DATA ANALYSIS FOR DEVELOPING COMPETENCIES

‘Data is the core towards tomorrow’s global revolution’.

‘DATA’ is generated in every process.  The multitudes of data generated are accumulating and companies are racing towards ‘data science’ with technology as a medium to analyse and predict future directions.  Education is not an exception in this scenario.  Assessments conducted in the year and throughout the formal education span of an individual accumulates data on his/her learning.  The correct analysis and feedback on such data has become mandatory in this learning process to measure progress.  The complete meaning of such data analysis gives the process and the individual a definition and a goal. 

When and how to analyse?

Analysis of data happens only when assessments are set with proper blue print.  For example,let us consider the CBSE blue print for Science as given. (Source: www.cbse.nic.in) 

The ‘typology of questions’ indicates the types of question designed for the exam, specifically ‘Knowledge based’ indicates the remembering capacity of the individual students.  ‘Understanding’ recognises the individual’s ability to rewrite in their own words or simply ability to comprehend while ‘Application’ takes a step further the understanding to apply the learnt to new scenarios or recognise the happenings and relate to learned.  ‘HOTS’ category allows students to compare, reorganise their understanding and correlate different pieces of information.  Judging or justify the outcome is rather a unique problem solving ability which helps build critical thinking among the learner in the last part ‘Inferential or Evaluative’. 

How can such paper be analysed?

The question setter sets according to the blue print and needs to allocate the questions based on the category to which they belong.  Core competencies already described in the blue print can be associated to questions relevant to the categories specified and the scored marks can be analysed based on these competencies category wise through the many software’s that are available in the market.  Today the options of LMS provides the scope for analysing such multitudes of competencies.

What benefits does this bring?

In the education world where competencies like ‘knowledge’, ‘skills’, ‘attitudes’ and ‘values’ hold importance, the above segregation of performance can provide ‘right feedback’ which allows not only the learner but also the instructor to focus on ‘the real areas of development’.  It is important to set the assessment framework to achieve the larger goal in a step wise process.  The process applicable for the classroom per year can be designed as given below.

Every period evaluation need not focus on all core competencies.  The focus on developing knowledge and understanding needs to be the goal initially which should be evaluated and developed during formative assessments.  The analysis and synthesis focus need to be developed during the ‘Unit tests’ conducted during the middle of the term. Data analysis and feedback on competencies from unit tests provide a pattern of learning behaviour of the individual.  The term end data analysis should focus on analysis and reinforcement of all the four (Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes and Values) core areas of individual development.  Since, ‘Developing habits are matter of practice with regular reinforcement’.

The performance analysis based on individual score cards allows the instructor and the learner to understand the ‘deficiency gaps’.  The gap does not build in a day, the space begins to set from the period where the ‘base knowledge’ was targeted.  To understand and help, teachers need technology support which saves time for developing a better monitoring system.

Sorting, Reading and Identifying misfit data is rapidly developing as a new ‘career zone’.  Teachers have been doing this to help students build a better future for years.  Equipping them with a better technical knowledge to make their work easier will allow them to spend more time on developing a better learner because….

‘The best teachers are those who show you where to look but don’t tell you what to see.’ – Alexandra. K. Trenfor.