The most useful part of this course for me was the creation of the logic model. It helped me consider programs that my board is missing, and the steps I need to take in order to build the model. I enjoyed the planning process of creating this model, as it allowed me to speak to colleagues outside of my department and hear the insights of people I would not usually communicate with. I have also realized how many stakeholders would need to be on board in order for the project to go successfully.
Furthermore, my school board has recently put out a student census and they are struggling to collect sufficient responses. This course emphasized the importance of collecting quantitative and qualitative data and it is interesting for me to see that while we can identify the problem of practice in theory, taking the correct measures to improve it is incredibly challenging. The census comes at a time when teachers are evaluating final culminating assignments, exam season is approaching, and preparing report cards. As time was one of the biggest deterrents to sufficient data collection that we identified in the logic model, I wonder if this census could have been done at an earlier point in the year to prevent the current situation. I also wonder how I could use these findings and reflections to inform the people in charge of collecting the data, as many are not practicing educators. They are not able to foresee the same challenges that educators within the classroom experience each day.
The Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, September 2016
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