The Triple D Protocol

When I think of Triple D, I am reminded of my favorite show nicknamed Triple D (aka Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.) This culinary show is hosted by the immeasurably enthusiastic Guy Fieri. Everyone has something that they are “immeasurably enthusiastic” about, and for me, it is data. I used to go nuts about analyzing the progress my students had made. Now, I go nuts about measuring the progress our partner schools are making in Minneapolis.

In this post, I will spill the beans on three quick tips for practical data analysis – otherwise known as the Triple D Protocol. Please, take all my food idioms along the way with a pinch of salt.

The first step to analyzing data is deciding what data you are measuring. Then ask yourself if your students were able to master the objective you set for them. Finally, decide how you will improve student understanding or remediate so students are able to understand the objective. This process can be repeated again and again throughout the school year. As a classroom teacher, I practiced this protocol several times a week.

1. What is your data measuring?

Ask yourself, “What is the highest leverage datapoint that I need to collect right now?” If you are an early childhood teacher, you may want to assess your students’ ability to recognize specific vowel patterns in words. As a high school math teacher, you may be interested in how well your students can apply the binomial theorem. Or, if it is early in the year, you may want to know how well your students can relate to each other as peers.

Once you have decided what you are measuring, you must determine the best way to collect this data. In a blended-learning setting, software programs provide educators with rich data reports. But sometimes, like in the case of determining how well students relate to each other, you will need to create your own assessment. For example, this assessment could be anecdotal notes recording how often students are willing to speak up during group activities.

2. Did your students master the objective?

After determining your data measurement, it is time to do some analysis! This part can be a hard nut to crack. However, if you keep your focus on the datapoint you identified in the previous step, answering question two of the triple D protocol is a piece of cake.

In a blended-learning classroom, the software programs you choose can give vibrant data about:

• The number of students who mastered the objective
• The number of students who did not master the objective and what students need to master the objective.

This part of the triple D protocol does not require any interpretation. You know you have achieved this step when you have a few “juicy” data points that you are ready to cook into a story.

3. What will you do in the next 48 hours to improve student learning?

This last step is my favorite part. This is where you, the data analyst, get to take the ingredients and cook up your next steps. After looking at the data, you can ask yourself:

• What led to mastery for some students? What prevented mastery for other students?
• How can I extend learning for students who have mastered the objective? How can I remediate for students who did not master the objective?

In a nutshell, asking yourself these questions allows you to personalize your practice. You will be able to provide remediation for the students who need extra support and challenge students who are ready to learn more. During step three, you, the data analyst and educator, use your expertise to decide how to ensure all your students reach mastery.

The icing on the cake is that this protocol is simple enough to replicate in any kind of classroom. Also, this protocol gives the perfect amount of data without overwhelming the educator.

We’d love to hear from you if you’re a smart cookie when it comes to data. If you have a protocol of your own, feel free to share it in the comments. Or, if you give this protocol a try, let us know how it went by commenting below.