The title wasn't a vow or truly a question, but recently our PE department head went researching at 2 other districts to take a look at heart rate monitors & how they are being used elsewhere.
The numerical direct feedback of your efforts through movement is fanominal. Some schools are even basing the students grades only on their consistent achievement of their personal healthy zone.
To me this is taking one step forward, while taking one step back. Shako PE has made solid strides in assessing students through the NASPE standards. The usage of technology in this case "heart rate monitors" has an absolute power, too much power. Heart rate monitors are a great feedback tool, not a grading scale.
I think it would be neat to use heart rate monitors as a teaching tool for the kids. It's amazing how having a heart rate monitor can impact your workout. I wear one when I train. :) Ideally it would be cool if each kid could have their own. You can enter personal data and the watch can calculate calories burned, min/max heart rate, percentage of fat burned during exercise, average heart rate, etc. Neat stuff!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about not having it make the student's grade. We don't grade a kid on reading just based on one type of reading test so why would we make only one thing determine the grade in a PE class?
ReplyDeleteI agree. Giving students the knowledge of the importance of a healthy heart and exercise is important, but being graded on things outside the student's control, i.e. availability of healthy food at home, lack of after school activities, etc. is unreasonable. It even plays into the role of SES and increasing the gap between students of low and high SES as far as grades are concerned.
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