Prof Rodman Note: This exercise is based on the situation and data from Case Study #5: Sorting Through the Data from Logan Elementary School. However, please note, we are only doing the data organizing portion. I wanted to provide you with enough data to really sort and re-sort. Also, all the information you need is provided here. You do not need to access the textbook.

Second Prof Rodman Note: It is challenging to provide information here that answers all the potential questions you might have about the assignment...especially without giving away the purpose of the assignment. I also have few requirements for formatting, file types, etc., so I often don't include those types of details. If you have specific questions or need clarification, please email me! We can discuss via email if possible or set up a time to meet/call.

Background:

Logan Elementary School is a suburban elementary school in a middle-class district in the southwestern United States with six grade levels. It is a large school campus with five wings, each with six to eight classrooms. Grades 1-3 (lower grades) are located in wings A and B, while Grades 4-6 (upper grades) are located in wings C, D, and E. The school was built in the late 1980s, though it was recently painted in bright colors, showcasing three elaborate murals, with funds raised from the Parents Association.

You have been called in as the organization development practitioner to help the principal develop better relationships among the school's faculty and staff. There are 38 faculty members, eight staff members, and a part-time librarian at the school. The principal, Nancy Mestas, 2 years into her role at this school, wants to improve relationships among faculty and staff, build consistency in approach among teachers at each grade level, and improve the relationship between the school and the community. She has made several dramatic changes over the past year.

You agreed to conduct interviews of staff members, faculty members, and parents over the course of 1 week to better understand the issues facing the school. With interviewees, you agreed that all interviews would be documented anonymously and data would be shared primarily in summary form, with quotes shared only when a single individual could not be identified. You are scheduled to meet with Nancy next week to present the data and to hold a feedback meeting.

Data Sorting:

I have provided all the data found in a Google sheet document. First create a copy or cut-and-paste to your own space. Then, given the background of the situation as the characteristics provided, come up with at least 3 different objective ways to sort the data and at least 2 different subjective ways.

An objective type means that the data itself--without interpretation--provides the categories. Imagine we have a library of books. We could sort them by size, format (hardback, paperback, audio), or by in stock at local book store.

A subjective type means that *you* must provide some interpretation or categorization of the data to break it down. It is a judgment that someone might agree or disagree with. Back to our imagined library, subjective type sort might be by quality of book (New, excellent, good, not good), by reader's age appropriateness (adult, high school, middle school, elementary school), or books you like or ones you don't!

By subject (fiction, biography, science, etc.) I could see an argument for either way. While this may seem clear for many books, some books go across multiple subjects making this more challenging and requiring decision making. It may depend on your data set (whether the subjects are clear or not) or your purpose (do you need to know all the relevant subject or at specific level of detail?)

What to Submit:

Include at least 3 objective methods and at least 2 subjective methods.

For each sorting method:

1. Explain the sorting categories
   1. If objective type, what are the categories.
   2. If subjective type, explain how you developed the categories and what the possible values are.
2. Discuss what this particular data sort allows us to see and/or understand.
3. Discuss what this particular sort might prevent us from seeing/understanding.
4. Present the data arranged in the particular sort.

I am agnostic over the format, but it should be clear to understand the various methods and see the sorts. An easy way would be a spreadsheet with each sort being its own tab. The requested introductory info could be on the first tab, at the top of each individual tab, or in a separate document altogether. I'm not fussy on formats as long as I can find what is asked for.

Sample--Days of the Week method.

1. Objective sort by days of the week. Interviews were done on five separate days. Data can be Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday.
2. This sort might provide an understanding of the quality or tenor of the provided data if there was an issue during the week that might have affected those being interviewed. For example, if there was an Open House on Thursday that was a rousing success, one might expect the Friday data to be more positive than previous days. On the flip side, if there was a negative newspaper article on Tuesday, one might expect more negative responses later in the week.
3. This sort doesn't provide much additional insight if there wasn't an external force (as hypothesized in #2). It would only be conjecture about the effect of an issue on the interviewee's response.
4. See data sort in Case Study 5 on page 203 of textbook.

Sample--Focus on Nancy with Interviewees.

1. Subjective evaluation of the interviewee's feeling about Nancy in their comments. Values could be positive, negative, or not relevant.
2. This would provide an understanding of the overall feeling toward Nancy.
3. This doesn't help us understand the nature of what they liked/didn't like specifically or the nature of non-Nancy comments.
4. Positive: "The kids love it when Nancy comes to read to them in my classroom. She has been very accessible to me and to our class." (Teacher, Grade 5) Negative: "I think that Nancy should ahve been open with us regarding the reading textbook issue." (Teacher, Grade 3) Not relevant: "I wish the district had given us some additional fundin to deal with the new math standards for our school." (Teacher, Grade 2)