12 P h ysical educators face increasing demands to justify that their teaching makes a difference in student learning outcomes and that their programs are effective, accountable, andjustified (Dauer & Pangrazi, 1986; Siedentop, Mand & Taggart, 1986). Although the need to document their effectiveness is apparent to many physical educators, their ability to respond to this need is inhibited by the enormous data management task they face (Wendt & Morrow, 1986; Wessel & Kelly, 1986). The average physical educator may be responsible for teaching between 250 to 500 different students each week. Ifa physical educator wanted to distribute quarterly progress reports to the students and their parents, this would entail computing and preparing somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 separate reports a year. Short of adding staff or clerical assistance, both which are highly unlikely, the only feasible solution to the student performance management task facing physical educators is to harness the power of microcomputers which are readily available in most public schools (Ingersoll & Smith, 1984; Morahan, 1985). With the use of a microcomputer and a student performance management program, 500 student reports could be generated in a matter of hours. A student performance management system could also address other questions such as what objectives were taught most or least effectively and whether instruction led to significant gains in student performance. This information, compiled into reports and distributed to administrators, would document the effectiveness of the physical education program. Finally, the use of computer technology would allow physical educators to more efficiently deal with the time-consuming task of managing student performance data, thus freeing more time to devote to planning and improving the quality of instruction. Two major categories of database management programs can be used by physical educators to manage their student performance data: generic database programs and specialized application database programs. The major advantage of generic database management programs is that the user can decide exactly what data will be managed, how the data will be manipulated, and what the reports will contain and look like. A commercial example of a generic database management program would be dBASE III Plus (Ashton-Tate, 1985). The major disadvantage of generic database programs is that they require more time and expertise to set up and use. Generic database programs are therefore really only a viable option for physical educators with above average computer skills or previous experience with database management programs. Specialized application database programs, on the other hand, have been designed to be simple to use and to minimize the amount of set-up time and expertise required of the user. The major advantage of specialized application database programs is that they can be used by a novice after only a short period of exploration with the program. The major disadvantage of specialized application programs is that the user has less control over what is managed by the program. To make these programs easier to use, the programmers have decided what data can be managed, how the data can be manipulated, and what the output reports will contain and look like. Given physical education budget restraints and the probability that most physical educators will possess only entry level computer skills, the primary option for most physical educators will be to begin their student performance management with a commercial management program designed specifically for physical education. This article describes what should be contained in a student performance management program and what should be considered when evaluating such a program for use in physical education. General guidelines are provided to assist physical educators in evaluating and selecting management programs to meet their specific needs.
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Jun 6, 2013
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Open Access
