A Data Coach's Guide to Improving Learning for All Students is an exceptional resource for anyone who wants to create and sustain significant change in schools. Designed for potential data coaches who will facilitate school-based data teams, this book includes a CD-ROM with templates, handouts, PowerPoint slides, resources, and sample goals and agendas. The text is also ideal for school and district administrators who can use the process and tools to enhance results for students and promote equity in schools. Guiding educational leaders in unleashing the power of a collaborative approach, the authors offer detailed and technical guidance to help educators move schools away from unproductive data practices and toward examining data as a catalyst for systematic and continuous improvement in instruction and student learning.Educators and data team facilitators will learn to apply the Using Data Process model which has proven successful in: Narrowing achievement gaps between students in all content areas and grade levels Achieving strong, continuous gains in local and state assessments in mathematics, science, and reading Demonstrating significant, steady gains in mathematics in elementary, middle, and high schools Increasing collaboration and reflection practices among teachers An excellent resource for educational improvement project staff, education service center staff, foundations concerned with education, department of education personnel, parent and community organizations, and others who are concerned about building capacity and systems for sustaining improvement in student learning.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Foreword by Ruth Johnson Introduction 1. The Power of Collaborative Inquiry 2. Getting Organized for Collaborative Inquiry 3. Building the Foundation Introduction Task 1 Launch the Data Team Task 2 Reflect on Our School Task 3 Raise Awareness of Cultural Diverstiy Task 4 Commit to Shared Values, Standards, and Vision 4. Identifying a Student-Learning Problem Introduction Task 5 Build Data Literacy Task 6 Drill Down into State CRT Data: Aggregate-Level Analysis Task 7 Drill Down into State CRT Data: Disaggregate-Level Analysis Task 8 Drill Down into State CRT Data: Strand-Level Analysis Task 9 Drill Down into State CRT Data: Item-Level Analysis Task 10 Examine Student Work Task 11 Drill Down into common Assessments and Other Local Student-Learning Data Sources Task 12 Identify a Student-Learning Problem and Goal 5. Verifying Causes Introduction Task 13 Conduct Cause-And-Effect Analysis Task 14 Verify Causes through Research and Local Data 6. Generating Solutions Introduction Task 15 Build Your Logic Model Task 16 Refine Outcomes and Strategies 7. Implementing, Monitoring, and Achieving Results Introduction Task 18 Take Action and Monitor Results Task 19 Celebrate Success and Renew Collaborative Inquiry 8. Clark County, Nevada: Collaborative Inquiry in Action CD-ROM Tool Kit Guide References Index

Author Biography

Katherine E. Stiles brings 20 years of experience to her current work as a project director and senior program associate at WestEd, and is co-director of WestEd's National Academy for Science and Mathematics Education Leadership. As a senior staff member on Using Data Project, a collaboration between TERC and WestEd, Stiles co-developed the professional development program and provided technical assistance to the participating schools engaged in collaborative inquiry into data. She was awarded the Paul D. Hood Award in 2002 from WestEd for Distinguished Contribution to the Field. Stiles is co-author of the Corwin Press book, Leading Every Day: 124 Actions for Effective Leadership (2005), which received the National Staff Development Council's 2003 Outstanding Book of the Year Award. She has co-authored or authored additional Corwin Press titles, including Designing Professional Development for Teachers of Science and Mathematics, Second Edition (2003), and the Facilitator's Guide to Leading Every Day (2006). Stiles has degrees in psychology, education, and special education. Susan Mundry is currently deputy director of Learning Innovations at WestEd and the associate director of WestEd's Mathematics, Science, and Technology Program. She directs several national or regional projects focused on improving educational practice and oversees the research and evaluation projects of Learning Innovations. She is codirector of a research study examining the distribution of highly qualified teachers in New York and Maine for the Northeast & Islands Regional Education Laboratory and is the project codirector for the evaluation of the Intel Mathematics Initiative, a professional development program for elementary and middle grades teachers aimed at increasing student outcomes in mathematics. She is also a Principal Investigator for two National Science Foundation projects that are developing products to promote the use of research-based practice in science and mathematics. Since 2000, Mundry has codirected the National Academy for Science and Mathematics Education Leadership, which provides educational leaders with training and technical assistance on professional development design, leading educational change, group facilitation, data analysis and use, and general educational leadership, as well as access to research-based information to improve teaching and learning. Building on this work, she provides technical assistance to several large urban schools districts engaged in enhancing leadership and improving math and science programs. As a senior research associate for the National Institute for Science Education (1997-2000), Mundry conducted research on attributes of effective professional development. She served on the national evaluation team for the study of the Eisenhower Professional Development program led by the American Institutes for Research, where she worked on the development of national survey instruments and the protocols for case studies. From 1982 to 1997, Mundry served in many roles from staff developer to associate director at The NETWORK, Inc., a research and development organization focused on organizational change and dissemination of promising education practice. There, she managed the work of the National Center for Improving Science Education and the Center for Effective Communication, provided technical assistance to schools on issues of equity and desegregation, oversaw national dissemination programs, and co-developed the "Change Game," (Making Change for School Improvement) a simulation game that enhances leaders' ability to lead change efforts in schools and districts. Mundry has written several books, chapters, and articles based on her work. She is coauthor of the best selling book, Designing Effective Professional Development for Teachers of Science and Mathematics (2nd edition), as well as Leading Every Day: 125 Actions for Effective Leadership, which was named a National Staff Development Council Book of the Year in 2003. Her latest book is The Data Coach's Guide to Improving Learning for All Students (2008). Nancy Love is Director of Program Development at Research for Better Teaching in Acton, Massachusetts, where she leads this education-consulting group's research and development. She is the former Director of the Using Data Project, a collaboration between TERC and WestEd, where she led the development of a comprehensive professional development program to improve teaching and learning through effective and collaborative use of school data. This program has produced significant gains in student achievement as well as increased collaboration and data use in schools across the country. Love has authored several books and articles on data use, including A Data Coach's Guide to Improving Learning for All Students: Unleashing the Power of Collaborative Inquiry (2008, Corwin Press) and Using Data to Improve the Learning for All: A Collaborative Inquiry Approach (2009, Corwin). She is also well known for her work in professional development both as a presenter and author of articles and books, including Designing Professional Development for Teachers of Science and Mathematics (Second Edition) with Susan Loucks-Horsley, Kathy Stiles, Susan Mundry, and Peter Hewson (2003, Corwin Press). In 2006, she was awarded the prestigious Susan Loucks-Horsley Award from the National Staff Development Council in recognition of her significant national contribution to the field of staff development and to the efficacy of others.