by Jeff Crockett
IN THE 19th CENTURY, John Godfrey Saxe wrote the poem "The Blind Men and the Elephant" based on a legend originating in Southeast Asia. As the story was told, six blind men were trying to describe an elephant based on what they had experienced. Each man had touched the elephant in a different location and then disputed about what the elephant looked like. As the story goes, while each man was partly right, all the men were mostly wrong.
In education, beliefs about students often become the subject of spirited debate. However, when observations of student learning or behavior are limited to brief snapshots and when student problems are vaguely defined,
intervention team members can easily come to different and/or false conclusions about the nature and cause of student problems. In these cases, intervention teams often fail to see the ‘big picture’ and make ineffective recommendations.
Complexity and Remedy
Perhaps, the most significant and common data omission is the absence of comprehensive input from the parent and student. When parent input is omitted, intervention teams may overlook medical and other important background information. When student input is overlooked, an
intervention team may recommend strategies that fail to engage student interest or support.
While incomplete data can lead to false beliefs about the nature and cause of student problems, an archaic data system can compound the problem. When the referral process relies on a small number of printed forms that ultimately get stored in file cabinets, important student data can easily get lost and never shared with teachers in other grades and schools.
Fortunately, electronic data systems can help to significantly reduce errors of omission and lost student data. These 21st Century tools can reduce the time spent in entering in-formation on forms, provide templates for collecting comprehensive student data, help organize information for complex problems, and provide a means to archive and share the results of interventions.
Ask Yourself...
So, how should educators pick a data system that supports a problem solving process? Here are ten questions you should ask:
Does the data system provide:
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Templates to collect both academic and behavior data? -
A place to document student strengths and learning preferences?
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An area to record parent observations, concerns, and background history?
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A student self-analysis of skills, concerns, interests, and learning preferences?
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Choices for data collection tools and reports?
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Choices for intervention planning?
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An archive of meeting notes and intervention results?
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Record of parent contacts?
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Documentation for the three tiers of RTI and Universal Design for Learning?
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A graphic organizer summarizing student information for easy viewing?
How can an electronic data base system empower teachers? Instead of waiting for ‘experts’ to supply forms, all problem solving tools can be accessed immediately from the desktop. Teachers know up front what information will need to be collected for intervention meetings and be better prepared with data and well defined problem statements.
But an electronic problem solving system benefits everyone. Parents feel more connected with the process because their input has been considered. Support team members feel more prepared when they are presented with more complete student data prior to meetings.
Administrators can manage the process more effectively with electronic access to the results of all student interventions. Students feel more engaged when their interests and
preferences are captured. All of this is possible with a 21st Century solution designed to resolve 21st Century student problems.
Jeff Crockett is President of Data Impact Software, a developer of Accommodate Pro, an electronic intervention system which provides multiple data collection tools, intervention plans and an archive of the results of interventions. For more information about Accommodate Pro, go to www.accommodatepro.com. Contact Jeff by e-mail at info@psi-solutions.org.