Zak's Weekly Musings (September 6, 2023)

Research repeatedly demonstrates the inefficacy of end-of-year student-teacher evaluations. The data are flawed due to recency bias compounded by the still-developing reflective and recollection capabilities of the adolescent brain. Moreover, due to our awareness of these inaccuracies and receiving the data just before Summer Break, as teachers we rarely act on the data and often we don’t even incorporate it into our plans for the subsequent school year. While these evaluations aren't without some value, it's precisely these issues that make the Wellington Engagement Index so meaningful by contrast. 

As I conveyed to the students last Thursday, the power of the WEI stems from just how actionable the data are. The WEI captures students' in-the-moment reactions to their classes, providing genuine and immediate insight that stands in contrast to feedback collected after a longer period. These real-time "dots" are a mirror to the students' raw, emotional responses. It's essential to remember we're recording their feelings, not their expert reviews because they’re not expert reviewers. Therefore, the most authentic feedback is harvested when experiences are still fresh, essentially striking while the iron is hot.

This is why I love the WEI! In it, we possess a feedback instrument that, in its simplicity, is incredibly powerful. 

Of course, the power of the dots is predicated on our willingness to be vulnerable with our students. This vulnerability involves inviting and genuinely considering student feedback, accepting that there are always areas for growth, and being open about our own learning journey as educators. 

So, how can you be vulnerable with your students? Because the dots do not present a complete picture, once you see your dots, please start by formulating a hypothesis about their distribution. Then, present both your dots and your hypothesis to students. Afterward, seek further feedback from them to confirm or disconfirm your hypothesis. You can do this via a class conversation or you can provide a blanket of anonymity by asking students to fill out a Google Form. 

Inviting students into this dialogue fosters trust and rapport, and is going to make them feel valued in this process. Remember: the more valued students feel after doing the dots, the more seriously they are going to take the dots the next time we administer them. It’s a virtuous and positive feedback loop.

With all of this shared, you can find this collection period’s presentation here. Please note that I included two slides from last year as points of comparison.