2021 NERA CONFERENCE

Using Data to Solve Education's Challenges

Thank you for visiting our webpage for the annual conference. Click HERE to register for the 2021 NERA Virtual Conference and HERE to view the conference program.

Please check out some of the featured sessions we plan to offer during this year‘s conference. Assorted additional key links are below:

• Conference schedule at-a-glance
• FAQs about the conference
• Workshop / Symposia descriptions
• Roles and responsibilities
• Snapshot of our conference theme and keynote speakers
• Background on our planned featured sessions
• April 15^thconference webinar: recording and slides.
• Any other questions? E-mail the co-chairs

We have been continuously tracking public health updates, members‘ feasibility and willingness to travel, and ways to ensure a cohesive conference experience for all attendees. Based on this information the 2021 NERA Conference Team has decided to hold a VIRTUAL conference October 13-15, 2021. Additional information surrounding this decision is available HERE. We thank you for patience and support in making this difficult decision and hope to see you at the conference.

NERA Conference Co-Chairs
Hank Johnson, Haifa Matos, Liz Spratto, and Jonathan Steinberg
nera.cochairs@gmail.com

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2021 NERA FEATURED SESSIONS

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:

Wednesday, October 13, 1:00–2:00pm EDT- Sarah Cohodes, Associate Professor of Economics and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University

Thursday, October 14, 1:00–2:00pm EDT- Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger, CEO, Data Quality Campaign

INVITED PANEL:

Thursday, October 14, 4:00–5:00pm EDT- Perspectives on Incorporating Institutional Data into P-20 Infrastructure, Research, and Policy

• Moderator:Heather Kelly, University of Delaware
• Panelists:
  • Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger, CEO, Data Quality Campaign;
  • Lynn Letukas, Senior Director, Global Academic Programs and Certifications, SAS;
  • Kate Akers, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Advanced Data Analytics Shared Services, Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education

INVITED SYMPOSIUM:

Wednesday, October 13, 2:15–3:45pm EDT - Developing Intercultural and Global Competencies for Teachers through Global Education

• Chair: David M. Moss, University of Connecticut
• Discussant: Jon Simmons, University of Connecticut
• Presenters:
  • Laura Baecher, Hunter College;
  • Helen Marx, Southern Connecticut State University

FEATURED WORKSHOPS:

• Wednesday, October 13, 9:00–11:00am EDT - Conducting Qualitative Research in a Quantitative World (Felice D. Billups, Johnson & Wales University)
• Wednesday, October 13, 9:45–11:00am EDT - Allyship (Aronté Bennett, Villanova University)
• Wednesday, October 13, 2:00–5:00pm EDT - Plot your data, plot your data, plot your data: Basic and advanced data visualization in R (Monica Erbacher, James Smith, & Sergio Castro, University of Arizona)
• Thursday, October 14, 2:15–3:45pm EDT - Creating a Strong Personal Brand for Your Services (Christine Stevens, New England Institute of Technology; Heather Harris, Independent Consultant)
• Friday, October 15, 2:00–4:00pm EDT - Culturally Responsive Data Literacy (Ellen Mandinach & Saroja Warner, WestEd)

Please click here for descriptions of the workshops.

FEATURED SYMPOSIA BY THE EDUCATORS-AS-RESEARCHERS COMMITTEE:

• Thursday, October 14, 2:15–3:45pm EDT - Inquiry Strategies for Life-Long Learning - Moderator: Marcia A. B. Delcourt
  • Data-Driven Feedback and Coaching to Improve Inquiry Skills of Preservice Teachers within a Mixed-Reality Simulation (Wes J. DeSantis & Marcia A. B. Delcourt)
  • Music Teacher Perceptions of Inquiry-Based Learning in the Secondary School Music Ensemble Classroom (Douglas Coates, Frank LaBanca, & Joseph Abramo)
  • An Exploration of Student-Directed and Teacher-Directed Inquiry Learning on Creative Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, and Civic Responsibility (Stephanie L. Bell & Marcia A. B. Delcourt)
  • Inquiry in Music Education: Theory and Practice (Joseph Abramo & Rex Sturdevant)
  • Developing an Inquiring Community of Practice with a Focus on STEM and Global Studies (Frank LaBanca)
• Friday, October 15, 9:15–10:45am EDT - Habits of Mind - Moderator: Bena Kallick
  • The Impact of Habits of Mind: An Exploratory Study (Julio Vazquez)
  • The Relationship Between Habits of Mind and Performance Task Achievement in an International School in South-east Asia (Philip G. Muscott)
  • STAR:Supporting Teachers as Researchers (Fostering data-informed reflection in a pandemic; Priscila Torres & Damian Bebell)

Please click here for descriptions of the symposia.
 

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WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS:

• Conducting Qualitative Research in a Quantitative World
  • Presenter: Felice D. Billups, Johnson & Wales University
  • This workshop is designed for individuals who plan to conduct - or have conducted - a qualitative project but need to explain the value, quality, rigor, and verity of the approach to diverse audiences and stakeholders. In a world where numbers and statistical analyses are often seen as the only true representation of valid research, qualitative researchers need a strategy to persuade skeptics that qualitative research is legitimate and the findings are actionable. Topics will comprise comparing the qualitative worldview with quantitative and mixed methods approaches; qualitative sampling and sample sizes; trustworthiness strategies to ensure rigor and quality in qualitative projects; researcher positionality and bias considerations; and a review of qualitative terminology. Graduate researchers and researchers new to the qualitative approach may find this session particularly helpful.
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• Allyship
  • Presenter: Aronté Bennett, Villanova University
  • This workshop is dedicated to helping us understand the ways in which we can be allies for those who are marginalized or otherwise rendered voiceless. The foundation of the session is laid by defining allyship, with particular attention paid to differences in how it presents in corporate versus academic spaces. The discussion will then move to consideration of the aspects of our identities that permit us to serve as allies versus what makes us candidates for allyship. The workshop will conclude with tips, ranging from simple actions to advanced advocacy, ensuring that all attendees walk away with an approach appropriate for their position on the journey toward being an ally.
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• Plot your data, plot your data, plot your data: Basic and advanced data visualization in R
  • Presenters: Monica Erbacher, James Smith, &Sergio Castro, University of Arizona
  • This workshop will cover data visualization techniques in R. First, presenters will quickly walk through the basics of the R language as attendees import a data set and create more basic plots like histograms, box plots, bar plots, and scatter plots with legends and other extras. Then, we will move on to more advanced plotting functions, such as those in the ggplot2 package. Attendees will create more complex versions of the basic plots covered as well as more advanced graphics such as overlapping density curves. Visualization techniques will address exploring linear and nonlinear trends, multilevel data, comparing groups, and getting to know your data. Best practices in creating plots will be demonstrated throughout. We will end with time for attendees to create visualizations using their own data, or attendees are welcome to practice with a provided data set. Attendees are welcome to use their own data throughout, if that is preferable. This workshop is most appropriate for new, novice, and intermediate R users who are not familiar with more advanced packages like ggplot2. If you are familiar with the basics of R and with base plotting functions, you are welcome to skip the introductory part (approximately 45 min, tentative schedule is in development) and join in for the rest of the workshop.
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• Creating a Strong Personal Brand for Your Services
  • Presenters: Christine Stevens, New England Institute of Technology; Heather Harris, Independent Consultant
  • Working as a consultant can be a lucrative endeavor, but building up a personal brand and finding clients requires answering a few simple questions: What services are you offering? How do you let potential clients know the services you offer? Can you articulate clearly why they should work with you?
  • Developing your personal brand means understanding a few basic marketing concepts like your value proposition, your target market, and the 4 P‘s, which includes your promotional strategy. In this workshop, you will learn foundational marketing concepts that can help you grow your consulting business and how to best use social media to get the word out about your brand. A few case study examples will be discussed, and participants will have the opportunity to complete hands-on exercises to create and then discuss their own personal branding and consulting plans.
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• Culturally Responsive Data Literacy
  • Presenters: Ellen Mandinach & Saroja Warner, WestEd
  • Data literacy has been a topic of interest and confusion for over a decade, often conflated with assessment literacy. Data literacy firmly espouses that the data educators need to make informed decisions are more diverse than simply student performance indices (sic, test scores). With the growing complexity of students and the more recent events that have surfaced inequities to the most challenged students, data literacy has become even more importantly which is why the construct or construct has transitioned into culturally responsive data literacy (CRDL). CRDL assumes an asset model, seeks a comprehensive understanding of students, and takes a whole child perspective to better address the interests, strengths, and backgrounds students bring to the classroom. This workshop will address the importance of CRDL and why educators learn to use data effectively and responsibly, beginning in educator preparation and being sustained and reinforced throughout their careers. The workshop will describe the skill set and dispositions of CRDL, what it means for educators to implement such knowledge, and the roles that educator preparation programs and school districts can and must play to help all educators to become data literate. The workshop will explore the foundational research and theory and the translation into practice.
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SYMPOSIA DESCRIPTIONS:

• Inquiry Strategies for Life-Long Learning - Moderator: Marcia A. B. Delcourt
  
  An inquiry mindset begins with asking questions. The educator researchers in this symposium describe their experiences to foster preservice teachers‘ questioning strategies; promote inquiry skills of students in specific subject areas such as music, science, and social studies; and design a school to enhance inquiry practices for life-long learning.
  • Data-Driven Feedback and Coaching to Improve Inquiry Skills of Preservice Teachers within a Mixed-Reality Simulation
    • Presenters: Wes J. DeSantis & Marcia A. B. Delcourt
    • Preservice teachers incorporated higher-order thinking (HOT) questions into lessons presented using a mixed-reality simulation system. Treatment candidates received individual data-driven feedback and coaching throughout the term. Treatment candidates posed more HOT questions in their lessons than their comparison group peers and recognized improvements in their self-efficacy, lesson planning, and performance.
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  • Music Teacher Perceptions of Inquiry-Based Learning in the Secondary School Music Ensemble Classroom
    • Presenters: Douglas Coates, Frank LaBanca, & Joseph Abramo
    • Based on the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCSA), this qualitative collective case study examined perceptions and implementation strategies of 11 secondary school music educators to instruct with an inquiry approach. Four thematic findings emerged: teacher identity; philosophy, attitudes and beliefs; perceptions of inquiry; and obstacles to inquiry.
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  • An Exploration of Student-Directed and Teacher-Directed Inquiry Learning on Creative Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, and Civic Responsibility
    • Presenters: Stephanie L. Bell & Marcia A. B. Delcourt
    • The effects of problem-based service-learning were examined for eighth-grade students using a Student-Directed Inquiry (SDI) or a Teacher-Directed Inquiry (TDI) approach. Scores for mental focus and learning orientation were higher for those in the TDI group (p<.001). Creative problem solving and critical thinking were statistically significant predictors of civic responsibility.
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  • Inquiry in Music Education: Theory and Practice
    • Presenters: Joseph Abramo & Rex Sturdevant
    • This presentation explores inquiry pedagogy as applied to music education. First, we explore theories of inquiry pedagogy as applied to music education and how it is conceived by music education researchers. Second, we show examples of how a teacher uses inquiry in a music classroom.
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  • Developing an Inquiring Community of Practice with a Focus on STEM and Global Studies
    • Presenter: Frank LaBanca
    • As an urban magnet middle school, we are committed to a student-centered inquiry-based learning environment that values extended project-based learning. Community members contribute their expertise in the design, execution, and evaluation of student work. These partnerships allow community members to showcase their own talents, skills, and knowledge that forge meaningful relationships to enhance student learning.
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• Habits of Mind - Moderator: Bena Kallick
  
  A quality education provides students with the opportunities to develop their thinking dispositions while solving difficult problems in an intelligent manner. Three presenters will describe how students and educators facilitate thinking using 16 Habits of Mind. This international panel represents school leaders from Brazil, Cambodia, and the US.
  • The Impact of Habits of Mind: An Exploratory Study
    • Presenter: Julio Vazquez
    • The purpose of this qualitative, explorative multiple-case study was to understand participants‘ perceptions of the impact of Habits of Mind. Findings One-Two described positive school-wide effects. Finding Three pointed to the role of school administrators regarding supports for the implementation and maintenance of a high-quality Habits of Mind program.
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  • The Relationship Between Habits of Mind and Performance Task Achievement in an International School in South-east Asia
    • Presenter: Philip G. Muscott
    • In this correlativestudy, amultiple linear regression was used to determine the predictive power of three different summativeassessments in determining students' success in authentic performance assessments. The study found a high correlation between students‘ performance in Habits of Mind assessments and Performance Task achievement which prioritize the need for Habits of Mind instruction.
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  • STAR:Supporting Teachers as Researchers (Fostering data-informed reflection in a pandemic)
    • Presenters: Priscila Torres & Damian Bebell
    • Building upon their Habits of Mind implementation, Brazil‘s Escola-Concept teachers designed and conducted collaborative, year-long, action research projects. In this session, learn how leadership, resources, and ongoing support strengthened teacher capacity and skill in using assessment, data, and research to empower practices and address real-word questions during a tumultuous year.
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SPEAKERS' BIOGRAPHIES:

Sarah Cohodes (Keynote Speaker)

Sarah Cohodes is an Associate Professor of Economics and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is also a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a Faculty Affiliate at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, and a Faculty Affiliate at the MIT School Effectiveness and Inequality Institute. She is a co-editor at the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. Her research uses quantitative causal inference methods to evaluate policies and programs that are intended to increase access to high-quality education. She is particularly interested in how young people and their families make choices about education and how school and college quality interact with those decisions. She holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy from Harvard University, an Ed.M. in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a B.A. in Economics from Swarthmore College.
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Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger (Keynote Speaker & Invited Panelist)

Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger is the President and CEO of the Data Quality Campaign, a nonprofit policy and advocacy organization leading the effort to ensure that educators, families, and policymakers are empowered with quality information to make decisions that ensure students excel.
Prior to DQC, Jennifer served at the US Department of Education first as director of the Policy and Program Studies Services and later as Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy. In these roles, Jennifer led a team of researchers and policy analysts to provide analytic support and research expertise to enable department staff to make evidence-based decisions, inform policy development by analyzing data, and conduct objective reviews of department products, all with an eye to making informed decisions that benefit America‘s students.
After beginning her career as a kindergarten and first-grade teacher in Bronx, New York, working directly with underserved students, Jennifer brought her classroom experience to the central office of the New York City Department of Education, where she served as senior advisor to the chancellor and executive director of research and policy support. In 2012, Jennifer joined Baltimore City Public Schools first as chief achievement and accountability officer and then as the interim chief of staff for the Baltimore City Public Schools, leading the district through a change of administration while continuing to help it stay focused on student achievement.
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Heather Kelly (Moderator, Invited Panel)

Heather Kelly has been with the University of Delaware since 1998. Her areas of expertise include institutional effectiveness and faculty workload. She has published four chapters on the latter topic including a chapter in The Handbook of Institutional Research. She has taught graduate level courses focusing on Planning, Governance, and Finance in Higher Education and Analyzing Faculty Workload, Performance and Compensation. She serves as the Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO) and an Evaluator for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). She is the President of the Association for Institutional Research (AIR), past Board Treasurer of AIR, and past President and Treasurer of the North East Association for Institutional Research (NEAIR). She was the recipient of the 2015 NEAIR Distinguished Service Award. She received a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Delaware, a master‘s degree in Higher Education Administration from the University of Pennsylvania, and a bachelor‘s degree in Geology from Smith College. She is also a graduate of the HERS (Higher Education Resource Services) Bryn Mawr Summer Institute.
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Lynn Letukas (Invited Panelist)

Lynn Letukas is Senior Director of Global Academic Programs and Certifications at SAS Institute. She leads an organization that develops and delivers scalable academic and workforce solutions, including supporting postsecondary programs and faculty in teaching and learning analytics as well as working to align college-career pathways in data science and analytics and help improve student outcomes. Lynn also leads the SAS‘ global certification program which develops credentials and exams to validate analytics skills.

Prior to joining SAS, Lynn was a research scientist at the College Board where she led large-scale evaluations and impact and content validity studies for the SAT and Advanced Placement programs, and faculty at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She is co-editor of Measuring Success: Testing, Grades and the Future of College Admissions (2018) and author of Primetime Pundits: How Cable News Covers Social Issues (2014). She received her PhD from the University of Delaware in Sociology with a focus on quantitative research methods and statistics.
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Kate Akers (Invited Panelist)

Dr. Kate Shirley Akers joined the State System in January of 2019 as the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Advanced Data Analytics. In this role, she serves as an advisor to the Chancellor and oversees the work of the Advanced Data Analytics Shared Service team. She and her team work closely with university staff and faculty to collect accurate, timely data and create actionable research and reports for the System.
Prior to joining the State System, Dr. Akers led the work of the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYStats), Kentucky‘s comprehensive, centralized, longitudinal data system. KYStats is responsible for producing meaningful, actionable statistics on Kentucky‘s education and workforce system. She received national recognition as an education data strategist and thought leader in the areas of longitudinal data and data governance.
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David M. Moss (Chair, Invited Symposium)

David M. Moss, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor on the faculty of the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. Specializing in curriculum studies and internationalizing U.S. teacher education, his current research interests are in the areas of education abroad program design & assessment and culturally sustaining pedagogies. As a scholar, he has published numerous articles and reform-minded books, including Preparing Classroom Teachers to Succeed with Second Language Learners (Routledge, 2014); Reforming Legal Education: Law Schools at the Crossroads (IAP, 2012); Critical Essays on Resistance in Education (Peter Lang, 2010); Interdisciplinary Education in an Age of Assessment (Routledge, 2008); Portrait of a Profession: Teachers and Teaching in the 21st Century (Praeger, 2005, 2008); and Beyond the Boundaries: A Transdisciplinary Approach to Learning and Teaching (Praeger, 2003). He was named a Teaching Fellow at the university, the highest honor awarded for instructional excellence and leadership. Dr. Moss has served as a keynote and featured speaker at scholarly societies, universities, and national/international conferences. He has extensive curriculum development and assessment experience and directs the Neag School of Education London Study Abroad program.
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Jon Simmons (Discussant, Invited Symposium)

Jon Simmons is a doctoral student at the University of Connecticut, Neag School of Education, Department of Curriculum and Instruction. His research interests include internationalization of teacher education and the development of intercultural competence, human rights education in elementary schools, and discussion and dialogue in the classroom. He has worked as an elementary school teacher both in the United States and abroad and brings his extensive international experience to his instruction and research.
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Laura Baecher (Presenter, Invited Symposium)

Dr. LauraBaecheris Professor of TESOL at Hunter College, City University of New York. Her research interests and publications relate to teachereducation including educational technology in teacher learning, observation and coaching for English language teaching, and professional development in TESOL. Her recentbooks areStudy Abroad for Pre- and In-Service TeachersandVideo in Teacher Learning:Through their Own Eyes.She has served as the TESOLInternational‘sTeacher Education Interest Section Chair, The AERA Division K Classroom Observation SIG Chair, and as an English Language Specialist for the US Department of State.
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Helen Marx (Presenter, Invited Symposium)

Helen A. Marxis Professor of Curriculum and Learning, College of Education, Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, CT. Her research focuses on the design of study abroad program design to support intercultural development for pre-service teachers. Marx has worked on a number of initiatives with NAFSA: Association of International Educators to support efforts to internationalize teacher education.
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Felice D. Billups (Workshop Leader)

Felice D. Billups is a Professor in the Educational Leadership Doctoral Program at Johnson & Wales University, where she teaches educational research and organizational behavior courses, specializing in qualitative and mixed methods research applications, and organizational culture studies.

Billups earned her Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration from George Peabody College at Vanderbilt University; her M.A. in Higher Education Administration from RI College; and her B.A. in Fine Arts History from Tufts University.

Dr. Billups is the author of Qualitative Data Collection Tools: Design, Development, and Applications, released by Sage Publications in January, 2020.
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Aronté Bennett (Workshop Leader)

Dr. Aronté Bennett is an Associate Professor of Marketing and the Associate Department Chair of the Marketing & Business Law Department at Villanova University‘s School of Business (VSB). She received her BS and MBA from Florida A&M University, and her Ph.D. from New York University. For more than a decade, she has offered undergraduate and graduate courses on market research and consumer behavior. Her research focuses on marketplace access, race in the marketplace and vulnerable consumers; the findings from which have been published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing and the International Marketing Review. Dr. Bennett also serves as a Faculty Director in VSB‘s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and as a Liaison for the Center of Marketing and Consumer Insights.

Aronté firmly believes that civic engagement is a responsibility to which we are each beholden. She is the President of The Junior League of Philadelphia, Inc. (JLP). Founded in 1912, JLP has more than 700 members and is dedicated to the development of women and community improvement. Dr. Bennett is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Fund for the Water Works, an organization committed to instilling an appreciation for the connections between daily life and the natural environment at the historic site of Fairmount Water Works, the nation‘s first urban water supply system.
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Monica Erbacher (Workshop Co-Leader)

Monica Erbacher (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, College of Education, at the University of Arizona. Trained as a quantitative psychologist, Monica teaches introductory (e.g., t-test, regression) through advanced (e.g., HLM, factor analysis, measurement theories) graduate statistics courses, all of which use R. Her research explores common attitudes in current generations of college students, such as academic entitlement, and how those attitudes may be misunderstood. More recently, Monica has taken interest in critical quantitative methods, using quantitative methods more responsibly by incorporating principles and techniques common in diversity, inclusion, equity, and critical research.
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James Smith (Workshop Co-Leader)

James Smith (he/him) is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Teaching Language and Sociocultural Studies, College of Education, and a Masters student in Data Science and Statistics at the University of Arizona. His interdisciplinary research leverages insights from the cognitive sciences toexplore current methods and new approaches to investigate teaching, in particular, mathematics teaching practice. Currently, James is working on his dissertation exploring evidence for interpretation and validityarguments of a novel measure of primary and secondary mathematics teaching practices.
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Sergio Castro (Workshop Co-Leader)

Sergio Castro (he/him) is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Educational Psychology, College of Education, at the University of Arizona. Sergio is minoring in statistics and is a graduate teaching assistant for introductory and advanced statistics graduate courses. The entry-level course utilizes a mix of R and SPSS (primarily R) to instruct students in t-tests, regression, and data management. The more advanced course focuses on factor analysis, canonical correlation, and discriminant function analysis using R. Sergio‘s research varies but includes identifying the effectiveness of learning strategies such as example generation, exploring academic entitlement measures and academic entitlement's underlying mechanisms, and non-traditional student success and access to/in higher education. He seeks to explore the academic entitlement and other measures‘ measurement invariance across groups to ensure equitable representation and interpretation in research.
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Christine Stevens (Workshop Co-Leader)

