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Headshot Young Girl

Sadiya Kamel

VIA21

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Challenge

I am currently heading a small and passionate group of educators who facilitate learning for ages 2-8. While working closely with curriculum targets and executing them age appropriately, I found my team and myself faced with similar challenges each year. Time management, covering curriculum targets, appropriate integration, data recording and management are some challenges faced. What I realized is that even though there was a lot of data, there seemed to exist a gap between data, and decision making to make processes simpler and more meaningful. My challenge is that educators are not equipped with training on being data literate. And even if they do, there are barriers to using it effectively. The independent and critical evaluation of data will certainly make change in the way we do things as educators and administrators. It is a challenge though to cultivate this mindset and equip them with skills to maximize the ocean of data available each year in this profession, where information can provide a world of difference to every learner. Believe me, I tried. I also learned that there are barriers to this effort. An analytical mind and a caring one makes this a more fruitful venture. Educators are comfortable using information and boundaries defined to them in order to make informed decisions. They also prefer to leave the data driven decision making only to the hierarchy; perhaps because they don't have power or authority and support. In some organizations staff are heavily reliant on top level management decisions and have no say in changes that need to be made. But I am determined to start somewhere. Perhaps start with each student and the classroom. A solution to this will save the stakeholders in education in many ways.

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