Learning Analytics Collaborative

American School of Bucharest (by Andrew Pontius, IB MYP Coordinator, and Fiona Moss, Secondary Vice Principal at AISB) THE SCHOOL Number of students: Approx 950 Grades: EC2 - Grade 12 Number of faculty: 180+ Curriculum: IB (PYP, MYP, DP) Accredited by: NEASC, CIS, IB Joined LAC in the 2017-18 School Year  THE CHALLENGE What was the challenge the school was facing?   The original challenge was just visualizing data. We looked at IB DP Scores, but very little other data was consulted on a regular basis, and the few spreadsheets that were created were looked at only by the leadership teams. Why was LAC chosen?  Andrew had used LAC at his previous school (ISPP), and found that it had helped build some productive conversations in a multitude of ways. When shown to the then Director, the ideas of what else could be implemented grew, and we began working with LAC.  HOW IS THE LAC PLATFORM BEING USED NOW Who uses the platform at the school? Mainly used in Secondary by a ran...

LAC Case Study: International School of Phnom Penh (This post is by Jonathan Smedes , Director of Learning, Teaching, Innovation and Impact at ISPP) THE SCHOOL The International School of Phnom Penh (ISPP) is an internationally accredited day school located in the capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. The school hosts students from approximately 50 different nationalities and has a current enrollment of approximately 920 students from Early Years to Grade 12. Established in 1989, the school has grown from a small community school, servicing a few expatriate families, to a beacon school in the region, attracting students from all over Asia and beyond who make Phnom Penh home. It is the only parent-governed, not for profit, internationally accredited (CIS/WASC) school in Cambodia. ISPP is fully authorized to run the PYP, MYP and DP and is a member of host of other international organizations.    THE CHALLENGE In the Secondary School (Grades 6 to 12), the Support Services Team (S...

(This post is by Megan Brazil, Elementary School Principal, United Nations International School, Hanoi. The post was first published online in 2016.) In a ‘silo schools’ approach, teachers have generally been left to work independently on collecting, understanding and using their own classroom data to make decisions about instruction, planning and assessment. Many schools have not yet made the successful transition from individual to collaborative: to enable teams of teachers to collectively analyze  learning data in order to improve learning outcomes for all students. What we know to be true in many schools is that teachers still spend a disproportionate amount of time planning instruction, but don’t place the same emphasis or effort on finding out if the instruction really worked. Perhaps then, less importance has been placed on finding time for teams of teachers, coaches and administrators to take a look at the ‘back end’ — the learning that has taken place as a result of the pl...

We are awash in learning data in our schools. However, there remains a deep skepticism for quantitative data and, at the very least, a noticeable discomfort for sharing and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data about one’s own student learning. Teachers and school leaders who wish to begin looking at both qualitative and quantitative data in a systematic way for robust school improvement must begin to develop a professional culture that values talking about data of all kinds. Investing in data literacy and data conversations serves schools in fundamental ways: Embedding a collaborative learning cycle connected to student learning data and qualitative data as part of curriculum development and school improvement.  Developing a shared language and safe environment for collaborative and open-minded exploration of ideas that might challenge our existing mental models.  Challenging and influencing unproductive mindsets about student performance. All of the above serve to...