Data Driven Instruction
Data driven instruction has micro and macro effects on my instructional decisions. At the micro level that is data that effects my instruction for that period. At the macro level that is data the effects my instruction for multiple upcoming lessons. An example of micro level data driven instruction is how I monitor my student’s behavior and modify my lesson. During the Do Now I observe how my students are behaving. If the class starts out with a lot of chatter and energy, I will have the class practice breathing exercises before we move on with the lesson. The data I received from my students is based on how I assessed their behavior and then I made modifications to my instruction.
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Macro level data driven instructional decisions come after I carefully analyze data from a large assignment or chapter assessment. During this time, I create my assessment data graphs and review my mastery tracker to track student progress and make data informed instructional decisions. My school requires that I update my grade book every Friday by the end of the day and I submit my lesson plans every Monday morning before school. Grading before I create my lesson plans for the week helps craft lessons that truly meet my students where they are at.
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My sixth-grade science students recently took their chapter 1 quiz and the results were not what I anticipated. The results were extremely low, my first period had a class average of 48%. This was a clear sign to me that my students are not mastering the content. After analyzing the data from the chapter 1 quiz I saw a trend in data that demonstrated my students did not understand the role of the nucleus. For the upcoming week, I added remediation activities, quiz corrections, and extension activities. Remediation activities included a study guide and a guided reading activity. The extension activity I selected was a Strawberry DNA Extraction Lab. The extension activity targeted my students' knowledge gap and helped them develop an understanding of the function of the nucleus. This was my sixth-grade students first laboratory activity. The lab questions focused on the role and the function of the nucleus which is a large component of chapter 1. In addition to reinforcing content from chapter one, the laboratory activity increased student engagement and buy-in in my class. This created momentum and made my students more invested in my class. On our chapter assessment overall all of my classes performed better. My first period experienced the most growth the class average was 48% on the quiz and 71% on the chapter 1 assessment. My students experienced this growth because I used data driven instruction to reteach and revisit topics that my students were struggling with. Below is my lesson plans for the week illustrating the instructional decisions I made based on data from my students, a graph showing student performance on quiz one, a graphing show student performance on assessment one, and a video of my students engaging in the Strawberry DNA Extraction Lab extension activity.
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Please click this link or the picture below to see my students engaging in the Strawberry DNA Extraction Lab
https://www.torshtalent.com/video/3rYGaThBqd4jfdcJr
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This is data for my first period's first quiz. The average was a 48% indicating students were not mastering the content. The following week we did remediation and extension activities leading up to our chapter assessment.
This is data from my first period's chapter 1 assessment. Data driven instruction allowed to pinpoint where students were struggling and meet them where they are at. The remediation and extension activities, especially the lab, were particularly helpful for my students. They experienced a lot of growth and the average rose 23% to 71%.
Please click this picture to view a video of my students participating in the strawberry DNA extraction lab. This video shows my 6th-grade students participating in their first laboratory activity: Strawberry DNA Extraction. This was an extension activity designed to get students to think about the function of the nucleus. Students are fully engaged and shocked as they see DNA for the first time. The lab activity increased student engagement and buy-in in my class. The extension activity is a large reason for the growth my students experienced from quiz one to chapter assessment one.
These are the lesson plans that I created after analyzing the data from the chapter 1 quiz. I tailored my instruction to fill my students' gaps in knowledge and prepare them for the chapter assessment. The activities were successful and the average on the assessment was significantly higher. The lesson plans contain extension and remediation activities to further develop students understanding of cells.
This is an extension activity that my students engaged in to develop their understanding of cells. This activity required students to write a speech about stem cells. Students presented their speeches to the class which allowed them to practice their oratory skills. This activity targeted a knowledge gap in the function of cells.
This is a remediation activity that students completed in groups. The reading highlights similarities and differences between prokaryotes and eukaryotes, a topic that students struggled with on our first quiz. The reading comprehension questions match the rigor and language as the questions on the chapter assessment. Exposure to similar language and questions prepares students for future assessments. Additionally placing students in groups allows them to peer tutor each other and develop test-taking strategies.
This is a remediation activity that is a great introduction to cells. I selected this reading because it contains information that targets my students knowledge gaps and it prepares them for our chapter assessment. We read and annotated this reading together as a class. My students had little experience with annotations so I projected the reading on our screen and we annotated together. This helps students develop reading and annotating skills and allows me to highlight salient portions of the text. As we read I pointed out information that could have been used to answer questions on their quiz. Reading and annotating together helped develop my students' understanding of cells and prepared them for their chapter assessment.