To prepare:
• Read the Gonzalez-Shancho and Vincent-Lancrin (2016) and Mandinach et al. (2015) articles related to data collection and analysis in education. Reflect on the difficulty they describe regarding making data accessible to decision makers. With the volume of data available, how can users get the information they need without feeling overwhelmed by the volume of data available?
• Read the Mandinach et al. (2015) article regarding best practices and practices to avoid in the use of data. Are there other practices you would add to either list?
• Review the Fullan (2016) chapters for this module. Consider Fullan’s thoughts related to educational change and how, using the data and your role in the community, you might apply them to Grand City’s task force.
• In the City Hall location in Grand City, view the video of the mayor’s welcome to the education task force. The video includes introductions to several of Grand City’s stakeholders who are members of the task force.
• Review the Grand City demographic, community, and educational data, in City Hall in Grand City. From your perspective as an educational leader in the community—whether your expertise is in early childhood, K–12, administrator, educational technologist, or other specialist—consider what the important changes are over time in the data and trends that emerge. What trends are important for the task force to consider? What is the impact of the data on the Grand City community and its educational programs (both early childhood and K–12)?
