Using Data to Improve Quality in Early Education Settings: Parts 1 & II

In this two-part program, Nonie Lesaux and Stephanie Jones, Faculty Directors of the Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, explore leadership practices that foster data-use mindsets and strategies to promote effective, collaborative, and sustainable data work. Participants will explore new ways data can be leveraged to drive quality improvement in early learning settings.

In most educational settings, including those serving young children, data are collected and used largely for compliance purposes. But with the right knowledge, strategies, and tools, everyday information collected in settings serving young children can be used to drive higher-impact practices, more effective leadership, and overall quality.

This program is designed as a two-part series to help participants build core knowledge and learn skills and strategies for effective data use, with the added opportunity to try out an initial plan in their setting with the support of the Zaentz team and their peers. After the implementation period, we will come back together as a learning community to debrief the successes and challenges of implementation and go even deeper into the learning.

We know that professional learning is most effective when it is relevant to the real challenges leaders face, offered in the context of a community of peers, and sustained over time. This program is designed in two parts to respond to these realities and maximize opportunities for deep, collaborative learning, application, and reflection.

Sessions include a combination of interactive lectures, collaboration opportunities, and small group reflection and planning sessions. See details below for Part I and Part II of this program.