Ruahine Kindergarten Association (TLIF 4-016) - Data, knowledge, action: A teacher-led inquiry into data-informed teaching in early childhood education Publications
Publication Details
Project Reference: Ruahine Kindergarten Association (TLIF 4-016) - This project was guided by the premise that effective data can lead to knowledge and knowledge can lead to action for improved teaching and learning (Earl & Timperley, 2008; Gunmer & Mandinach, 2015).
Author(s): (Inquiry Team) led by Lynda Hunt (West End Kindergarten)
Date Published: August 2020
Overview
Kaiako learned to use innovative new data systems to collect and analyse data that provided insights into children’s curriculum experiences, both as individuals and across groups.
I was surprised at how much unpacking and how much learning we had as teachers; how much we run on assumptions. Yet, this allowed us to run on data, this allowed us to see the facts and that this is what is actually happening. Sometimes it was a surprise, sometimes it was confirmation, and it surprised me at how well we got to know the children as a team and how we could link that with whānau.
Teacher reflection
The combination of well-designed data collection and analysis tools with carefully scaffolded professional learning and development was successful in facilitating more responsive, intentional teaching and improved learning and wellbeing outcomes for children. It worked well when integrated into the narrative approach to assessment that currently predominates in the early learning sector. This approach shows great promise for spreading across other early learning settings.
The inquiry story
This inquiry involved four kindergartens from the Ruahine Kindergarten Association: Hokowhitu, West End, Riverdale, and Kelvin Grove. It was led by a trained teacher-researcher and supported by four external partners and the Ruahine Kindergarten Association leadership team.
What was the focus?
The TLIF project followed an earlier pilot study in another local kindergarten that looked at the use of three new data systems, collectively named the Data, Knowledge, Action (DKA) data systems. These systems had been designed to offer early learning teachers the opportunity to use digital technologies to generate informative data to sit alongside narrative assessment practice typically used in the early learning sector. The pilot study had demonstrated that DKA data systems might benefit child learning and well-being by:
- providing insights into patterns and trends in the experiences of groups of children, generating information that teaching teams could use to make changes to practice that would lead to improved outcomes for the children; and
- deepen kaiako knowledge and understanding about specific children, enabling them to tailor their responses more effectively and consistently to these children as individuals.
The inquiry team crafted the following innovation statement:
We would like to know if we can build capacity to extend and sustain the use of DKA data systems to support a culture of data-informed inquiry and teaching and improve children’s curriculum experiences and learning in ECE. We will have an impact on the everyday curriculum experiences of children in our kindergartens to enhance learning and impact on the individual experiences of selected children who are identified by teaching teams as needing more support to optimise their learning. The innovation is targeted at all teachers and children in the selected kindergartens to identify trends in their experiences. This will identify children who need further support to enhance their learning and enable teachers to implement enhanced teaching practices.
What did the teachers try?
The inquiry took a networked approach. It was led by a teacher-researcher who had participated in the pilot. Each of the four participating kindergartens nominated a member of their teaching team to take on the role of teacher-researcher, who was then responsible for the data collection in a partner kindergarten. The nominated teacher-researchers engaged in a phased training sequence with the project lead and external partners, prior to data gathering in the first inquiry cycle, with ongoing support provided throughout the project.
The DKA data systems include:
- The Child Experience Observation System (CEOS; McLaughlin, Hunt, Cherrington, Aspden & McLachlan, 2018): A teacher-researcher uses a tablet to conduct a two-hour observation of a target child. The teacher-researcher uses software to code where children go, what they do, who they interact with, and the nature of the interactions. These quantitative data are exported into an Excel graph. Teams can use the graphed data to better understand individual children’s interactions and curriculum experiences and to conduct ‘data walks’ where they look across children or groups of children. The graphs can be compared to enable comparison across different times and groups of children e.g. age and gender.
- The Play and Learning Analysis System (PLAS;McLaughlin, Cherrington, McLachlan, Aspden & Hunt, 2018): Focus children wear a Go-Pro camera on a chest harness. Teams can view all the video footage or focus on selected clips, edited by the teacher-researcher. The PLAS protocol guides a semi-structured, open-ended reflective discussion on what the data reveals about children’s perspectives on the curriculum they experience.
- The Child Information Profile (CIP; McLaughlin, Hunt, Cherrington, Aspden, & McLachlan, 2018): The CIP is a paper-based record of teachers’ knowledge about children’s background and family, sensory preferences, communication and oral language skills, social-emotional competence, interests, preferences, learning outcomes, and learning dispositions. Teaching teams can make choices about how much of the CIP to complete and whether to do so independently or as a team. The CIP provides a point of discussion for developing joint understandings about an individual child and their progression in learning.
Learning stories continued but were increasingly informed by the data that had been collected. Changes in teacher confidence and capabilty were tracked through group interviews and pre- and post-questionairres. Information from the tools promoted further discussion and understanding about learning between teachers and was, at times, also shared with children and whānau to gain their perspectives or show their achievements.
The project unfolded in two cycles. Both cycles addressed two overarching questions:
- What are children’s experiences of curriculum and learning in our setting?
- How can we use the data to inform our practice?
Each kindergarten team developed a question of inquiry based on an interest they decided to explore prior to data collection:
- Riverdale Kindergarten: How do tamariki engage at Ahimate Reserve? (This reserve is adjacent to the kindergarten and small groups regularly visit to explore, enjoy and care for the natural environment.(
- Kelvin Grove Kindergarten: To what extent are tamariki demonstrating Kind Heart concepts in their interactions with others? (The kindergarten’s association with Kind Hearts Manawatu has led to the development of a “culture of kindness” based on the vision of this organisation.)
- West End Kindergarten: What social skills are our children using when playing and learning with their peers?
