Education Data Chat

Dr. Gunnar Stefansson is an applied statistician, particularly interested in models and experiments within web-assisted education but also cryptocurrencies and marine ecology. He obtained his bachelor's degree from the University of Iceland and his doctorate from the Ohio State University. He is currently a professor at the University of Iceland.Twitter: @SmileycoinNewshttps://tutor-web.net/smileyco.in

Felicia Ford is The Growth Strategist for Creatives, Leaders, and Change-Makers, a nonprofit executive director, and an Agency Fellow with the Strategic Data Project at Harvard University. She has also worked in the private agency sector developing programs and services for family preservation, truancy prevention, and independent living for foster youth. Connect with her about growth strategy, high-performance habits, and youth advocacy on Instagram, LinkedIn, Clubhouse, and feliciafordandco.comMinus 9 to 5 vision:“It still “takes a village.” I see the Minus 9 to 5 vision materializing as a well-equipped village with attainable norms for parents who thrive rather than solely focus on survival.  The collective impact model is one where data collection transforms policy and policy transforms processes. Showing up for Racial Justice:THE CHARACTERISTICS OF WHITE SUPREMACY CULTUREhttps://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/white-supremacy-culture-characteristics.html

Matthew Starr is an assistant principal at Allamanda Elementary here in the School District of Palm Beach County. Matthew recently served as a district administrator supporting the Attendance Matters initiative. He has also served as an Advancement via Individual Determination, AVID Coordinator, at Palm Beach Central High School. Matthew is committed to student achievement for students of all backgrounds and improving student engagement. He is a proud father of two and an avid, pun intended football fan.

Kris Stevens is an agency fellow for Cohort 10 of the Strategic Data Project at Harvard University's Center for Education Policy Research. He is currently employed with the Kentucky Center for Statistics located in Frankfort, Kentucky. He has a Bachelor's degree in Business Information Systems from Anderson University and a Master’s degree in Analytics from Bellarmine University. Kris is a Data Scientist and Digital Storyteller. Kris pulls together data from a wide array of sources to answer questions and then craft narratives out of those answers that inspire action with storytelling and visualization.

Dr. Michael Tappler is a Psychometrician at Clayton County Public Schools. His work includes the use of open-ended response items and the design and implementation of new formative assessments developed by the Georgia Department of Education. He is also a strategic data project fellow for the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University. Michael is the President of the Social Science Research Group. Michael is a polished, poised, and trusted professional with more than 20 years of experience and a proven steady track record of success in research, program management, project implementation, and instructional design.

LaCole Foots is a Strategic Data Fellow with the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University. Currently, she is a data strategist with the Texas Education Agency where she uses quantitative and qualitative analysis along with a keen project management skillset to increase government efficiency. She is also a prolific poet who has achieved a national ranking in Australia. Her interest in data and poetry mirror her desire to dwell at the intersection of rigorous analysis and passionate advocacy.

Pierre Lucien, a policy analyst and a strategic data project fellow at the Massachusetts department of elementary and secondary education, joins us and talks about his data work on the Massachusetts Early College Initiative. Massachusetts' early-college program is turning out to be one of the strongest solutions to the state's equity gap problems, according to experts, policymakers, and educators.

Effective communication is an important component of educational data science. In this episode, Stevens and Michael cover various electronic communication and how they can be best utilized.

In this episode, Stevens and Michael cover methods for organizing and maintaining shared network drives for a team of educational statisticians, researchers, and data scientists. Complementary tools such as version control and wiki engines are also discussed.Follow Stevens on Twitter @EducationalDataFollow Michael on Twitter @MichaelARicci

Today we have our guest Colleen Carney and David Hersh:Colleen is an AVID, Advancement Via Individual Determination,  Instructional Specialist with the School District of Palm Beach County. Colleen has previously served as an AVID Coordinator and AVID Elective Teacher for Orange County Public Schools. She is a certified AVID staff developer. AVID helps teachers shift from delivering content to facilitating learning, resulting in an inquiry-based, student-centric classroom.Follow Colleen on Twitter @MsColleenCarneyDavid is the Director of Proving Ground at the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University. Prior to joining Proving Ground, Dave was an SDP Fellow and the Chief of Finance and Analytics for Camden City Schools (CCSD) in New Jersey. To facilitate decision-making consistent with resource optimization, Dave created CCSD’s first Strategic Analytics team. Dave previously practiced law as a Deputy Attorney General for New Jersey’s Division of Child Protection and has also taught high school Math and Physics.

Today we have two of the authors of the upcoming book “Data Science in Education using R!” which will be available in ebook and print versions this October 2020. An open-source version is currently available at datascienceineducation.com. Ryan is an Executive Consultant at South County SELPA (Special Education Local Plan Area). He is a public ed leader and data scientist helping administrators use practical data analysis to improve the student experience. Follow him on twitter @RyanEsJoshua is an Assistant Professor of STEM Education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His research focuses on data science education (or teaching and learning in the context of data science) and applying data science methods in educational research. Follow him on twitter @jrosenberg6432

Guests Ryan Estrellado and Marcus Jackson from San Diego South County Special Education Local Plan Area chat with Stevens and Michael about special education data and equity. Read about Marcus and Ryan's work online at https://equityanddesign.com.Twitters:Ryan Estrellado: @RyanEsSan Diego South County SELPA: @e_d_and_dStevens Dormezil: @EducationalDataMichael Ricci: @MichaelARicci

In this episode, Michael Ricci and Stevens Dormezil talk about the impact of theCovid-19 pandemic on school equity and digital learning. Cloud computingplatforms are discussed as a possible way of closing the equity gap and potentiallydiscriminatory algorithms are unpacked.Catch educational data mining and learning analytics tweets atStevensDormezil@EducationData