Actionable data: Plotting robust but realistic timeframes for PD data collection

Short, intermediate and long-term change can look very different in both pace and types of indicator — not to mention the the complex task of balancing the existing demands of the school year with your program's data needs. Let’s explore how to build robust yet flexible calendars for data accountability:

Will we meet you in St. Louis? Ways to connect with KickUp at Learning Forward 2019

2019's Learning Forward Annual Conference is almost here! KickUp is thrilled to once again power the conference evaluation and present sessions with our innovative K-12 PD partners from across the country. Check out all the ways to connect with us over four days of building capacity and changing practice.

Putting PD Feedback Data to Work: Takeaways from Texas

Professional development feedback gets a bad rap. District leaders and PD directors often consider it subjective and shallow, focusing on verifiable metrics instead: hours clocked, attendances logged and sessions completed. But participant feedback can be an untapped treasure trove of actionable data, and innovative PD leaders are using it to formatively evaluate programs for in-the-moment success. We recently talked to the directors of two Texas districts about the ways they’re listening to — and using — post-PD feedback.

Actionable data: Turning subjective goals to concrete outcomes

How do you balance maintaining compliance, hitting district goals, and doing the real work of inspiring your teacher-leaders to achieve? It’s not by defaulting to the safety of easily-measurable but shallow metrics — it’s by sharpening the focus of the qualitative changes.

Actionable data: Logic models, teacher PD, and connecting activities to outcomes

When we talk about impact in K-12 education, the conversation inevitably turns to outcome data (like student test scores). And it's true that the ultimate accountability is to our students. But what about the work that comes between? What if there were a hundred tiny invisible factors feeding into those outcomes? What if there were a way to identify, measure, and align them from the start?

Case Study

Comal Independent School District

Hanna Schramm

Director of Professional Learning

In 2015, San Antonio-area Comal Independent School District launched Comal U, a new multi-day PD institute providing summer learning hours for each of the district's 1,300 teachers. KickUp worked with Comal to build out a custom event management and credit tracking system aligning with both state policy requirements and Comal’s own curriculum. With the time saved seamlessly managing, tracking and coordinating a high-volume event series, Comal U added 15 more sessions the very first year — and counting.

KickUp Closes $1.75M Series A Round

Founded in 2015 by two teachers who wanted to improve professional learning for all educators, KickUp's software-as-a-service platform helps K-12 school districts and PD providers schedule and manage job-embedded professional learning, assess program impact, and use formative data to drive better decision-making. Today, KickUp’s platform is used by more than 100,000 teachers. The Series A funding will be deployed to accelerate the company’s customer growth and platform expansion.

Blast walkthroughs: how to build protocols that make the most of observation data

One of the most powerful data collection strategies a district can employ is walkthroughs. They can provide clear, actionable feedback about how professional learning efforts are translating into the classroom. But making them effective requires setting up strong protocols and building a culture of teacher buy-in so that they can serve their purpose as formative assessment without feeling too evaluative to teachers.

Putting PD Feedback to Work: Question Bank and Strategies

The workshop's done, the catering is cleared, and your teachers and staff are headed home for a well-deserved rest before putting their new skills to work. How do you make sure they'll continue to benefit from PD training? And how to get actionable feedback that will make the next session even better?

Designing Data Structures to Build a Culture of Improvement at Youngstown City Schools

Our staff came together after Learning Forward's 2018 Annual Conference to sum up five of our biggest takeaways from conversations, sessions, and activity happening in Dallas. What trends resonate with your team?