Friday Night Lights - chillin out on Friday

Friday night is the right time to kick back, enjoy good company and unwind from the week.  Add to the mix some great music and you set yourself up nicely for a great weekend.
This week I have been grooving along to the chill and funky sounds of Mr Scruff.

Why Mr Scruff?  There isn't too much bollocks or pretension in the music.  And if the internet had a sound - this would be pretty close to my imagining what it would nbe like.  Lots of sounds collected from all corners of the world, thrown into a big blender of imagination and then moulded together into a smooth concoction of sweet sound.

I think, therefore I am.... Managing your self

Here are two quotes from people I have spoken to in the last few days –

“I think I undervalue myself”, “I will only be happy with someone else when I am able to be happy with myself”.

While these two statements are related to different issues the base issue is still the same.  That is being comfortable with yourself and accepting yourself for who you are.  I struggle in this area and I am really critical of both myself and my performance.  I have had to develop methods for dealing with self-negativity and I happily share them with you here.

• Blog.  This is my primary method of keeping sane.  Oprah Winfrey for years promoted the idea of using a journal to record one’s thoughts and developments.  Well this is my journal and record of development.  It just happens to be completely open to the public. 
• Keep a record.  With my training for running I keep a diary of my sessions and track my development across the days, weeks and months.  I do this as well with my job.  In my desk is a folder where I keep important or rewarding documents across a year.  In my folder I have letters of affirmation, performance appraisal reports as well as other prompts.  Such prompts include pictures of famous people who inspire me and scenes from movies that speak to me (The Godfather being one of them).
• Hobbies.  One reason I enjoy running is that I have a challenge before me every day of the week.  On the days that I run I have a clear goal to achieve and on the days I am not running the goal is – NOT to run!

Those are the ‘hard’ systems I use.  I also engage in ‘soft’ systems as well.  One of those is the use of affirmations.  The internal conversations that you have with yourself can either propel you forward or ensure you stay stuck.  One affirmation that I highly recommend is by Zig Ziglar.  Here it is here - 

"I, ......................... am a person with integrity, a great attitude, and specific goals. I have a high energy level, am enthusiastic, and take pride in my appearance and what I do. I have a sense of humor, lots of faith, wisdom, and the vision and courage to use my talents effectively. 

I have character, and am a smart, talented person. My beliefs are strong, and I have a healthy self-image, a passion for what is right, and a solid hope for the future. I am an honest, sincere, and hard-working. I am tough, but fair and sensitive. I am disciplined, motivated, and focused. I am a good listener and am very patient. I am an encourager, a good-finder, and a forgiving person. I am caring, unselfish, and committed to doing the right thing.

I am family oriented, open minded, and an excellent communicator. I am a student, a teacher, and a self starter. I am obedient, loyal, responsible, and dependable. I have a servant's heart, am ambitious and a team player. I am personable, optimistic and organized. I am consistent, considerate, and resourceful.

I am intelligent, competent, persistent and creative. I am health conscious, balanced and clean. I am flexible, punctual and thrifty.

I am an honorable person who is truly grateful for the opportunity life has given me. These are the qualities of the winner I WAS BORN TO BE, and I fully intend to develop these marvelous qualities with which I have been entrusted by God.

Tonight I am going to sleep wonderfully well. I will dream powerful, positive dreams. I will awaken energized and refreshed, and tomorrow's going to be magnificent.

God, my family and my true friends love me no matter what!"

Feel free to change any bits that you don’t consider to be relevant to you.  You could also write your own affirmation that is more specific to you.

Recommended action steps –

1.       Start a journal or blog.

2.       Complete a healthy self assessment of yourself and start researching what development options are available for you to start to progress.

3.       Use affirmations.

4.       Read the book Linchpin by Seth Godin.

Rubrics: the mechanics of effective evaluation

A rubric is a tool that is used in self assessment and effective evaluation.  "A rubric is an explicit set of criteria used for assessing a particular type of work or performance." (tltgroup.org)

What a rubric does is provide a multi-level framework for detailed assessment.  In the same way as a graph there is a X axis and also a Y axis.  Then at regular stages or intersects, a line is drawn and eventually a series of boxes beome apparent.

