Storytelling with Data Telling the Tale of ALP Susan Gabriel Community College of Baltimore County Dawn Coleman University of South Carolina March 20 2016 O nce upon a time O nce upon a time ID: 773203
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Storytelling with Data :Telling the Tale of ALP Susan Gabriel Community College of Baltimore County Dawn Coleman University of South Carolina March 20, 2016
O nce upon a time…
O nce upon a time…in a far away land called the Community College of Baltimore County,
O nce upon a time…in a far away land called the Community College of Baltimore County, there lived a man named Peter Adams.
Peter was on a mission to help travelers to his kingdom climb a tall mountain. Upon scaling the mountain, they would have access to all the wonders and riches of the kingdom. ENG 101
Unfortunately, the mission wasn’t going so well. ENG 101
Unfortunately, the mission wasn’t going so well. Travelers prepared for the mountain by first climbing a practice hill. ENG 101 ENG 090
B ut some travelers were discouraged by having to climb a hill before being allowed to climb the mountain and gave up before they even started. ENG 090
O thers started the climb but had never climbed before so everything about the hill was new and different and confusing. ENG 090
Some didn’t have the tools and equipment they needed to be successful (like good hiking shoes and a water bottle). ENG 090
And year after year, travelers to the kingdom tried to climb the practice hill…and failed. ENG 090
But some made it to the top, gathering the tools they needed along the way, learning how to climb, becoming more confident as they got higher and higher. ENG 090
They were ready to tackle the mountain! ENG 090 ENG 101
But then some couldn’t make the jump from the hill to the mountain… ENG 090 ENG 101
Falling down the crevice between them, never to be seen again. ENG 090 ENG 101
ENG 101 Some made the jump but then were surprised to see that the mountain was very different from the hill.
ENG 101 It was rockier and steeper and required different shoes and more advanced equipment.
ENG 101 Some who had successfully climbed the hill and made the jump to the mountain, slowly slid back down, unable to make the more difficult climb.
After studying the hill and the mountain, Peter came to the disturbing realization that… ENG 101 ENG 090
For every 100 travelers to the kingdom who got over their disappointment at seeing the hill, ENG 101 ENG 090
ENG 090 And decided to attempt the climb, ENG 101
ENG 090 Only 57 successfully made it to the top of the hill, ENG 101
ENG 090 ENG 101Only 41 successfully made the jump from the hill to the mountain,
ENG 090 ENG 101And ultimately only 33 made it successfully to the top.
ENG 090 ENG 101Peter knew there had to be a better way.
He thought why not let the travelers skip the hill altogether ENG 101 ENG 090
ENG 101 He thought why not let the travelers skip the hill altogether and start on the actual mountain.
ENG 101 And while they climb the mountain, why don’t we help them along the way (and teach them to help each other)?
ENG 101 Instead of practicing on a hill that often doesn’t even look like the mountain, let them practice on the actual mountain!
ENG 101 So they did.
ENG 101 And instead of 33 travelers making it to the top of the mountain, 63 made it to the top (and they did it quicker!)
ENG 101 Every year, more and more travelers reached the top of the mountain and were able to enjoy the kingdom’s riches.
ENG 101 And now Peter and his fellow countrywomen and countrymen travel to other lands with practice hills to show them how to mountain climb.
ENG 101 …and they all lived happily ever after.
Know Your Audience
Consider… Who needs to hear your story?Why do they need to hear your story? What is important to them? What do you want them to do after they hear your story? Then tell your story in a way that they can easily understand and process.
Common reasons for telling your story Explaining the need for your program Explaining how your program functions Showing the impact of your program Sharing feedback about your program Justifying your existence (accountability)
The Backstory (Why your program is needed)
Look for… Low success ratesGaps in achievement Gaps in support Dissatisfaction with services Institutional speed bumps Let’s look at ALP…
81% of CCBC students test into one or more developmental coursesThe Need for ALP
The developmental education system at most colleges is long and cumbersome. Students often have multiple placements (more than one level and more than one subject area). Exponential attrition is a huge issue – we lose students in the long string of courses as they work their way through the developmental sequence. The Need for ALP
The Need for ALP MATH 0813 credits RDG 051 5 credits ENGL 051 4 credits MATH 082 3 credits MATH 083 3 credits RDG 052 4 credits At CCBC, students faced up to 25 developmental credits ENGL 052 3 credits
The Need for ALP
The Need for ALP
Cast of Characters (Your program is the main character!)
