LIBRARY SEARCH: RESULTS

The purpose of this article is to discuss the importance of educators knowing how to use data effectively. Love maintains that despite having a wealth of data available, many teachers are not trained to work with or understand school data, often leading to superficial and ineffective analysis. She discusses The Using Data Project, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), which helps math and science educators develop the ability to examine, understand, and analyze data and then draw appropriate inferences from the results. Love describes how select teachers attend a series of workshops to become “data facilitators” where they learn to understand, examine and interpret data. The data facilitators then bring their new skills to their schools leading data teams through analysis, supporting team collaboration, and showing how findings can be used to improve school and student performance. Love maintains that The Using Data Project is an effective way to facilitate data use, engage teachers in discussions about data, and build a culture of data use at the school level.