Education’s lessons learned from a year at home It’s hard to believe that a year ago this week, my husband and I returned from a trip to visit my family and went into lockdown for the first time. At that time, the thought of staying at home for even two weeks straight sent my anxious… Continue reading Education’s lessons learned from a year at home
Your data tracking cheat sheet In my last post, I talked about how logic models — although they can be a chore — can actually be a great visual roadmap of your program’s components, benchmarks, and goals. Working collaboratively to develop a logic model can be a unifying experience for teams, a way to get… Continue reading Your data tracking cheat sheet
From “Ugh” to “Ooh!” – Reframing Logic Models “Ugh, they’re making us submit a logic model? What is the point of a logic model anyway? “I don’t understand all that technical jargon. What am I supposed to put in a logic model?” These are the thoughts I imagine my clients having when a funder or… Continue reading From “Ugh” to “Ooh!” – Reframing Logic Models
Use Google Maps to explore your data in a new way Isn’t it so gratifying to learn a new skill and get to apply it? One thing I’ve been learning lately is how to use ArcGIS, a super fancy mapping tool that allows you to collect, analyze, and visualize all sorts of data. I’ve talked about… Continue reading Use Google Maps to explore your data in a new way
We need teachers today. When I was a senior in high school, I thought the coolest job would be to serve as a member of Congress. I was lucky to be part of an amazing course (in a public school, might I add!) called Government and Law-Related Experiences, affectionately known as GALRE. Our teacher, Doug… Continue reading We need teachers today.
More than a feeling It’s the end of the year, when we reflect on the past year and look forward to new beginnings. I haven’t done any rigorous data collection about this, but I think it’s fair to assume that most people would rate 2020 as a giant dumpster fire. So let’s take it back… Continue reading More than a feeling
Word Clouds and Key Quotations: Making Qualitative Data Work for You This week I’ve got a co-author to help me continue my qualitative data series! Sarah Dunifon is Founder and Principal Evaluator of Improved Insights LLC, an educational evaluation firm focused on STEM and youth-based programming. She is based in Cleveland, Ohio and is a fellow board member… Continue reading Word Clouds and Key Quotations: Making Qualitative Data Work for You
Numbers Can’t Tell the Whole Story You should know by now that I’m a bit of a data nerd. I love spreadsheets. I love organizing data and using it to illuminate patterns. I love the “ah-ha” moments when clients realize how much their own data can tell them about the kids and families they’re serving. … Continue reading Numbers Can’t Tell the Whole Story
Five years! Five years ago this week, I took the leap. I was a Community School Coordinator (CSC) in Baltimore and a doctoral student, and it was time for a change. You see, my data tracking spreadsheets were starting to catch on among other CSCs. I kept thinking, “How amazing would it be if helping… Continue reading Five years!
We can’t let them fall through the cracks. I started writing a completely different blog post for this week, but when I read the news this morning, I knew I had to shift gears. CNN featured a story yesterday called “Teachers and social workers search for students who are ‘missing’ in the pandemic.” The word… Continue reading We can’t let them fall through the cracks.
