Continuously Curious with Informal Data

Informal data gathering is information you gather by intentionally being curious about learners and learning at your school or site every chance you get.  Informal data gathering is, by definition, casual, unstructured and non-standardised and is gathered through interactions and experiences.

Stop and think for a moment. 

Where and when do you already gather informal data? 

Make a quick mental list.  We will come back to that list later. 

To our minds, informal data gathering sits somewhere between intuition and formal data gathering. 

Intuition is something human brains are wired to do. Sometimes referred to as ‘gut’ or ‘instinct’’, it is  a powerful form of pattern recognition and is more reliable if the person being intuitive has experience and expertise with the focus area.

Think back to the start of your career in education.  What might be the differences between your intuition now and then?

Intuition, as part of determining if you are having an impact on learners and learning, has the potential to bring nuances and context that some forms of data can’t capture.  These include cultural factors, human behavior or emerging patterns that are not yet ready to be measured.  However, intuition on its own, as a way to determine if schools and sites are having the desired impact on student learning and learning experiences, runs the risk of bias and incomplete or overly simplistic thinking.  

Formal data gathering includes tools, processes and strategies not new in the world of education; systematic and structured with processes for implementation to ensure reliability and validity.  Think national, state or system assessments, moderation processes, agreed assessments or assignments with a shared rubric or criteria. 

Between these two ways of gathering information sits informal data gathering.

Another way of thinking about gathering informal data is ‘being continuously curious’. What are you seeing?  Hearing?  Feeling? It is observing and noticing interactions and actions. It is asking lots of questions and then encouraging the speaker with ‘Tell me more.’

• What are you learning about…..?  Tell me more…

• How are you finding….? Tell me more…

• What do you think about…? Tell me more…

• How could we improve…? Tell me more…

• What’s missing from…? TMM...

• What might be different if…? TMM...

• What wouldn’t you change about….?

• What are you noticing about….?

• Can you give me some examples of….?

What might being continuously curious and gathering informal data look like in your school or site?

Earlier in this blog we asked you to stop and make a quick mental list of where and when do you already gather informal data. Which of these interactions and experiences were on your list?  Gathering information from and through;

• Staff conversations - informal meetings, staffroom conversations, impromptu chats...

• Parent/carer chats - at events, at school drop off or pick up...

• Informal student focus groups or surveys – in the canteen line, on the playground...

• Wander-throughs or Drop ins – listening to student conversations…

• School events –assemblies, parent-teacher meetings, sporting events...

• Observation of behavioural patterns – enthusiasm to enter a class (both teacher and student), tardiness...

• School climate – what’s the general mood or feeling, how welcome do people appear to be, what evidence is there of learning being valued...

• Social media and communication - newsletters, email, parent communication...

• Any others?

Whilst there  is no formal recording of the sources of data, informal data can be referenced as part of a school’s evidence story.  It is another piece of information which helps us determine our impact of learning and learners.

And like any form of data, it may create more questions and fuel your curiosity to find out more, informally or formally. 

Whilst informal data gathering can be spontaneous and provide a more organic, real-time understanding of a situation, especially in educational settings like schools, informal data gathering is ideally not left to chance. It requires a commitment by those gathering it to be:

1. Clear about what quality looks, sounds and feels like - yes, feels like!

   
   

2. Clear about other sources of data that the informal data may complement.

   
   

3. Planful in their gathering. What might be your reminder to 'go forth and find out'? Maybe a routine time? Maybe a 'question card' to remind you to ask questions and add TMM. (Remember what that was?)

   
   

4. Proactive in creating opportunities to share the informal data that has been gathered.  Some schools we partner with are making informal data gathering and sharing an agenda item at leadership meetings.

   
   

5. Prepared to question one's own potential bias and perspective.

If you would like to read some examples of informal data gathering, keep reading.

Otherwise, stop here and plan for your next informal data gathering.

You might start by listing the opportunities for informal data gathering. 

• When might you hang out at the canteen line? 

