Staying Unmuted – with Diane Devenyi.

Welcome to Data Uncollected, a newsletter designed to enable nonprofits to listen, think, reflect, and talk about data we missed and are yet to collect. In this newsletter, we will talk about everything the raw data is capable of – from simple strategies of building equity into research+analytics processes to how we can make a better community through purpose-driven analysis.

If I ask you – what is your biggest (professional) fear, what would you say?

Unexplored potential?has been my response to that question for a while now. Through this work, I intend to create enough space to allow myself and you to explore our geniuses, the potential from the width and depth of our minds and hearts. To not have that, to have unexplored potential – that's my fear. Recently, when I sent out the call for the Staying Unmuted interview, Diane reached out. Within the first few minutes, she shared her passion for her work - to help every individual realize their true potential by offering innovative learning classes for all age groups. Her work focuses on revamping education in ways that push social equity forward. And she believes in leveraging data as she designs her programs. She says, "You don't know what your particular genius is going to be and how it's going to show up. Amazing things happen when people open themselves in our guided, thoughtful process".

This is what you and I are focusing on today – understanding how Diane addresses gaps in education equity by combining her experience, education, and data collected from the field.

Education inequity results from various sources. Students of color, rural students, refugee students, and non-traditional students have faced inequities in their learning opportunities. Data, then, can be a valuable tool for understanding how to meet the needs of people as they navigate through the needs and demands of education.

We will talk more about this and Diane's story in her words. But, before that, let's see 4-ways data supports addressing this education inequity. This list comes from Diane's work and some research on what educators have done with the collected data.

• Using multiple data points to assess the needs of students and their families.
• Collecting the uncollected data (like identity data) to understand access barriers for students in educational programs (and then translating it for beyond).
• Offering key data points with transparency (including the ones on diversity, equity, and access) to families and students for making informed decisions. This action is vital when families of non-native English-speaking students are looking for the right places to access educational opportunities. When made accessible in a digestible format, the right data points offer families and students a chance to address their needs meaningfully.
• Using data to understand engagement patterns of students, especially when they come from different social and racial backgrounds. Understanding the engagement patterns allow educators to take creative and innovative steps in fostering curiosity in students. For example, for one of her programs, Diane sends a box of clay to her students before they begin their online classes. At one point, she realized sending that clay (as part of a project) allowed her students to connect with the course better.

And this is just a part of Diane's story. Let's read some responses to the questions I asked her on behalf of you and me.

Let's start with what led you to where you are in this work today.

"It all started in the 90s. Back then, during my maternity leave from taxation law, I spent a lot of time volunteering in classrooms for my children's classes. At some point, my eldest son became very unhappy in school, and I realized that something needed to be done to improve the system for everybody. Eventually, when he turned 10, he stopped cooperating at school. So I became highly motivated to find a way for my son to be happy in what he was doing and feel successful in school.

I started by experiencing a level-one dyslexia correction workshop. When asked in the program about my joining, I said, 'I am here to revamp education on the planet'. It was 1999—a very different time than today. From there, the journey has been about answering - what does that mean? What does that look like? I realized my life's purpose is to create space for genius to flourish. I wanted to make it happen so that everyone could be excited about learning and literacy and make bold new choices.

That's where I began. From there, I decided to take their entire 30-hour one-to-one program to work with a dyslexic person. I started to learn how to make those learning approaches scalable in a group setting for people with different learning abilities.

I spent several years in Toronto public schools doing pilot projects. I started to run camps, facilitating 80 people at one time. Students reported that they developed new interests after the program. It motivated me to return to school to get a master's degree in education. Working with students and families of different backgrounds and learning abilities brought me to where I am today."

What is that fundamental thing in your process that allows virtual learning to be sustainable and joy-giving for all families and students?

"I dedicate much time to designing and evaluating my programs and assessments to ensure they are sustainable for my students. In early 2020 I suddenly found myself in a place to somehow make virtual programs or lose what I had built. It was a moment of truth. I right away took a challenge to learn and publish my online course in 7 days. I was recording lessons at 2:00 AM up until the seventh day. And, then I started beta testing it.

People were happy with it. But, it was only part of what I offered in person. That's when I realized – I need to give learning warmups or something I call the brain pleasers to maximize your Learning. The purpose of these warmups is to connect the mind and the body. Science says the brain is really happy when it's not working alone. I also started to use materials like clay.

Today, I use gamification tools like Xperiencify to leverage the psychology behind motivation, Learning, and accountability through small wins in incremental steps. Carefully planned gamification allows people with all forms of learning abilities to overcome obstacles. I also ensure the transformation I promise is not at the cost of an overwhelming learning process. Instead, the goal is the minimum amount of information required to achieve the needed transformation. All of it has led to bringing students from 6 to 77!"

If and how has your use of data changed over the years in this education equity space since you started?

"Well, I would say I was aware of the importance of data as soon as I began my journey into educational reform. When I was doing the pilot projects in the Toronto schools, I started working with data through Ontario's standardized testing systems.

In the hopes of working better with data, I took courses understanding assessments, validity and reliability of assessments data, and the effect of different results in different circumstances. In the early years, despite all my learning, the majority of work was anecdotal in the industry. Eventually, I started to bring in more patience and learning around data, especially dealing with bringing more literacy of building scores.

I also started to see data as a way toward accountability. I understand how important it is to have data and evidence of what is happening – in terms of effects vs. efforts. Now, I focus on impact data for families and students in this space of public education.

Moving forward, I intend to bring an even more intentional approach in collecting data points that will support families and students from all backgrounds in their Learning."

Two final things you may wish to share with our community:

"[one] the purpose of education is to help every individual find out what makes them come alive and fully express that. And that comes from a place of believing that we are all connected and we all have a specific zone of genius.

[two] learning was never intended to happen just in the head. It's intended to be a full body experience."

Diane, how can we help you? What can I ask our data uncollected community to do that helps you in this work?

"Well, the most important thing could be to enroll and share about my course. Another way is to keep an eye on my upcoming book. I am also authoring a series of books about high-performance Learning. The first, 'Dear Genius, Harness the Hidden Power in Your ABCs' can be pre-ordered at TheLearningForce.com, with the anticipated release being October 2022".

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Data impacts building equitable access to opportunities that can allow any student, regardless of social background, to be successful throughout their education and beyond. I appreciate seeing Diane taking an intentional approach towards creating such opportunities, grounded in curiosity and innovation.

Thanks to the?Staying Unmuted?dialogue series, you and I have another friend.

Diane, we are grateful for your work in helping us explore our true potential!

To becoming. To staying unmuted!

Links to Diane's work:

• Website:?https://www.mboldneducation.com/?
• LinkedIn:?https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/dianedevenyi

***?So, what do I want from you today (my readers)?

Today, I want you to?

• reach out to Diane to share your questions, appreciation, and ways in which she outlined the needed community support.
• Reach out if this platform can highlight your work and perspectives; I welcome you to?fill out this form .

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*** Here is the continuous prompt for us to keep the?list of community-centric data principles ?alive.