Data and Teaching

This timely book explores what data use in teaching really is, how it works in theory and practice, and why it sometimes fails to achieve expected goals. Each chapter includes a discussion of a new direction that schools and teachers can take to ensure that data use in teaching actually spurs growth in learning.

“"McDonald, Isacoff, and Karin offer a rich and authentic look into how student performance data are currently understood and how they are being used by teachers and school leaders in schools serving many students living in poverty. Additionally, they offer some general guidance for those school leaders aiming to engage in more effective related practices. In doing so, they communicate well the notion that effective data use in teaching is a highly worthwhile, but also a highly complex and resource-intensive, endeavor. We anticipate that Data and Teaching: Moving Beyond Magical Thinking to Effective Practice will be an engaging and thought-provoking read for school leaders looking to more effectively integrate data into their teaching practices." Teachers College Record”

" an accessible, illuminating read that will prove valuable to school leaders, entrepreneurs, teachers, and researchers. The school portraits featured are captivating and complex, and the "New Direction" sections sandwiching each of these portraits offer pithy, actionable avenues for administrators and practitioners looking to shift the way they do things in schools"

--Harvard Educational Review

"McDonald, Isacoff, and Karin offer a rich and authentic look into how student performance data are currently understood and how they are being used by teachers and school leaders in schools serving many students living in poverty. Additionally, they offer some general guidance for those school leaders aiming to engage in more effective related practices. In doing so, they communicate well the notion that effective data use in teaching is a highly worthwhile, but also a highly complex and resource-intensive, endeavor. We anticipate that Data and Teaching: Moving Beyond Magical Thinking to Effective Practice will be an engaging and thought-provoking read for school leaders looking to more effectively integrate data into their teaching practices."

― Teachers College Record

" Data and Teaching: Moving Beyond Magical Thinking to Effective Practice is a guide created especially for professionals and policymakers in the field of education working to improve underachieving schools...highly recommended, especially for public and college library education shelves."

-- Midwest Book Review

Joseph P. McDonald is emeritus professor of teaching and learning at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development and coauthor of The Power of Protocols, Third Edition.

Nora M. Isacoff is a cognitive psychologist and learning specialist in private practice.

Dana Karin is a middle and high school teacher now pursuing a PhD in teaching and learning at New York University.

Data use in teaching is at the heart of current educational policy and school improvement efforts. Dispelling magical thinking that it is a simple solution to underachieving schools, this timely book explores what data use in teaching really is, how it works in theory and practice, and why it sometimes fails to achieve expected goals. Drawing on their research in nine of New York City?s most poverty-impacted schools, the authors dive deep into school systems and routines, as well as into teachers? practices and students? experiences. They also zoom out to capture the larger currents that have made this school reform strategy so prominent today. Each chapter includes a discussion of a new direction that schools and teachers can take to ensure that data use in teaching actually spurs growth in learning. This resource extracts lessons from both chaotic and productive data implementation in order to inform practice and fulfill hopes for better schooling, richer teaching, and deeper learning. Book Features: Provides practical guidelines for effective use of data in schools and classrooms. Includes vivid descriptions and relatable narratives. Explores in rich detail what teaching is and how it works. Combines insightful ideas and powerful stories with concrete steps for improvement.

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