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Purpose of the Data Inquiry Journal
The Data Inquiry Journal (DIJ) allows educators to document ongoing data investigation and design continuous improvement plans all in one convenient location within WISEdash for Districts. The Data Inquiry Journal is aligned to the Continuous Improvement Process Criteria and Rubric. Explore the DIJ to familiarize yourself with the inquiry stages, then review the related tools to see which best fits your specific scope and level of inquiry.
Why Use the Data Inquiry Journal?
- Includes all essential components for continuous improvement in one tool that supports teams engaging in critical conversations to address gaps and promote equitable outcomes
- Meets basic requirements for continuous improvement planning in ESEA and IDEA
- Imports local data for analysis which is useful for SLO and PLC practices
- Designed by Wisconsin educators
- Embedded within a secure platform (WISEdash for Districts) to protect student privacy
Overview
- Designed to foster individual reflection and team collaboration
- Interactive tool leads educators through data inquiry and improvement planning
- Three parts - Needs Assessment: Student Data Inquiry, Needs Assessment: Practices Inquiry, and Summary and Improvement Plan
- Automatically uploads and integrates data pictures to document progress over time
- Includes options to export data for further use
Access the Data Inquiry Journal
To access the Data Inquiry Journal, you first need access to WISEdash for Districts. If you follow the steps below and find that you do not yet have access, follow the steps in the "Request Access to a WISE Application" section of the WISEhome and WISEsecure Login Information page.
- From the WISEhome and WISEsecure Login Information page, log in to WISEhome.
- Open WISEdash for Districts.
- Click Utility Apps in the upper-left corner.
- Select Data Inquiry Journal. This opens the Data Inquiry Journal in a new browser tab.
- Notice that the Data Inquiry Journal starts in the Plans tab, where you can create a new plan or open and edit a previously developed plan.
This template is designed to help teams align hypotheses of practices to the categories within the Multi-Level Systems of Supports framework as possible likely causes to explain critical data findings. Categories include: Collaboration, Continuum of Supports, Evidence-Based Practices, Family & Community Engagement, High Quality Instruction, Positive Culture, Strategic Use of Data, Strong Shared Leadership, Strong Universal Level of Support, and Systemic Implementation.
Create a Plan
- In the Plans tab of the Data Inquiry Journal, click + New Plan.
- The Plan Properties window appears.
- Required fields are outlined in red.
- Enter the name of the plan.
- Select the Multi-Level Systems of Supports (MLSS) plan template.
- Available templates have black text.
- Unavailable templates have grey text.
- Enter any other information in the Plan Properties.
- To expand a field, click the diagonal lines in the bottom-right corner of the field and drag your mouse downward. This is particularly useful if your plan has a long description.
- When you are done, click Save.
Share a Plan in the Data Inquiry Journal
You can share plans in the Data Inquiry Journal with team members who have access to WISEdash for Districts. This allows you to collaborate on needs assessments and an improvement plan.
- In the right side of a plan's row, click the
Share icon. - The Share with User window opens.
- In the Find a user... field, type the name of the person with whom you would like to share this plan.
- If the system finds multiple users with the same name, select the user whose email address matches your collaborator.
- The user's information populates in the Username, Full Name, and Email columns below.
- Type the names of additional collaborators with whom you would like to share this plan.
- When you are done, click Save.
Resources
- WISEdash Help: Buttons and Icons Index: Learn the use of each icon on these dashboards.
- Continuous Improvement Criteria & Rubric: Resource to guides teams through evidence-based continuous improvement
- WISEdash for Districts: Home page for WISEdash for Districts.
- WISEdash for Districts: About the Data: Pages describing the data for all WISEdash for Districts topics.
- WISExplore: processes, tools and resources that support school and district leaders with data-informed decision-making.
- Data Privacy: Home page for DPI training around resources around student privacy.
- WISE homepage: A great place to get started if you are new to WISE applications.
- Consider joining our WISE Community, a Microsoft Teams channel where you can read up on current topics and post questions.
- Would you like to ask questions directly to a Partner Support team member? We also host a recurring WISE User Group Webinar! Join us!
