You will enter the profession at a time when there is great emphasis on delivering better outcomes for students. The 2018 Gonski Review highlighted key areas of targeted improvement to meet the needs of 21st-century students. One identified key area is differentiated teaching and learning as a way of increasing student outcomes.
Data is an essential tool that enables teachers to apply tailored teaching strategies to meet student needs. All teachers need to know how to collect, manage and interpret data and how to implement knowledge from data to achieve better student results. However, when we see the word data, we often think of summative assessments and tests. But equally important are formative (think to inform) assessments such as observations, anecdotal notes and work samples.
Using data to drive instruction is an ongoing process that will lead to responsive and differentiated teaching and learning for your students. This assessment task requires that you explore focused literature to answer the following two questions:
What is Data?
How is the ongoing assessment process, using the data cycle, assisting teachers to make informed and explicit judgments about learners progress and achievement to improve learning?
