I will admit it, yes, I like gathering data. I guess it is my math background shining through, but I think there is so much that RELEVANT data can be used for to further instruction, student learning, and in my case here, professional development. Although EdTech Cheer has now been going strong for the past five years, it was only in the past two really that I started collecting data that would verify sustainability and participation of teachers.
Now, I understand that I cannot simply compare apples to apples here (year to year), as each year was not exactly the same setup, objectives, and outcomes. The structure of the twelve days was similar, as well as the expectation that each participant would comment/fill out a form to verify participation. The charts below show basic data that I have gathered from the past two years of EdTech Cheer. For each graph, I have included my own "noticing" and "wondering" as part of my reflection.
Please feel free to comment and share anything else you noticed! I am always looking to improve!
Data Comparision Charts
NOTICING: More teachers participated this year than last.
WONDERING: If participation increased due to the fact that Kagan Cooperative Learning and SIOP were driving the content and that it was not simply twelve days of tech tools and resources.
NOTICING: There was a significant gain in the number of returning participants.
WONDERING: What made more participants come back and participate this year?
NOTICING: The average number of days that teachers participated in EdTech Cheer from 2013 to 2014 is very similar.
WONDERING: What causes participation burn-out past seven days? Or did teachers take a cool idea or two away from the beginning of EdTech Cheer and then quit after?
NOTICING: There were a significant number of people that completed the full 12 days in 2014, and the majority of 2014 participants completed seven or more days.
WONDERING: How can I help support teachers to complete the full twelve days?
NOTICING: The average number of minutes spent each year by participants is pretty consistent.
WONDERING: What would increase teacher engagement to spend more time exploring and participating in more days?
NOTICING: There was an increase in the number of total PD minutes accumulated through EdTech Cheer in 2014.
WONDERING: If this increase was due to the engagement factor of the content, or just if more teachers participated this year.
NOTICING: There was a large increase in the number that completed all twelve days.
WONDERING: What was it that kept teachers engaged to complete the full twelve days?
NOTICING: There were fewer teachers in 2014 that had a teacher website than in 2013.
WONDERING: Even though there were more participants in 2014, what is keeping those that participated from having a website?
NOTICING: In 2014, there was an increase in the number of participants that had a Twitter account.
WONDERING: Even though there were more participants that had a Twitter account, I wonder why there wasn't much Twitter activity outside myself (and my posts from @GLPSTech).