What would you ask Mike Schmoker?

In May I have the glorious opportunity to interview Mike Schmoker, guru of data-driven education and author of Results, The Results Fieldbook, Results Now, and The Crayola Curriculum. And, yes, I’m going to try and record it as a podcast.

I know that many of you are familiar with Mike’s work. If you were me, what interview question(s) would you ask him?

Comments

[Michael McVey]

I am beginning to hear that teachers are more comfortable these days disaggregating data. I would be curious to know if he has noticed teachers, in general, expressing an improved sense of data-driven decision-making in their classrooms or programs and not just in the schools as a whole.

[Sandi Kitts]

I sincerely appreciate Mike’s work.

My question is – in order that school divisions respond in consistent, systemic ways to improve schools – how do he & other key leaders in the field propose actually doing this work? Each has their own view on this. What would it take for them to work together to create structures that will guide us in the field to make meaningful, consistent & systemic change? Each researcher has his/her own take on this. I worry that we go ahead in our individual genuine efforts, but end up continuing our tendencies to tweak. So what would it look like it Fullan, Schmoker, Eaker, Dufour, Guskey and Reeves (or whomever needs to be involved) together developed structures in practice that actually work. I’d happily offer to work with them in our schools.

[Rick Tanski]

@Scott, I have a couple.

In Chapter 3 of Results now he writes “our best ‘plan’ is to arrange for teachers to analyze their achievement data.” So much is made of quantifiable data and analysis tools. Many are woefully inadequate, much less as efficient, as teacher intuition and reaction in classroom. In the near-absence of efficient and responsive data analysis tools, where does teacher intuition fit in?

In what ways can educational technology and web 2.0 tools calm the “curricular chaos” he mentions in chapter 4?

Have fun! Sounds like a great opportunity.