\/blog\/without-data-youre-just-another-person-with-an-opinion-%e2%80%95-w-edwards-deming\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWithout data, you’re just another person with an opinion.\u201d\u2015 W. Edwards Deming"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Data Informed Instruction<\/span><\/p>\n

Early Steps<\/b><\/p>\n

There are a few key steps to effectively incorporating MBE (Mind, Brain & Education) ideas and concepts into one\u2019s daily teaching routine. The <\/span>first <\/b>key is the low hanging fruit, namely, educating oneself on the research about learning and the brain and what the research suggests are effective pedagogies. If you are reading this blog, you are probably already familiar with one fantastic resource for such information (shameless plug warning!)) – <\/span>www.learningandthebrain.com<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

There are certainly plenty of resources out there and I strongly encourage you to seek them out. This first step is critical and has become easier in the last few years as more and more of the actual research is available online and more and more has been written for teachers as the target audience.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>second<\/b> key step involves actually trying something new in your classroom, whether it is using more <\/span>retrieval practice<\/span><\/a> exercises [1], incorporating movement [2]<\/span>\u00a0or perhaps shifting to a more student-centered model for class discussions [3]. <\/span><\/p>\n

Quantum Leaps<\/b><\/p>\n

But wait, your work is not done! Trying something new based on the conclusions of a research paper you read is certainly a big step but how will you know that the change you made was effective? What is your evidence that the change you incorporated actually improved student learning? THIS is the difficult part. <\/span><\/p>\n

Analyzing the impact or effect of a new pedagogy is quite complex and requires the collection and analysis of data. While you may not be able to perform a double-blind controlled experiment–the gold standard in scientific research–you CAN analyze the impact of your intervention and use data to inform your teaching practice going forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

So how do you collect data that can help you improve your \u00a0teaching practice? <\/span><\/p>\n

I have found that one of the most useful tools for collecting data is one of the easiest to set up and use, but is frequently one of the least likely to be used by teachers – <\/span>videotaping your class<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Watching a videotape of your class and objectively analyzing the tape for evidence of improved learning can be extremely enlightening, illuminating and humbling. <\/span><\/p>\n