Tuesday, June 21, 2011

New Features for the 2011-12 School Year

When reviewing your aggregate LoTi (Levels of Teaching Innovation) and CIP (Current Instructional Practices) data inside the LoTi Lounge, it is sometimes difficult to determine precisely what instructional area to pinpoint for follow-up professional development. Does a relatively low LoTi Level (e.g., LoTi 0, LoTi 1) imply that both the level of student cognition as well as the level of student engagement are at low levels?

To aid busy administrators with analyzing their aggregate data, the new LoTi Observer will allow you to aggregate the individual H.E.A.T./H.E.A.R.T. variables so as to identify classroom instructional practices that require some form of follow-up intervention (e.g., peer coaching, in-class modeling). For example, you will be able to isolate just the Higher order thinking breakdown of your H.E.A.T./H.E.A.R.T. walkthroughs for a designated period of time so as to determine trends in the level of student cognition after repeated walkthroughs on campus.

Inside the LoTi Lounge, you will be able to view the individual H.E.A.T./H.E.A.R.T. variables as a table, bar graph, or pie chart. This should help you better target the type of professional development (e.g., questioning techniques, complex thinking strategies) needed to improve instructional practices in the classroom. Refining a data-driven model for instructional improvement moves us one step closer to differentiating both the staff development as well as bringing more H.E.A.T./H.E.A.R.T. to student learning.