• When might you pop into classes?

• When might you next have a chance to chat with teachers or school families?

• What questions (and TMM) have you already thought of so they are ready to roll off your tongue?

Decided to keep reading?

These examples have prompt questions which you may like to use individually or with a team to practice thinking evaluatively AND consider the role of informal data in adding to the evidence story for this school.

This School is a K/P/F/ES1 (depending on your state) to Year 12 school. It has a dedicated Primary, Middle and Senior School.

Their goal for learners and learning is

‘Learners independently initiate and guide the learning process, knowing what to do when they don’t know what to do and self-monitoring their progress and next steps.’

Example 1

You attend a Primary School assembly, prepared to be curious, where the Literacy Coordinator and Year 2 students share their writing focus.  The Literacy Coordinator emphasises the importance of seeking feedback, multiple drafts, using success criteria, using examples and resources (like word walls and word banks) and learning from others.  The Year 2 students show multiple pieces of writing throughout the process from first draft to  published piece.  Year 2 students talk about and show the errors/mistakes they made and how they fixed them.  Year 2 students and the Year 2 teachers are ‘beaming’ throughout the presentation. 

This sparks your curiosity. To what extent are students independently initiating and guiding the learning process, knowing what to do when they don’t know what to do and self-monitoring their progress and next steps?

So, the next time you are doing a Wanderthrough, you pop into Year 2.  These are the things you notice.

• Students are making meetings with the teacher and their peers for feedback as shown on the sign-up sheets  and what students are actually doing  during the lesson – moving around the room to talk about their writing, working with partners, reading other people’s writing

• Students are using resources provided if they are stuck, such as the word walls/banks, peers,  writing buddies, examples, and mentor texts.

• Students were using ‘writing language’ to give feedback and ask questions about their writing.

• When asked, most students could say where they were in the writing cycle, how their writing had improved, what their writing goal or challenge was and explain the intended audience for their writing.

• There is a productive hum. 

• The teacher was not visible in the class at first glance.  It turns out they are working with a small group and  supporting students to use word walls/examples.  As you are about to leave they stop the class to prompt  self-questioning by asking, ‘What will be  most useful for you to do for the last 10  minutes?’

What conclusions might you make about where teachers and students are in relation to the school wide goal if your only source of evidence was the Primary School assembly?

How does the follow up Wanderthrough challenge or affirm some of those initial conclusions?

What other forms of data, informal or formal, might you use to check and challenge the data collected so far?

Example 2

You notice a display of Year 10 writing in the community library showing writing across the learning areas of Middle School English, History and Geography (three teachers).  The display includes the writing  process from planning (supported using AI), research, first draft, and the published piece.  Examples of student's self-assessment  of first draft and final pieces showing progress are also included in the display. 

At the Middle School Canteen line you chat with students and use some of your pre-thought-of questions and TMM

• What class did you have before lunch?

• What would make learning in ____ even more effective? Responses included:

  Science - more choice in who we work with (Tell me more…) We get allocated partners even if it is someone we know we don’t work well with.  Sometimes I’d like to do the prac on my own. 

  Geography - less talking by the teacher and more pracs. (Tell me more…) When we go on excursions and do our own measuring and stuff it is more interesting and I understand it more.

  English - more choice in what we read because sometimes the books are boring or not about something I’m interested in. (Tell me more…) When you get to Year 12 you get to choose books about a theme or topic.  I’d like that much more than one book that we all read. 

  English - less writing and more using technology. (Tell me more…) I think I would be more creative if I could use things where I can add sound and images.  

  Design - more time to go back and have another go at something. (Tell me more…)  When we do the reflection at the end, we have to say what we would change and do differently, but we don’t ever get to actually do it. 

  History - more connections with real people like documentaries and even people coming in so we can ask them questions. (Tell me more…) It is more interesting when you hear from people who were actually part of the history, or at least about real people who were there, even if they are dead. 

  Drama - nothing. (Tell me more…)  We have been working on monologues and it has been fun recording ourselves.  

