Thinking about data: Exploring the development of mental models for “data use” among teachers and school leaders

•Teachers, campus leaders, and school district leaders define “data” in different ways.•Some construe data use as about improvement, others as a frustrating workday add-on.•Mental models were influenced most frequently via personal experience.•Other influences on mental models included collegial interaction and leader modeling.•Leaders may be able to influence mental models via collaborative excavation of meanings.

This study aimed at understanding the development of mental models for data use among educators in a small school district located in Texas. Drawing from survey and interview data, the study was guided by three questions: (1) How do educators conceptualize “data” in relation to “evidence” or “information”?; (2) How do teachers and school leaders construe “data” or “data use”?; and (3) What factors affect mental models for data use? Findings indicated that educators approached decision-making from a range of mental models for data use, and that models seemed rooted in ways of thinking about “data” and “data use” that were influenced by formal training, modeling by leaders, social interaction with colleagues, and personal experience.