Modified Data Wall: A Classroom Experiment
As I reflect on the competency-based approach that I adopted with my Spanish 1 students last school year, there were many positives along with a few areas for improvement. (If you are looking for an overview of the differences between competency-based education and traditional education, check out this article from iNACOL.)
Some of the positives were students assuming ownership of their own learning, the ability to provide additional time and support within a traditional classroom setting for students who needed it to master the learning objectives, and the ability for advanced learners to progress through the curriculum at an accelerated pace.
Perhaps the most reaffirming aspect of my shift to a competency-based approach last year was the anecdotal feedback from students. When I asked students on anonymous surveys at various points in the year if they liked the competency-based approach or if they would prefer a traditional approach, students overwhelmingly indicated that they preferred a competency-based approach. When asked to indicate the reasons behind their preference, students wrote that failure was not an option, they were set up to succeed, and that it was clear what the expectations were from the outset.
In spite of the positive student feedback and the strengths of the approach, I certainly encountered challenges and areas for improvement. Perhaps the greatest area for improvement was ensuring that students stayed focused on the objectives and challenged themselves appropriately. When they realized that they were ahead of other students, some students slowed their pace of work so that they would be at the same spot in the curriculum. Other students were further behind and became demoralized later on in the year because it took them longer to master the learning objectives. Unfortunately, many students in the second group demonstrated signs of learned helplessness at the end of the year.
In an effort to address the pacing challenge this school year, I decided to create a visual representation of where students were in the curriculum (i.e., what learning objectives they had mastered) using a bulletin board in the classroom. After talking about the idea with my associate principal (Rick Lehman), I decided to have each student choose a flag to represent themselves and then move the flag across the bulletin board throughout the year. In essence, this created a classroom data wall of sorts.
It just so happened that I read an article on EdSurge ("Tear Down That Wall? Why Data Walls May Cause More Harm Than Good") that discouraged the use of class data walls. Basically, the author argued that data walls do not motivate low-achieving students and encourage unhealthy comparisons among students. I agree that students should be primarily focused on their own achievement (as opposed to their achievement relative to others) and that there is the possibility of lower-achieving students becoming demoralized. Still, I felt that it was worth a try.
Below is an image of what my Spanish 1 modified data wall looks like now.
Some of the positives were students assuming ownership of their own learning, the ability to provide additional time and support within a traditional classroom setting for students who needed it to master the learning objectives, and the ability for advanced learners to progress through the curriculum at an accelerated pace.
Perhaps the most reaffirming aspect of my shift to a competency-based approach last year was the anecdotal feedback from students. When I asked students on anonymous surveys at various points in the year if they liked the competency-based approach or if they would prefer a traditional approach, students overwhelmingly indicated that they preferred a competency-based approach. When asked to indicate the reasons behind their preference, students wrote that failure was not an option, they were set up to succeed, and that it was clear what the expectations were from the outset.
In spite of the positive student feedback and the strengths of the approach, I certainly encountered challenges and areas for improvement. Perhaps the greatest area for improvement was ensuring that students stayed focused on the objectives and challenged themselves appropriately. When they realized that they were ahead of other students, some students slowed their pace of work so that they would be at the same spot in the curriculum. Other students were further behind and became demoralized later on in the year because it took them longer to master the learning objectives. Unfortunately, many students in the second group demonstrated signs of learned helplessness at the end of the year.
In an effort to address the pacing challenge this school year, I decided to create a visual representation of where students were in the curriculum (i.e., what learning objectives they had mastered) using a bulletin board in the classroom. After talking about the idea with my associate principal (Rick Lehman), I decided to have each student choose a flag to represent themselves and then move the flag across the bulletin board throughout the year. In essence, this created a classroom data wall of sorts.
It just so happened that I read an article on EdSurge ("Tear Down That Wall? Why Data Walls May Cause More Harm Than Good") that discouraged the use of class data walls. Basically, the author argued that data walls do not motivate low-achieving students and encourage unhealthy comparisons among students. I agree that students should be primarily focused on their own achievement (as opposed to their achievement relative to others) and that there is the possibility of lower-achieving students becoming demoralized. Still, I felt that it was worth a try.
Below is an image of what my Spanish 1 modified data wall looks like now.
Although it is early in the year, I have found that students, even high school students, are excited when they get to move their flag (demonstrate at least 80% mastery of the learning objective). Just this afternoon during our intervention period, a girl who was attempting the quiz over the first learning objective for the third time (and earned a 93% this time) said afterward, "I am so excited that I get to move my flag."
It is too early to indicate the final result of my classroom experiment with a modified data wall, but the early indicators are positive.
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