Data-Informed Instruction
Data-Informed Instruction
Every educator deserves to feel confident using literacy data to support student success. Data-Informed Instruction is a practical, research-aligned learning series that empowers teachers, resource staff, and school leaders to make meaningful sense of their assessment landscape from the Canadian context. Whether you are implementing universal screeners for the first time, wondering how different types of assessments connect, or striving to build a schoolwide system that feels equitable and doable, this course will guide you step by step.
Across four sequential online sessions, you’ll learn how to interpret screening data, choose and use diagnostic tools, monitor progress, design Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 supports, and lead data-based conversations that strengthen, not strain, your team. This course is ideal for anyone committed to creating clarity, strengthening instruction, and helping all learners thrive within a Canadian-framed Multi-Tiered Systems of Support.
Fall 2026 Series: Sessions will be held online via Zoom on Thursday evenings (5:00 to 8:00pm).
- October 8 – Session 1: Understanding the Assessment Landscape
- October 15 – Session 2: From Screener Data to Classroom Action
- October 22 – Session 3: Diagnostic Assessments, Goal Setting, and Tiered Support Cycles
- October 29 – Session 4: Evaluating, Refining, and Sustaining Your System
Spring 2027 Series: Sessions will be held online via Zoom on Thursday evenings (5:00 to 8:00pm).
- April 1, 2027 – Session 1: Understanding the Assessment Landscape
- April 8, 2027 – Session 2: From Screener Data to Classroom Action
- April 15, 2027 – Session 3: Diagnostic Assessments, Goal Setting, and Tiered Support Cycles
- April 22, 2027 – Session 4: Evaluating, Refining, and Sustaining Your System
Who: This course is intended for practicing educators such as teachers and tutors
Prerequisites: Degree in Education (B.Ed, PDP) or equivalent
Cost: $550
Application deadline is one week prior to start date
If you have any questions, please contact ProD@fraseracademy.ca.
Session 1
Session 1: Understanding the Assessment Landscape
We begin with a clear foundation for how assessment supports instructional decision-making.
Participants explore:
- The fundamentals of assessment: what different tools can and cannot tell us
- The principles of the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and Response to Intervention (RTI)
- How to select an effective universal screener and what features to look for
Participants finish this session with a stronger understanding of the entire assessment ecosystem and how it relates to Provincial competencies.
Session 2
Session 2: From Screener Data to Classroom Action
This session focuses on the essential question: “Now that we have the data, what do we do with it?”
Participants learn how to:
- Interpret universal screener results and identify meaningful patterns
- Combine (triangulate) screener data with classroom observations and student work
- Use data to support and refine universal (Tier 1) instruction
- Set up classroom and schoolwide goal cycles that improve outcomes while keeping workload manageable
Educators leave with practical steps for turning assessment results into instructional action.
Session 3
Session 3: Diagnostic Assessments, Goal Setting, and Tiered Support Cycles
With core knowledge established, we shift into targeted assessment and intervention planning.
Participants explore:
- How to choose and administer diagnostic assessments
- How to create goals using progress-monitoring data
- How to design support cycles across Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3
- How to design Tier 2 and Tier 3 instruction that leads to skill transfer
This session gives educators the tools to run a full Multi-Tiered Systems of Support cycle from beginning to end.
Session 4
Session 4: Evaluating, Refining, and Sustaining Your System
The final session focuses on long-term sustainability and building a culture of data-informed practice.
Participants learn how to:
- Analyze outcome data at the student, classroom, and school level
- Intensify instruction when necessary while supporting teacher capacity
- Build effective professional learning community (PLC) structures and data meetings
- Lead data conversations that strengthen relationships rather than creating stress
This session supports educators and leaders in maintaining an equitable, effective, and collaborative schoolwide system for literacy support.
The course offered research-based best practices in procedures, activities and intervention. It’s vital for teachers to be familiar and skilled in all areas but particularly assessments, goal setting, progress monitoring and reporting.
Cindy L., Public School TeacherAbout the Trainer
Nicola Lott, M.Ed.
Acting Director, FAx
Nicola Lott is the Acting Director of FAx, Fraser Academy’s Outreach Centre. She holds a Master of Special Education, and is an accredited Structured Literacy Interventionist and Orton-Gillingham Supervisor. Nicola is Level B assessment certified and has completed advanced training in data-based intervention, screening, and progress-monitoring systems. She has trained teachers and school districts across North America in implementing assessment-driven literacy frameworks, focusing on applying evidence-based assessment and MTSS practices within the Canadian educational context.