For the last 20 years or more, we have expected every leader to be “data-driven.” If they don’t claim to ground decisions in data, then it is assumed they are just making up what they want to do. Despite the chatter about data, I have found those who make the strongest claims to be data-driven Read More
Category: Using Data
Elevator Pitch on Error
In science, we make our living as it were by measuring. As a human activity, measurement involvessome errors. When a making measurements, there are (usually) three potential sources of error: The person who is making the measurement could make a mistake. The same person who measures the same thing more than once is likely to Read More
On Resources
As researchers and seekers of information, we depend on words, images, and other media created by others. Not all resources we encounter in the 21st century can be considered of equal worth. While differentiating “fact” and “opinion” cannot be done with reliability, researchers select information from some sources rather than others. This page identifies resources Read More
Completing Your Data
As an undergraduate student studying botany, I got quite good at using dichotomous keys. Mine is still on my bookshelf and the $40.00 price tag is still attached (it was among the most expensive books I bought during my studies). It is almost 800 pages of plant descriptions along with either or questions. Does the Read More
What Should We Be Teaching About Research
Research is difficult, but highly engaging, work. By having students ask questions, and answer those through their research, the purpose of the work becomes more clear and the work is more interesting. Allowing students to define problems and refine questions make this difficult work more engaging. Research requires one to follow recognized protocols that make Read More
On Research Literature
Here is one more post culled from old materials I am cleaning out. When I last taught educators who were emerging researchers, I used this to help them navigate the information sources we encounter: As researchers and seekers of information, we depend on words, images, and other media created by others. Not all resources we Read More
Three Points About Data and Standards
The purpose of education is to help people learn. Learning is a natural physiological process of the human brain and the nature of those processes define the rules within which educators (and education policy makers) must play. While it might be convenient for policy makers to define test scores as a measure of learning, those Read More
On Research
The term “research-based” is one of those that has been so broadly used that it is no longer meaningful. It seems one can do about anything they want and they apply the “research-based” label to it. Just what must one do if they want really be doing research? Here is my definition of research: Research Read More
On Data Collection
“Data” has become the mantra of educators for more than a generation. In my observations of these folks, there seems to be little regard for the quality of our data or the ethics whereby it is collected. Forty years ago, the OECD published eight principles of data collection that still provide good guidance… as long Read More
Being Data-Driven is Nothing to Brag About
Being Data-Driven is Nothing to Brag About (c) 2016 Dr. Gary L. Ackerman “Data-driven” has been the mantra of educators for the last generation. This mantra captures the practice of using students’ performance on tests to make instructional decisions. This model can be criticized for several reasons including the dubious reliability and validity of tests, Read More