Adding Opportunities for Data Review and Feedback
Initially, DeFilippo’s students wore the IHT heart rate monitors and simply worked toward achieving a goal of minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
“The first couple of years we used them, we didn’t do a lot with fitness testing with IHT,” he said. “We did goals for the day for heart rate and that was about it.”
As he became more familiar with IHT’s software and the ability to administer and record data on unique fitness tests that his district likes as well as the more nationally recognized tests such as the 20-meter beep test, he began having students wear the monitors during testing.
“Last year was the first year I did a thorough job entering fitness scores, the (nationally recognized tests) and some tests that we added to for fitness testing data,” he said.
Having heart rate data along with the specific fitness test results allowed DeFilippo to do 2 things:
- Have better conversations with students about their effort level, and
- Get a head start for next year, when the district will require measurable data to gauge student, and conceivably, program success
“We want to figure out how to use this data more effectively,” he said. “Next year our district is going to require us to use measurable data, so I really want to use this.”
With students wearing monitors during their fitness testing, DeFilippo and his colleagues have new opportunities to provide post-testing feedback. Following the most recent 20-meter shuttle test, DeFilippo gathered students and had them look at the data they received on their iPads in the post-session email.
“I had told them prior to the testing that this is a test where they really shouldn’t stop until their heart rate was in the red zone,” he said. “One student took that to mean the goal was to get their heart rate up as high as possible, and he said afterwards that he got to 195 (beats per minute).”
Expanding Fitness Testing Data Collection and Reporting
Since he started using the reports, DeFilippo’s been able to provide stakeholders with accurate information about student achievement and program success.
“When we finished last year’s fitness testing, we made the report that showed each student with all of the tests they did and showed if they were in the healthy fitness zone,” DeFilippo explained.
The software will show more than just the tests traditionally used for physical fitness assessment. The Conewago Valley School District has additional tests it wants students assessed on, so DeFilippo used IHT’s software to add those tests (activities) to the measures on which he assesses students. With a simple click of the mouse, he creates a single report that includes all the data. He can send each student their individual results and then share summary data with administrators to meet their needs.
“You can get data in PE, but the IHT software and the potential to use the data in different ways is really cool,” he said. “I just need to figure out better ways to do it.”
That will include creating weekly summary reports for his students more consistently.
“I want to use more frequently the weekly wrap-up where they are looking at their data and analyzing it more,” he said. “Seeing if they are improving. Seeing if they are consistently reaching their goals.”
Using IHT’S Mobile App to Maximize Student Time using Heart Rate Monitors
Students pick up their IHT heart rate monitors before class so they can use their iPad to start the monitors.
Because the district gives each student an iPad, DeFilippo has options for how he activates the heart rate monitors for students. Most PE teachers have their students collect their heart rate monitors and activate them on the teacher’s Windows-based computer using the IHT Spirit Classroom reader.
The heart rate monitors can also be set up to be used in Bluetooth mode with a mobile app that works on both iOS and Android devices. DeFilippo had students download the free iOS app on their iPads. Instead of waiting in line, students come to class with their iPads, get their heart rate monitors from the teacher’s charging case and can activate them from their iPads.
“It’s a big time-saver because there isn’t this 3-minute period where some are waiting in line to get started,” DeFilippo said. “They use the app. They see the goal for the day when they select that day’s activity, and they can get started almost immediately. Then, at the end of class, they can conveniently look at their iPad and see how they did.”
Dedicating Time to Discuss Performance Results
Similar to the instant feedback they’d receive if they returned their heart rate monitor at the teacher’s computer, students quickly see if they met the day’s goal for minutes spent exercising in their target heart rate zones. Then, they can dive into a full report from the post-session email they’ll get on their iPad. Along with that, DeFilippo often adds a group feedback session before students are dismissed for their next class.
“I’ll bring them all together and sit everyone down with their iPads,” he said. “They can look at their data, look at what the goal for the day was and then we can talk about it.”
The conversations aren’t one-way messages from DeFilippo to the students. At his encouragement, they often talk amongst themselves to compare results and talk about how they felt during the workout. Sometimes friend-to-friend motivation can be powerful enough to help someone improve their performance tomorrow, he said.
“They look at their own data but they can talk to their friends about it, whoever is sitting right beside them and see how they did,” DeFilippo said. “It’s not that they are comparing themselves to each other, but it can be a friendly competition for them to push each other.”
And in the end, that’s the goal for both students and teachers: to use the data to get better.
“The monitors have been a game-changer for our program,” DeFilippo said. “A lot of students seem motivated by the monitors. It’s just something that raises their level of (attention) to their effort and their fitness.”
Boost Student Emotional Health with IHT ZONE heart rate monitors:
