Data Lit

Data Lit

By Data, Research, and AccountabilityEducation
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Data Lit episodes

  • AI Prompts for Teachers: A Conversation with Rolesville Middle School’s Paul Cancellieri

    Join Data Lit as we sit down with Paul Cancellieri, a science teacher at Rolesville Middle School, to discover how AI has impacted his instruction and assessment. In this episode, Paul shares his experience with AI and then his three favorite prompts to engage his students. 


    Research & Resources for the episode:

    • New Canvas Course for WCPSS: "Integrating ChatGPT Professionally" and NCDPI AI Guidance
    • Learning Central Course for WCPSS: Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom
      • EdSurge: Why Educators Should Lean in to AI to Better Support Students

      • WCPSS staff can earn credit for listening to and reflecting on completed series. Learn more here.

        Hosts: Mellisa Smith and Spencer Ziegler

        Theme music provided by Rolesville Middle School’s Jamaal Wellman
        Data, Research, and Accountability department for the Wake County Public School System

        24 min
      • Street Data: A new lens for seeing our learners

        Have you heard about Street Data? Prior to a year and a half ago, neither had we. However, as our district was engaging in conversations around our post-pandemic “new normal”, we came across a book by Shane Safir and Dr. Jamila Dugan called “Street Data” that called to us because of its promises of addressing data considerations with equity in mind. In this episode of Data Lit, our listeners will get a taste of what this book is about as we summarize this new model for school transformation.

        Research & Resources from the episode:

        • Street Data: A Next-Generation Model for Equity, Pedagogy, and School Transformation

        • Best Practices for Conducting Focus Groups

        • Best Practices for Developing Collaborative Surveys 

        • Quantitative & Qualitative Data: Why they matter in the classroom

        • WCPSS staff can earn credit for listening to and reflecting on completed series. Learn more here.

          Theme music provided by Rolesville Middle School’s Jamaal Wellman
          Hosts: Mellisa Smith and Spencer Ziegler

          Data, Research, and Accountability department for the Wake County Public School System

          25 min
        • Demystifying the NCPAT: An interview with Maxey Moore, Section Chief in NCDPI’s Office of Accountability & Testing

          This school-year, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has adopted the North Carolina Personalized Assessment Tool, or NCPAT. In this episode of Data Lit, Maxey Moore, the Section Chief in NCDPI’s Office of Accountability and Testing helps us to unpack what educators and students can expect as we transition to this new assessment system.

          Resources for the NCPAT:

          • NCDPI’s NCPAT Website

          • NCDPI Frequently Asked Questions 

          • WCPSS’ NCPAT Overview video

          • WCPSS staff can earn credit for listening to and reflecting on completed series. Learn more here.

            Hosts: Mellisa Smith and Spencer Ziegler

            Theme music provided by Rolesville Middle School’s Jamaal Wellman
            Data, Research, and Accountability department for the Wake County Public School System

            12 min
          • Data Lit Holiday Extravaganza!

            We're ringing in the new year with a holiday-themed episode of Data Lit! We give out a gift of data and then quiz each other on surprising statistics. Play along at home to see if you can beat our hosts (note: that's a fairly low bar).

            Research & Resources from the episode:

            • EdSurge - How AI Could Bring Big Changes to Education

            • Scientific American - 9 Bizarre and Surprising Insights from Data Science

            • WCPSS staff can earn credit for listening to and reflecting on completed series. Learn more here.

              Hosts: Mellisa Smith and Spencer Ziegler

              Theme music provided by Eva & Indy Ziegler

              Data, Research, and Accountability department for the Wake County Public School System

              25 min
            • Data Bytes: A conversation with Cindy DeFoor from WCPSS’ Grants Office

              In our latest Data Bytes podcast episode, Senior Director Cindy DeFoor shares how she and her team in the Grants Office use their grant development and management skills to bring funding opportunities to our district, as well as what data is considered in their day-to-day operations. Tune in to learn more about the inner workings of this fascinating department. Resources are provided for both district and non-district staff.

