Educational Data-Meme Mutations:
A Case Study
Note: I worry that what follows will read like something negative, or as a critique of whoever did the work that I’m discussing. If that is how it comes across, that represents a failure on my part. I’m using this case study here because it’s exemplary of much larger dynamics that permeate things much more broadly. It’s the kind of thing that I, personally, do with some regularity. To that end, there’s no grief intended.
In my work, many great materials have been shared with me. A few are less-so. A recent one sticks out. The item in question is a table that is used to support the utility of coaching as a professional development tool for teachers and, as presented, shows a claimed 99% “Percentage of Teachers Transferring Professional Learning to the Classroom” when working with a coach:
Presented Version
I’m not exactly sure why this table caused me to raise an eyebrow, but it did. I suspect it’s the bottom row. There’s basically nothing I know of in social science research (or really any other research) that has that kind of impact. Impacts north of 50% are generally unheard of. Impacts in the neighbourhood of 95–99% are…