- Hokowhitu Kindergarten: In what ways are our children engaging with peers and adults at kindergarten?
Teams engaged in two terms of active data collection on an alternating schedule over all four terms of 2019. As the teaching teams gained access to their data and made sense of it, they engaged in ongoing action planning and data-informed teaching. Alongside the critical friends, the teacher-researchers supported the inquiries in their partner kindergartens, helped facilitate data review meetings, and assisted their partner teams to analyse and make sense of the data. A project set of specific CEOS codes was developed with all teacher researchers to support teams to get data aligned with their inquiry questions (Reference).
In cycle one the major focus was for teaching teams to familiarise themselves with the DKA data systems and how to use these to generate useful data to answer their inquiry question. As the project evolved teams took a more active role in reviewing, adapting and developing the data tools to better address their questions. Increasingly, teams integrated data systems with their existing approaches to documentation, assessment, and planning, to support their sustained use of data-informed teaching.
What happened as a result of this innovation?
The teaching teams found the use of a range of data tools to explore specific inquiry questions strengthened and deepened their knowledge of and understandings about children and their experiences of curriculum. In some instances, kaiako views were significantly re-framed, such as when it became apparent that a child had not been the cause of a conflict or that another child was not hesitating to join a group out of shyness but because they were thinking through their approach. Kaiako could also see things about themselves that they wanted to change, such as when a kaiako noticed her hands on hips stance was at odds with the body language she wanted to use with children.
Kaiako have used the new knowledge they gained from the data to improve their planning, to be more intentional in their teaching interactions with children, and to strengthen relationships with whānau. For example, kaiako have realised the need to acknowledge children’s emotions or to set up strategies to help a child feel more confident when outside the familiar environment of the kindergarten.
Where initially it was quite confronting to see themselves in the videos, kaiako have come to embrace the videos as a learning tool. The teaching teams say that they better understand each other’s perspectives and are more collaborative in their planning to extend children’s learning. Professional learning conversations are deepening and include analysis of what kaiako are saying to children, the way they question and make comments, the assumptions they may be making, and the impact of their interactions with children in terms of diversity, gender, and culture.
The shifts in kaiako knowledge and practice have had meaningful and measurable impacts on children’s learning. This is revealed through the collection of repeat data on focus children, alongside kaiako documentation through observations and learning stories. Improved child outcomes include increased engagement, exploration, and risk-taking and more positive social interactions.
What did they learn?
The project was successful in supporting teams to gain confidence and capability in the use of a range of new data tools to inform teaching and learning. Each of the different data systems was highly valued. Kaiako believed they worked in a complementary way to provide a more robust and comprehensive view of children’s learning and development than had previously been possible.
Findings from the overall project, paired with the individual experiences from each of the four kindergarten teams, may serve as a model for other early childhood settings to consider the use of a wider range of data collection tools and processes for data-informed teaching and learning. A key element for the success of the project was the phased professional learning and development and ongoing support to enhance kaiako confidence and competence with data and to ensure the appropriate and effective use of the data tools and systems in line with the principles of Te Whāriki.
Inquiry team
This inquiry was led by Lynda Hunt (West End Kindergarten). Lynda was one of the teacher-researchers, alongside Tammy Dodge (Kelvin Grove Kindergarten), Susan Hildred (Hokowhitu Kindergarten) and Coralie Stanley (Riverdale Kindergarten).
The inquiry was under the auspices of Robyn Vine-Adie and Gaylyn Campbell of the Ruahine Kindergarten Association and supported by the Association’s management team.
The team’s critical friends for ongoing data training and support were Tara McLaughlin (Massey University) and Sue Cherrington (Victoria University of Wellington).
The team’s external experts for feedback and evaluation were Claire McLachlan (Federation University) and Karyn Aspden (Massey University).
For further information
If you would like to learn more about this project, please contact the project leader, Lynda Hunt, at Lynda.Hunt@rka.org.nz
Reference list
Cherrington, S. & Loveridge, J. (2014). Using video to promote early childhood teachers’ thinking and reflection. Teaching and Teacher Education, 41, 42–51.
Earl, L., & Timperley, H. (2008). Understanding how evidence and learning conversations work. In L. Earl, & H. Timperley (Eds.), Professional learning conversations: Challenges in using evidence for improvement Dordretch: Springer, pp. 1–12.
Education Review Office. (2007). The quality of assessment in early childhood education. Wellington: Author.
Education Review Office. (2013). Priorities for children's learning in early childhood services. Wellington: Author.
Fraser, K., & McLaughlin, T. (2016). Quality assessment in early childhood: A reflection on five key features. Early Education, 60, 8-11.
Gunmer, E., & Mandinach, E. (2015). Building a conceptual framework for data literacy. Teachers College Record, 117, 1-20.
Hedges, H., & Cooper, M. (2014). Engaging with holistic curriculum outcomes: Deconstructing ‘working theories’. International Journal of Early Years Education, 22(4), 395-408.
McLaughlin, T., Hunt, L., Cherrington, S., Dodge, T., Hildred, S., Stanley, C., and the Data Knowledge Action Project (2019). Data knowledge action social engagement and interaction codes. Unpublished instrument, Institute of Education, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
McLaughlin, T., Hunt, L., Cherrington, S., Aspden, K., & McLachlan, C., (2018). Child profile. Unpublished resource, Institute of Education, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
McLaughlin, T., Hunt, L., Cherrington, S., Aspden, K., & McLachlan, C., (2018). Child experience observation system. Unpublished instrument, Institute of Education, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
McLaughlin, T., Cherrington, S., McLachlan, C., Aspden, K., & Hunt, L., (2018). Play and learning analysis system. Unpublished instrument, Institute of Education, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
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