Christine Stevens is Professor and Department Chair of Business Management at New England Institute of Technology. After an early career in sales and marketing for companies including NCR Corporation and GE Lighting, she transitioned into higher education. For the past several years, she has designed and taught marketing courses, among other business-related subjects, to share her practical experience with students.
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Heather Harris (Workshop Co-Leader)

Heather Harris is a Data Scientist/Psychometric/Statistical Consultant working in the entertainment and education technology industries. While serving as a consultant for Solstice Studios, she worked on building statistical models for microtargeting audiences using various social media platforms for the movie Unhinged, which was the first widely released film following the onset of the pandemic. Currently, she works to coordinate similar microtargeting efforts for several entertainment brands and maximize social media brand interactions.
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Ellen Mandinach (Workshop Co-Leader)

Ellen Mandinach is a Senior Research Scientist and a leading expert in the area of data-driven decision making at the classroom, district, and state levels. Her work over the past 20 years has focused on understanding how educators are using data to inform practice. She has written and spoken widely on the topic, and has served on a number of technical working groups and advisory boards on data use. Dr. Mandinach served as an expert panelist on the Institute of Educational Sciences practice guide for data-driven decision making and a National Center for Educational Statistics technical working group to understand how researchers can better use the statewide longitudinal data systems. She has been funded by the Spencer, Gates, Dell, and Kauffman Foundations to conduct a variety of research projects about data use. She led discussions, funded by the Spencer Foundation, about how schools of education can provide courses to build data literacy and what is needed to build a research agenda for data-driven decision making, as well as developed assessments of data literacy. She directed a project funded by the Dell Foundation to conduct the survey of the schools of education around how they prepare educators to use data. She led a study funded by the Gates Foundation, to create a definition of data literacy and another to examine data use in personalized learning environments. Dr. Mandinach is working with the Regional Education Laboratories in the West, Northeast and Islands, and Mid-Atlantic regions on data use. She is working with schools of education, teacher preparation programs, and professional organizations to help them integrate culturally responsive data literacy and data ethics into their work. She had advised the Data Quality Campaign about data literacy, served on an expert committee for the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards on teacher assessment and data literacy, and on the Advisory Council for the Data Use Standards Work Group. Most recently, she is helping to build the data infrastructure at the Nevada Department of Education, in districts throughout Vermont, and is developing materials on data privacy and data ethics for educator preparation.
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Saroja Warner (Workshop Co-Leader)

Saroja Warner, NBCT, Ph.D., is a nationally recognized expert in educator workforce initiatives and culturally responsive teaching, leading and school cultures. She currently serves as the Director for Talent Development and Diversity at WestEd. In this role she provides strategic leadership for WestEd‘s technical assistance, research and policy work with state education agencies, district leaders and school-based educators focused on developing and retaining an effective, culturally responsive, and racially and linguisticallydiverse educator workforce and increasing educators‘ and leaders‘ use of policies and practices that promotesuccessful and equitable learning outcomes for each student. Dr. Warner has also served as co-director of two Comprehensive Centers, federally funded education services centers, run by WestEd serving states in the mid-Atlantic and northeast regions of the U.S. Prior to joining the WestEd team she was the Director of Teacher Workforce Initiatives at the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). There she led several national initiatives including the Network for Transforming Educator Preparation (NTEP) and the Diverse and Learner-Ready Teachers Initiative (DLRT). Prior to that she served as the Chief for Educator Preparation Program Approval at the Maryland State Department of Education and as Senior Director for Performance, Measurement and Research at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). Dr. Warner started her career as a high school social studies teacher, earning national board certification in 2004 and renewing that certification in 2014. She also serves as faculty in the graduate teacher preparation program at the University of Maryland, College Park since 2008, teaching in the very program that prepared her to be a teacher and where she earned her doctorate, to support the development of tomorrow‘s culturally responsive teachers.
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