Using over 350 hours of observational data from district-level meetings, we investigate how leaders support their interpretations of problems and proposed solutions during closed-door negotiations around three policy decisions, and how they invoke race, class, and language in the process. District leaders primarily cite constraints from…

A multiple case study was designed to examine the components of data literacy used by formal and informal leaders to support the work of Data Teams. Nine formal leaders and ten informal leaders constituted the participants. One overarching central question and seven subquestions guided the research. The answer to the central question, How do…

In this study, we examined how in-service middle-level mathematics teachers used statistics in their own classroom research. Using an embedded single-case design, we analyzed a purposefully selected sample of nine teachers' classroom research papers, identifying several themes within each phase of the statistical problem solving process to…

This article discusses five generally accepted reasons to use data as a part of an educator's ongoing professional practice. Of course, there are many other more specific reasons one might look at data, but these five cover the overarching need in an educational setting. The five major purposes for using data are: (1) To enhance understanding and…

Within an RtI problem-solving context, assessment and decision making generally center around the tasks of problem identification, problem analysis, progress monitoring, and program evaluation. We use this framework to discuss the current state of the literature regarding curriculum based measurement, its technical properties, and its utility for…

Explicit information-seeking actions are needed to evaluate alternative actions in problem-solving tasks. Information-seeking costs are often traded off against the utility of information. We present three experiments that show how subjects adapt to the cost and information structures of environments in a map-navigation task. We found that…

College students were interviewed about the information they seek and use before enrolling in a course, during instruction, and after instruction. (Author)

In the field of organizational development, it is almost self-evident that an intervention or change action comes after a period of data gathering and/or analysis of the organization. This article explores how a manager can determine what actions to take following an organizational diagnosis. (LRA)

Examines the relationship between identity style and the need for cognition, openness to experience, and introspection. Results indicated that self-reported use of a cogitative information-oriented style was related to two factors: information-seeking variables, and self-reflective tendencies. Norm-oriented individuals tend to protect themselves…

Presents a method of solving decision problems in conditions of incomplete knowledge of the probabilities of the states of nature. It uses all available information in order to delimit the region of ignorance as closely as possible. (Author)

Guidelines to facilitate the assessment and development of educational leadership decision-making skills are presented in this paper. Included are a review of traditional and contemporary concepts of the decision-making process, identification of appropriate techniques, and an analysis of four contemporary decision-making models by Thompson,…

One part of the work being done at the Center for the Study of Evaluation has been the development of kits to assist the staffs of elementary schools wishing to conduct evaluations. The third kit in the series provides specific techniques for conducting a formative evaluation, which includes verifying the extent to which a program has been…

Argues that the mere presentation of evaluative data is hardly apt to improve decisionmaking. Suggests that, to meet the needs of different decisionmakers, methods of information presentation be developed to assure that the right person get the proper information, at the proper time, and in the proper format. (Author/JF)

An analysis of the problem solving process reveals at least three options: (1) finding the cause, (2) solving the problem, and (3) anticipating potential problems. These methods may be illustrated by examining "Oedipus Tyrannus," a play in which a king attempts to deal with a problem that appears to be beyond his ability to solve, and…

Identifies and compares the patterns of communication of groups making risky and cautious decision shifts. Risky- and cautious-shift group discussions displayed nonrandom and statistically different distributional and sequential structures. Findings are discussed in terms of two explanations of the risky- shift phenomenon. (JMF)