Think about… How your program functionsHow it differs from the alternative Characteristics of participants Whether the program is growing What resources it uses and/or saves Let’s look at ALP…
Normally students take ENG 090 in one semester and, if they pass, take ENG 101 in the next semester. 1st semester: ENG 090 2 nd s emester: ENG 101 What is ALP?
With ALP, developmental students enroll directly in ENG 101 (with “college-ready” students).1 st semester : ENG 101 What is ALP?
After the ENG 101 class, the “college-ready” students leave. 1st semester : ENG 101 What is ALP?
The developmental students then meet for a support course designed to help meet the goals of ENG 101. 1 st semester : ENG 101 Following ENG 101: ALP What is ALP?
What is ALP? ALP Enrollment has Increased Dramatically over Time
What is ALP?
The Plot (What are your program outcomes?)
Consider… What are your participants’ outcomes?Do you have a (legitimate) comparison group? What problem does your program actually address or attempt to solve? Let’s look at ALP…
ALP’s goal is to help developmental students pass ENG 101, which it does… ALP Outcomes
ALP was designed to address the low success rates for developmental students. However, the focus is not on course-level pass rates. The focus is on the trajectory of students through developmental English and into college-level English. ALP Outcomes
Here’s how NOT to tell the story of ALP:ALP Outcomes
Here’s the same data told differently: ALP Outcomes
The Plot Thickens (Digging deeper into your outcomes)
Do you have data… Showing how outcomes differ for different populations?Demonstrating other outcomes of your program? Refuting a common criticism of your program? Let’s look at ALP…
The Plot Thickens
The Plot Thickens
The Plot Thickens
The Plot Thickens
The Plot Thickens
The Plot Thickens
Reviews (Opinions about your program)
Always remember (and keep reminding your audience) that there are actual human beings behind the data. Data = People (and those people also have stories to tell that are part of your story!)
Reviews
Don’t forget that words are data too! Are you currently gathering qualitative data? Reviews
Open-ended questions on a survey may be the easiest way to gather words from the people you impact.But how you phrase questions can impact how usable the responses are. Reviews
Poorly worded :“Do you have any additional comments about this person/program/service/whatever?” This won’t yield very usable responses . Reviews
Try fill in the blank questions instead: The thing I liked most about this program was _____________________________ This program would be better if _______ _________________________________ Reviews
You can also gather qualitative data through interviews, focus groups, or reflective writing assignments Let’s look at ALP… Reviews
Students feel the instructors are more relaxed “I noticed this frown line she gets when she’s in the big class. When she’s with us she’s smiling but when she’s with them she’s like ‘Class do your work!’” Reviews
Students don’t view the ALP class as a separate class. “I don’t even really feel like I’m taking two classes. I feel like I’m taking one class, but we get the deeper version.” Reviews
Students appreciate the support they receive in the ALP class. “In our [college-level] class…that’s a little overwhelming. Then when we get to the [ALP] class she breaks it down for us. When we leave that class…it makes you so much more confident…you know what you need to work on.” Reviews
ALP builds connections and relationships. “Once I got in this class, you got all these people in here that have the same experience as me with English. So it’s more upbeat and it’s more fun here.” Reviews “You don’t want to let her down because you feel like she’s your friend more. So you don’t want to disappoint her .”
The Epilogue (Final Thoughts)
“If the statistics are boring, then you've got the wrong numbers.”Edward Tufte
Resist the urge to just throw whatever data you happen to have at your audience and hope something sticks. Be purposeful about the story you tell based on who you’re telling it to and why you’re telling it.
Nobody wants to read the War and Peace version of your program’s story
Think instead of an anthology of connected short stories (or poems depending on the attention span of your audience!)
Questions? SGabriel@ccbcmd.edu ColemanEvaluation@outlook.com