Data-informed learners: Engaging students in their data story

As educators we all recognise the power of using data to inform our work. A key piece that is often missing is how we engage students in their data story.

When we use data with students they become data-informed learners. They have a better understanding of their ability as a learner and can articulate their goals and challenges more clearly. We can support our students through targeted conversations, working in partnership to help them improve.

There are three main purposes for using data with students: goal setting, learning dispositions or behaviour, and the quality of student learning or understanding. There are five main modes by which we do this: data walls, success criteria, student-generated assessment, deliberate conversations and data on walls in classrooms.

In this book, Dr Selena Fisk unpacks these purposes and modes, giving practical ideas for implementation in schools and classrooms. She offers guidance in having constructive data-informed conversations with students, while building a culture of psychological safety where data use is productive and transformational.