How a Single Piece of Paper Plus Mountains of Digital Data Helped Close Achievement Gaps and Identify Possible Students of Concern in Introductory Biology
Evidence-based, data-driven instruction requires an educator a) be open to the idea of iterating around data and b) have access to useful data. I will discuss my journey as a data-driven introductory biology instructor whose eyes were opened to inequities when a colleague handed me an 8 x 11” piece of paper with grades and demographic data from my course; the disparities were clear. This was more than 12 years ago. Intentional changes closed or narrowed achievement gaps for traditionally underrepresented students. Now, I continue to innovate my inclusive teaching as part of a collaborative learning analytics grant project, using student data gathered through numerous technology platforms. As a campus administrator, I’ve also had the opportunity to help design a dashboard for all instructors to access the kind of demographic data that first impacted me. My data story is one of intentional design, collaborative efforts, and ultimately, student success.
Speakers:
Kelly Hogan (Speaker) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Biology, Associate Dean of Instructional Innovation, College of Arts & Sciences
Jeff Greene (Speaker) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, McMichael Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology and Learning Sciences
