Beyond the Numbers: Using Data for Instructional Decision Making, our latest literacy leadership brief, explores how data can be used to gain insight into student learning, either as a portrait to understand a student’s progress, strength, and future needs, a highlighter to understand instructional gaps and goals, or a springboard to more focused questions about student learning needs. Data collection must be purposeful: “Using data for instructional decision making requires thoughtful consideration of both the types of decisions that are being made and the types of data being used.”

Our next #ILAchat, which will take place on October 11, from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. ET, will focus on these ideas of data collection, what data educators are collecting, and how they are using this data to make informed decisions about student learning.

We’ve brought in educators Kip Glazer and Grant Carlos to help guide our discussion about making informed decisions.

Glazer’s interests focus on learning science, pedagogy, game-based learning, and literacy development. She has written blogs, articles, and book chapters on various educational topics such as hackathon, computer coding, teacher professional development, instructional technology, pedagogy, and game-based learning, including a Purposeful Tech column on our Literacy Daily blog. Her post, “Taking Control Over the Data Narrative” makes for a good primer to the #ILAchat discussion.

Grant is the executive director of Middle Schools at Cedar Rapids Community School District. Schools in his districted implemented a reading screener and diagnostic tool called iAsk to help collect data about how schools can better serve their readers, and led to a marked increase in proficient readers.

Join us on Thursday, October 11, at 8:00 p.m. ET, as we explore appropriate data collection and how to apply the data to make informed strategic decisions about student learning needs.