This advance e-copy was blessed by @penguinbookssea . However, all opinions are candid and remain my own.
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It’s one day after National Day - a school holiday - and what better way to sharpen my saw than to read “Managing People, Culture and Data in the Modern Organisation” written by Jaclyn Lee and Jovina Ang. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book for its well-organised chapters, engaging case studies and refreshing jargon. It so coincidentally happened that I delivered a sharing on Formative Assessment in front of my staff recently. Formative Assessment involves the analysis of data such as students’ marks to design lessons better tailored to their needs and aimed to plug their learning gaps. Being immersed in the echo chamber of the educational sector, I devoured business jargon like “outsight”, which is insight that can only be acquired through doing. Isn’t this synonymous with the hands-on + interactive experiences that we teachers talk about?!

The similarities end here because my analysis of students’ grades will fall under the descriptive + diagnostic analytics stages of a company’s data management framework. What successful corporations do is to take data analysis one step further. Not only do they collect experience data (X data) through tools like Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI), but they also use it to power their predictive + prescriptive analytics. Due to the nature of summative assessments, teachers are firmly rooted in the now, trying to get their charges to ace examinations. But if I were to apply a helicopter view, I ought to use students’ data to engage in scenario planning. If I apply differentiated instruction, what kinds of scenarios can I reasonably anticipate? How do I then use data that will help me design lessons that bring about optimal outcomes for future batches of students? I think this book attuned me to the necessity of engaging in strategic thinking.

As for X data, what teachers do is to conduct a survey aimed to solicit students’ feedback at the end of a semester. But shouldn’t I conduct frequent pulse surveys instead? This I will need to do so as to incorporate purpose into my lessons for my students.