              Research & Resources from the episode:

              •  WCPSS District Facts  

              • Office of Grants’ WakeConnect Page [WCPSS only]

              • Office of Grants’ Learning Central Course [WCPSS only]

              • Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse

              • WCPSS staff can earn credit for listening to and reflecting on completed series. Learn more here.

                Hosts: Mellisa Smith and Spencer Ziegler

                Theme music provided by Rolesville Middle School’s Jamaal Wellman

                Data, Research, and Accountability department for the Wake County Public School System

                17 min
              • Assessment in the Age of AI

                Talk of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has suddenly become ubiquitous in educational circles. Sometimes these conversations position AI as a help for education and sometimes as a hindrance; so just what is this seemingly new technology and how will it impact educators? To learn more, we’re joined by Allison Reid, the Senior Director for Digital Learning and Libraries, to explore how AI can be used (or misused) in the classroom.  

                Research & Resources for the episode:

                • Learning Central Course for WCPSS: Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom

                • Wired - The Good and Bad of ChatGPT in Schools

                • Edutopia - Some ideas for using ChatGPT in Middle & High School Classes

                • EdSurge - We Can’t Keep ChatGPT Out of the Classroom, so Let’s Address the ‘Why’ Behind Our Fears

                • Center for Assessment - Ready or Not: AI is Changing Assessment and Accountability

                • WCPSS staff can earn credit for listening to and reflecting on completed series. Learn more here.

                  Hosts: Mellisa Smith and Spencer Ziegler

                  Theme music provided by Rolesville Middle School’s Jamaal Wellman

                  Data, Research, and Accountability department for the Wake County Public School System

                  31 min
                • Data Bytes: Understanding the layers of data with Rob Siwiec

                  In this Data Bytes episode, we hear how the world of geospatial technology and education are integrated.  Rob Siwiec, who serves as the Senior Director of Geospatial Analytics, takes us on an eye-opening journey into the world of geospatial data and “grounds” the work of his team to the transformative power within our school system.

                  WCPSS staff can earn credit for listening to and reflecting on episodes. Learn more here.

                  Hosts: Mellisa Smith and Spencer Ziegler

                  Theme music provided by Rolesville Middle School’s Jamaal Wellman


                  Data, Research, and Accountability department for the Wake County Public School System

                  17 min
                • Becoming Assessment Specialists: An Interview with Psychometrician Dr. Cizek

                  While classroom teachers may not have degrees in evaluation and measurement, they often find themselves creating assessments that need to measure what students have learned. In this episode, we continue our conversation with psychometrician Dr. Gregory Cizek to learn what teachers should consider when looking to ensure the validity and reliability of their own assessments.

                  WCPSS staff can earn credit for listening to and reflecting on completed series. Learn more here.

                  Hosts: Mellisa Smith and Spencer Ziegler

                  Theme music provided by Rolesville Middle School’s Jamaal Wellman


                  Data, Research, and Accountability department for the Wake County Public School System

                  31 min
                • Measuring the Unobservable: An Interview with Psychometrician Dr. Cizek

                  Too often in education, emphasis is placed on the results of standardized tests without fully understanding the work that goes into creating those tests. This episode is the first of two where we interview Dr.  Gregory Cizek, a psychometrician and distinguished professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina, to better understand the role psychometricians play in creating tests that can be used to measure what students know and are able to do. 
                  WCPSS staff can earn credit for listening to and reflecting on completed series. Learn more here.

                  Theme music provided by Rolesville Middle School’s Jamaal Wellman

                  Hosts: Mellisa Smith and Spencer Ziegler
                  Data, Research, and Accountability department for the Wake County Public School System

                  33 min
                • Season Four Trailer

                  Data Lit is back for our fourth season! Tune in to hear what’s coming your way from WCPSS' Data, Research, and Accountability department. 

                  Music for this episode is provided by Enloe High School's Maya Smith.

                  Hosts: Mellisa Smith and Spencer Ziegler

                  Theme music provided by Rolesville Middle School’s Jamaal Wellman

                  12 min

                About Data Lit

                From the publisher's feed

                Teachers are inundated with data, but none of those numbers will help if they're not paired with some accessible and informative data literacy training. This podcast seeks to empower teachers with the…