• How do you know what to do when you are stuck in your learning? Responses included:

  We used to just ask the teacher but now we have a list of strategies and we have to work through some of them before asking the teacher. (Tell me more…) The teacher gave us a list and talked us through what each thing was.  Some were pretty basic like ‘Take a deep breath’ but some I still don’t understand. 

  In Maths we have been working through ‘unstuck strategies’ and some of them are really helpful.  (Tell me more…) My favourite is to look at the answer and work backwards. 

• What other ideas would you suggest as ways of getting unstuck? Responses included:

  Sometimes the best thing is to ask the teacher and it’s frustrating when they send you off to try the other things. (Tell me more…) I only ask the teacher if I am really, really stuck and it would be quicker for me if they could help me right then.

  I’d like to be able to google youtube clips and listen to how others solve the problems, like Kahn Academy, but we aren’t allowed to use our laptops because some kids cheat or do other stuff. (Tell me more…) I use youtube clips at home and in other classes teachers have given us a list of helpful clips.

• Can you give me some examples of how you monitor your own progress at school? Responses included:

  We don’t. (Tell me more…) Teachers do but we don’t.  You have to wait until you get back the assignment or get your grades.

  In Maths we have been looking at our pre- and post-assessment this year.  (Tell me more…)  We didn’t do it last year but now we do.  We look at our score and which ones we got right at the end compared to the beginning.

  In Design we have been doing this thing called self-monitoring. The teacher puts up the design process and we have to say where we are up to and what we need to work on next. (Tell me more…) The teacher knows what we need help with and if some people are getting behind. 

  In Drama we have been doing peer feedback to help us know if we are getting better at our monologues. (Tell me more…) You have to record your monologue and watch it with the person who is giving you peer feedback.  They use the checklist and give you feedback. 

You scan the newsletter and social media posts for Week 5 Term 1, in particular the student comments included in the posts:

• ‘I did four drafts and got feedback from the teacher, myself and peer feedback using the TAG model.  Each draft I got high-quality and each draft taught me something. Now I  know more about correct citation, the role  of the introduction and conclusion and how important it is to have a plan so you stay on topic’.  (Year 10 History)

• ‘My writing has improved since the start of the year because I have been able to keep refining one piece of writing rather than do lots of first drafts.  I am more confident that the spelling and grammar is correct. I have been able  to read my writing aloud to others to  see their reaction and get their feedback.  I have been able  to self-assess using success criteria and the examples from the teacher.’ (Y10 English)

• ‘It is much easier to see what you have to do and what you need to work on with the examples of source analysis. I am able to self-assess and ask peers to give me feedback.  It has taken a while to get good at peer feedback.  We have been practicing and getting feedback about our peer feedback  from the teacher and each other. We are also doing peer feedback in Drama lessons.’ (Year 10 History) 

• ‘We have been using peer feedback to improve our monologues.  It really helps having someone watch your monologue and give you feedback about what you are doing well and what you could improve.’  (Year 10 Drama)

Over the week you notice, by sitting in various places in the staff room and chatting to staff:

• MS staff are exchanging success criteria, exemplars, online publishing sites and information about  writing/poetry competitions.

• A History teacher was sharing how they used AI to create multiple examples of quality source analysis for students to analyse. 

• A Music and a Drama teacher were sharing how they implement peer feedback.

• Four staff from the Science faculty have approached leaders to observe a colleague's practice in relation to students analysing pre- and post-assessment.

• MS Maths teachers describe the challenges to set up processes for independent learning due to the learner's need for explicit instruction and are wondering who might be able to support them.

What conclusions might you make about where teachers and students are in relation to the school wide goal in the Middle School?

What patterns do you notice across the data from Primary and Middle School?

What other forms of data, informal or formal, might you use to check and challenge the data collected so far?

To what extent are ‘Learners independently initiate the learning process, knowing what to do when they don’t know what to do and self-monitoring their progress and next steps’?