Graduate College of Education (GCOE) Continuous Improvement Process

The Graduate College of Education (GCOE) process for continuous improvement is described as an inquiry cycle that begins with articulating a question, then moves to gathering data, analyzing and interrogating the data, making, changing and evaluating that change with more data, then starting over with more questions. This “Plan-Do-Study-Act” cycle moves us quickly (or slowly) through iterations until we reach the goal.

GCOE Improvement Cycle. Semi-circle line with an arrow and with questions. All questions existing in the cycle are included in the page narrative.

GCOE’s Improvement Cycle

The image above describes the improvement cycle process for the Graduate College of Education. The process, which is described below is clockwise and each step has questions on the cycle followed by an arrow (-->) indicating the process action or the parties involved. All questions are based on the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) method.

  1. What is our goal? What are we trying to learn? What can we try next? --> College, dept and program goals, standards, Program Learning Outcomes (PLO) and Student Learning Objective (SLO).
  2. What data do we need? --> Collect, organize data and update the Data Kitchen.
  3. Data Dig: Analysis, discussion and insight --> In college meetings (Fall), dept and program meetings (Spring) and ongoing.
  4. Based on this, what change might we make? Why? --> Identify a specific plan, something new to try, something to build on.
  5. Make the change, try the next iteration --> Use updated data to measure the outcome.
  6. Was this an improvement? How do we know? --> How did that work? Did the outcome go as expected? What can we learn next about this?

Continuous Improvement Framework

  1. Are we promoting an inquiry orientation to the use of data?
  2. Are we providing access to high-quality data to appropriate stakeholders to measure our impact?
  3. Do we have established routines and norms for collaborative data conversations?
  4. Are improvement efforts grounded in short cycles of data collection and improvement?
  5. Are we making improvements and changes based on data and the continuous improvement framework, not just intuition and anecdote?

GCOE’s Unit-wide Routine for Collecting, Discussing, Analyzing and Using Data for Improvement

Table containing data for improvement and process
Activity Coordinators Participants Outcomes

Summer:

  • Update the data kitchen website with current data, tools
  • Review data dig notes and action plans
  • Leadership team review of data, action plans
  • Plan the fall college meeting

Assessment Team Four (AT4)

Data analyst

Leadership Team

Educator Quality (EdQ) Data Coach
  • Annual refresh of all data sets;
  • All data ready for use by the faculty and college by the time classes start;
  • Fall College Meeting planned

Fall:

  • Leadership Team: review of unit/college action plans, prep for data dig;
  • Data Dig: at a college meeting, department/program level data digs, with discussion, insights and action plans for improvement

Assessment Team Four (AT4)

Data analyst

Leadership Team

All faculty, staff

Include affiliated programs
  • Unit-wide data dig notes and action plans
  • Unit-wide acknowledgment of improvements, setting new goals;
  • Increased data literacy, culture, understanding of impact, purpose
  • Increased capacity for Spring department data discussions

Spring:

  • Leadership Team: review of department/program action plans, prep for department/program data digs
  • Data Dig: at a college meeting, do department/program level data digs, with discussion, insights and action plans for improvement
  • Create department annual reports for campus assessment and Academic Program Review Committee (APRC)

Assessment Team Four (AT4)

Data analyst

Leadership Team

All faculty, staff

Include affiliated programs
  • Department/program data dig notes and action plans
  • Department annual reports for the Academic Program Review Committee (APRC)

Ongoing:

  • Maintain the data kitchen with high-quality data, tools and resources
  • Continue to implement the improvement cycle
  • Align with campus Institutional Research for data validation, reporting, campus awareness
  • Submit all reporting for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC), Title II, Institutional and Program Report Card (IPRC), Chancellor's Office (CO)

Assessment Team Four (AT4)

Data analyst

Leadership Team

All faculty, staff

Leadership Team

All faculty, staff

Include affiliated programs
  • Increased use of data for multiple purposes
  • A strong culture of data use, inquiry, improvement
  • Meeting Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) standards
  • Meeting campus & Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) standards

Carnegie Blog: Improvement Discipline in Practice, (Alicia Grunow, July 21, 2015, Retrieved 3-7-23)