Case Study: Data Harmony Custom Features as Implemented for Triumph Learning

© 2010. Access Innovations, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Triumph Learning Taxonomy Development

With launch of a new Content Management System (CMS) for writing teams, Triumph Learning needed integrated taxonomies for precise alignment of standards-based instructional content.

To design their vocabulary axis, the supplemental education publisher joined forces with Access Innovations for thesaurus development and customization.

“The taxonomy contains terms reflecting concepts, skills, and learning standards in a hierarchical structure.” – Press Release: New York, NY May 13, 2013

Triumph Learning publishes supplemental educational content for print & digital media.

http://www.triumphlearning.com/


Project Goals – Math, English Language Arts Develop structure for supplemental educational

content:• Quizzes, games, and learning videos• Content objects need to allow for interactivity – if a quiz

question is answered incorrectly, the user is steered towards a relevant lesson based on the ‘misconception’

• Terms that describe a ‘skill mastered’ or a ‘learning misconcept’ must be useable in different ways across grade levels and learning strands [Reading, Writing, etc.]

• Multi-directional navigation is key for these controlled vocabularies!

Alphanumeric coding of Common Core terms for data linking, automated search and robust indexing capability

Master Skills

ConceptsCommon Core

Standards


Project Goals – Math, English Language Arts Inside a new Content Management System (CMS),

using each taxonomy as an ‘agnostic spine’, improve integration of text objects, images, and video with descriptive metadata:• Content objects are closely mapped to Common Core

State Standards• Content objects are closely tied to Master Skills learning

concepts and misconcepts• Expand subject term authority lists and normalize the

phrasing for better tagging of content objects with descriptive keywords

Triumph editors need to find materials repeatedly as publishing projects evolve, to form new product combinations

Access Innovations/DataHarmony, February 2014Kirk Sanders, Project Manager – Editorial Dept.

Copyright Access Innovations, Inc. 2014

THESAURUS MASTER™ CUSTOMIZATIONS –

TAXONOMY DESIGN FOR TRIUMPH LEARNING


Taxonomy configuration had to accomplish essential project directives: Design multi-dimensional term mappings to interrelate

content objects across diverse taxonomy branches

Construct thesaurus hierarchies to reflect strengths of the Common Core State Standards

Make flexible configurations to advance Triumph territory, in high-definition conceptual schemas

Support pre-flight testing with clear design principles for CMS launch – multi-directional navigation for an improved creative writing environment

Related items of interest:

1. Storing standards as text is an unusual use for thesaurus software.*

2. The standards coding scheme needs to be captured, and

3. Implementing a rulebase isn’t on the client’s drawing board.


In addition, Access Innovations’ taxonomy development process would have to involve: Customizing Thesaurus Master® software to

maximize project gains and generate powerful exports that will drive Triumph Learning’s content management engines

Access Innovations editors and DataHarmony programmers visualized solutions and creatively combined our efforts to accomplish the project directives. Multiple software customizations were conceived, designed, and tested while the Editorial Team was producing the terminology sets.

We repeatedly reconfigured data elements based on the nature of the input data.


“Common Core State Standards” – What are they? Common Core represents

national standards created from a consensus process involving educator groups and other key players

States may comply at their prerogative, either by implementing the full set of standards, or parts of it; or by individualizing the material for unique educational goals and conditions


Each state may ignore, adapt, adopt and/or expand on the Common Core State Standards for implementation in curriculum planning, test design and educator performance measures.

New Mexico’s CC site has entry points for four different audiences – the first three groups correspond to Triumph’s major audiences skills terms need to have phrasing that is specific to educators, and also be the source of phrasing ready for alternate display to students.


* Storing a text standard in thesaurus format is unusual. It was the nature of the input sources... so we implemented a flexible configuration for the term records.

Using a consistent method, we streamlined all term names for the narrowest levels in the Common Core standard, as a significant adaptation for taxonomic value!


Common Core data is stored in appropriately-configured fields for flexible implementation and related with nonCommon Core information.

Nature of the data: Terms without Rules.


Master Skills terms have 2 fields containing text for display to different audiences: ‘Teacher-facing Skill’ and ‘Student-facing Skill.’

Originally configured as NPTs for the Skill-name, we changed them into simple text fields – permitting the client’s math and English teams to use identical text in both, when necessary.


Challenge – Regarding the taxonomy export format for importing into CMS.

Triumph Learning wanted groups of Preferred Terms nested in each broader hierarchy level… which isn’t the way Thesaurus Master usually groups Term Records. Common Core State Standard hierarchy goal for Mathematics:TAXONOMY MAIN BRANCH / AUTHORITY LIST / TOP TERM ENTRY POINT FOR CMS|__MAJOR SUB-BRANCHES

|__COMMON CORE GRADE-LEVEL|__COMMON CORE DOMAIN-LEVEL

|__COMMON CORE CLUSTER-LEVEL|__STANDARD-LEVEL.

Common Core State Standard hierarchy goal for English Language Arts:TAXONOMY MAIN BRANCH / AUTHORITY LIST / TOP TERM ENTRY POINT FOR CMS|__MAJOR SUB-BRANCHES

|__COMMON CORE STRAND/GRADE-LEVEL COMBINATION|__COMMON CORE GRADE-LEVEL

|__COMMON CORE DOMAIN-LEVEL|__COMMON CORE CLUSTER-LEVEL

|__STANDARD-LEVEL |__ COMPONENT-LEVEL.


Creative solution! Lamine customized an export format that

contains the ‘full path’ through the branches of the vocabulary, for every PT:• From any location, the export always answers the

query ‘How did we come through the hierarchy to reach this term?’

• Using term-lists, he grouped the terms in a way to capture this information, not previously captured by any Thesaurus Master exports

Full Path export format enables XML developers to hook into those upward/downward paths through the taxonomy structure, for programming flexible navigation options and other CMS functions – from anywhere in the taxonomies• This capability is in addition to CMS functions that

Triumph built based solely on relations, codes and IDs already present in the terms


Thesaurus Master export formats showing ‘Full Path’


The ‘Term-list’ element helps to achieve the goal of capturing the full path.


Why do taxonomy terms need italics?

Common Core State Standards for Mathematics – excerpt from the Introduction.


Right-clicking to Change Term also brings up the Enter Term dialog box with emphasis buttons, for adjusting terms.


Here’s one of the test terms we used for displaying emphasis in Thesaurus Master™


Questions or comments? [email protected]


Acknowledgements: Thank you! Margie Hlava – Client Consulting & Taxonomy Design Jay Ven Eman – Project Sales & Communications Oversight Bob Kasenchak – Project Coordination Oversight Raj Chary – Technical Lead at Triumph Learning Mary Garcia – Editorial Support, Workflow & DataHarmony Maintenance Lamine Idjeraoui – Programming in Java for DataHarmony Development Dan Vasicek – Programming Alice Redmond-Neal – DataHarmony Lead Trainer Leland Yates – Project Proposals, Sales & Marketing Access Innovations Editorial Staff – Branch-building & Quality Control

Case Study: Data Harmony Custom Features as Implemented for Triumph Learning

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