laundry basket

Whoever conceived of the concept of putting a laundry basket in a child’s bathroom must have been an educational consultant. It is a wonderful concept: provide a seemingly straightforward strategy and an efficient process to solve a problem. You can even dress up the basket as a nice wicker version or a stylish modern IKEA model, but guess what; it still remains a box that mixes wet towels with soiled clothes. The nasty reality is that you have combined two separate problems into a larger, smellier, mildew-invested mess. And will the children bring this toxic bin down to the washing machine on a timely basis? Ha, the conglomeration of mold and fungus rots away despite repeated attempts to harangue the children into completing the task. But, the problem is solved from the perspective of the teenager…“I put the stuff in the hamper like you asked!” And since you, being the responsible one or just exasperated from lack of progress, will eventually bring the laundry basket to the washing machine yourself, resulting in the adverse side effect of the children becoming comfortable knowing that someone else will finish the task, translating to the belief that a job halfway done is considered completed.

I pegged this as the work of an educational consultant because while the solution may conceptually be sound, the functional reality is often weak or even counter-productive because not enough consideration is given to the local conditions. New ideas and initiatives can be snazzed up in any fashion (wicker or Scandinavian) to help sell the idea, but no manner of education jargon or buzzwords will alter the habits of the staff if the process lacks some manner of immediate positive action (or if no time is specifically allotted to reflect on the data and to design alternative practices). Here is the rub, any multi-step solution/initiative should have the reflection and action phases engaged immediately in sequence following the data collection or the natural tendency to procrastinate will elongate the process so that someone else has to step in to facilitate closure (by that time the consultant is long gone and so the burden falls on you).

So, does the concept of a Data Team fit the parameters of this scenario? Don’t get me wrong, conducting frequent formative benchmark assessments is a worthy educational endeavor; but what to do with the data? Does it languish in individual teachers’ gradebooks? Does it get brought together in a timely and meaningful fashion? If you are fortunate to have a functional process put in place, then maybe you sort through the information and have it hung it up in the form of a Data Wall. But the key question then becomes: how does the data impact improvements to your school's instructional strategies? If the data does not influence daily decisions on core practices, then it just like that shirt hanging in your closet that you never wear, it is merely an item that triggers an occasional random consideration, but the end result is that no action is taken.

In an article titled, Leveraging Intellect, the authors advise that proper data collection systems are the “glue” that holds a network of people together. They also state that a proper data system allows organizations to “vault over normal learning curve delays” (p. 91). Charles Ruebling, from The Center for School Redesign, reiterates the need to focus on the use of data; “Research increasingly affirms that the key to school improvement is for school leaders to focus on the academic program (namely the written curriculum), the use of assessment data, and professional development” (p. 1). His 2003 study, Instructional Leadership: An Essential Ingredient for Improving Student Learning, found that leaders tended to be passive participants. So even they did not bring the laundry basket to the washer!

The ultimate goal is to enhance practice in order to increase student growth. The need is to devise a data collection system and timely analysis process in order to enhance classroom practices the next time the teacher engages the material. Just as the ultimate goal of laundry collection is to bring a load to the washer and dryer so that the clothes may be worn again.

Make a good day,
Tod

PS. Quinn, J.B., Anderson, P. & Finkelstein, S. (2005). Leveraging Intellect. Academy of Management Executive, 19(4), 78-94.

PSS. Ruebling, C.E. (Spring 2003). Instructional leadership: An essential ingredient for improving student learning. The Educational Forum, 68(3), 243.

PSSS. Website at University of Saskatchewan listing a great collection of articles on instructional leadership: https://library.usask.ca/courses/EADM_820/200907/ANY/readings

PSSSS. A classic MayTag washer repairman TV commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7z6AKPGDZ4&feature=related