Monitoring performance

Though techie in nature, I am not app crazy like most. I really prefer to use non-tech means and making my own decisions (rating matter a bit to me but are not the sole reason for purchases, etc.)

So as I look at all the fitness devices and apps out there, I think often about buying them but haven't. I do not have a heart rate monitor or other various devices (I don't even use the ones that are on my stationary bike.) I do however know that biofeedback is important and will probably purchase a device (not two or three) that will give me some feedback in how I am doing health-wise.

So I read with interest an article about Keeping Detailed Health Records and one person's experience with these devices and apps. In particular the brief discussion about the Hawthorne effect whereas a person or organization improves when they know they are being evaluated or observed. As a teacher. I know how my behavior changes a little when an administrator is in the room. The article gives a perfect example of how sports performance changes when we know the coach or instructor is looking.

The article details how perfection can cause us to try to obtain new numbers and get more data. A quote from the article caught my attention:

That's when I realized my tracking had veered seriously off track. Gary Wolf, co-founder of a user's group called Quantified Self, had warned me this might happen. "The magic is not in how many numbers you collect or how devoted you are to collecting them," he told me over the phone. "The secret is using the data in a meaningful way." Tracking, he explained, should help you reach your goals, not be a goal unto itself. Not only had I lost sight of this, but I had crossed the line into obsession.

That's when I realized my tracking had veered seriously off track. Gary Wolf, co-founder of a user's group called Quantified Self, had warned me this might happen. "The magic is not in how many numbers you collect or how devoted you are to collecting them," he told me over the phone. "The secret is using the data in a meaningful way." Tracking, he explained, should help you reach your goals, not be a goal unto itself. Not only had I lost sight of this, but I had crossed the line into obsession.

"The magic is not in how many numbers you collect or how devoted you are to collecting them, the secret is using the data in a meaningful way." Tracking...should help you reach your goals, not be a goal unto itself.

As I think about data-driven anything in schools, I wonder if we have crossed into some obsession. Our school schedule is disrupted 25 days a year for testing. Lost time with students. From the top down (No child left behind/race to the top), data (tests) have been the goals and not data to help us reach actual goals that matter.

I still intend to purchase a device to learn more about my body and my health. It will inform me in order to help improve my health and fitness, but I will not use the data as the goal itself.

Now about the train wreck that is the current education reforms...

How do you assess that?

My session at PETE-C almost two weeks ago was a great way to get my thinking about assessment straight. Though not an expert, I have spent considerable time questioning the way that we do assessment and how this works with project based learning. A few thoughts:

• It has always seemed wrong that we "learned" material, students took a test (and usually did poorly), and yet we still moved on even though not all had learned.
• When doing projects, a few students do a good job and "get it"," a few come close, but a vast majority miss the mark. They can see what you are asking but do not know the knowledge "steps" or questions that it takes to get there.
• I have been reading a lot about "assessment for learning" which we should be doing instead of "assessment of learning."
• I am using Understanding by Design to backwards plan the course from the essential questions and its assessment to the day to day activities.
• With reforms in education, assessment has not been changed and is crucial as old ways of assessments are not the best at assessing learning.
  

My main suggestions through the session:

• Use formative assessment of the project pieces to be sure students get to the goal of the project. Since the project is more than just "tell me about the biome" and is value laden decisions about the biome, asking students for the pieces of the project and then offering feedback and oppotunities to improve, seems like a great idea. Though the project is moving slower than I would like, students are improving upon the way they complete the project. I am planning on using evidence for future presentations and to determine if this is a way I should proceed in the future.
• In my academic class, students will have an opportunity to be exempt from portions of the test by doing well on the quizzes along the way.
  
• During the labs in the academic class, students analyze what has been learned in lab as a group write-up but the harder questions are reserved for homework. Students who score low are offered remedial activities to bring up portions of the grade, though they will not achieve 100%. The purpose is to get students to understand the essential ideas that tie the content together which lead to the unifying themes in science.

So basically, I am focusing on many formative assessments that provide the opportunity to correct misunderstandings and show learning along the way. There are other teachers doing similar assessment for learning.

So what are your thoughts? Are others asking the same questions and making/made some of the same changes in assessment? I am still pushing my thinking as well as listening to feedback/criticisms (though, assessment is broken and needs fixed.)

Tags: PETE-C, assessment, education