So a rubric uses multiple points of source data to create an overall picture of the subject.  Evaluation moves from a yes/no strategy to a multi faceted approach that is far more robust.

The way we apply the rubric for evaluation is by comparing hard data against soft data.  So on the X axis we apply a points scheme for quantitative data.  Where a measure has been reached a value is given to the outcome.  For example - if 30 sales are made within a month then that value may be 5, repeat sales equal 7 points and so on and so on.  When a total is reached then a point is plotted on the rubric.

On the Y axis a self assessment exercise takes place.  This is where reflective practice is carried out and the individual and their manager reflect on the qualitative data and create a value also.  One factor may be the measurement of customer satisfaction for any given sale.

Interestingly - you effective evaluation requires the application and submission of evidence for both the qualitative and the quantitative.

So when we combine the X axis and the Y axis data points we have a point of reference in the rubric.  Where rubrics differ from standard plot graphs is that the final outcome or result is dependant upon multiple factors and the final assessment or grade given falls into a described area rather than being a single data point.

For example - a rubric could contain quadrants.  Poor, Average, Good, Excellent.  Depending upon the X and Y scores the final data point will end up in one of those areas.  Once the rubric has been completed - then you have a starting point from which to start making changes.

For more detail on creating a rubric I recommend you check out this video -

Describing what self assessment is

"Self-assessment is a structured, objective and visible procedure or set of procedures whereby individuals, groups and management within an operating organization evaluate the effectiveness of their own operational safety against predetermined targets, goals and other performance expectations. The self-assessment process is only complete when the corrective actions have been implemented and their adequacy confirmed."

"Self-assessment is essentially a critical comparison of existing activities and results against a predetermined set of performance expectations."(Source: http://canteach.candu.org/library/20051901.pdf)

The excerpts above come directly from a document that relates to safety practise within nuclear power plants.  However we can apply the same principles of self assessment and evaluation to every area of our lives.

Being self aware and reflective helps us to understand the past and what has happened, examine the present and what is happening, as well as look toward the future - what will happen.

"A battle lost or won is easily described, understood, and appreciated, but the moral growth of a great nation requires reflection, as well as observation, to appreciate it." Frederick Douglass

The language and vocabulary of effective evaluation

The key to a successful evaluation depends upon the language that you invoke, and in turn the emotions that those words generate.  One does not have to be a literary giant or an English professor to have the right words.  Rather it is the way the words are strung together and the process used to ensure there are sharp outcomes.

So the words are not providing an answer but rather provide prompts and pricks that stimulate the mind to more deeply consider and reflect upon the matter or subject at hand.

Words that are used include - robust, well defined, appropriate, genuine,implement, critical, credible, accurate, valid, evidence, outcomes, analysis, authentic, confidence, thinking, reflection, relevant, practical, foundations.

"The self assessment is not an exercise in good writing. Rather, it is an opportunity for an employee to describe major contributions and how the work meets or exceeds the supervisor’s performance expectations." (Source: http://www.cpms.osd.mil/nsps/docs/selfassessmentfactsheet.pdf)

As far as we in education go the language focuses on the outcomes and successes of the learners.  The great thing about evaluation in education is that it allows educators to be assessed against hard data but also against the intangible outcomes and rewards that learners gain,

I certainly do not profess to be any sort of expert in this field of thinking as I have only just discovered the beauty of it.  I do however want to share my reflections on what I have learnt so far and so share my musings with you here.

For more information about evaluations I recommend you check out Jara Dean Coffey's website and blog.

Self assessment and evaluation

The NZ education system has undergone a sea change and has moved from a system of auditting to self assessment and evaluation.  Under the old system educfators were treated like accountants in that the entire method of teaching was reduced down to a series of numbers and basic measurements.  So if an organisation was good at writing reports then they could massage the numbers in order to meet their own purposes.

Under self assessment and evaluation the organisations are given the power to get their business right from the outset.  Self assessment and appraisal is something that most people do intuitively and generally pretty well.

There are three basic questions that underpin the self assessment method -

1. Whats up?  (Where are we at?  Whats going on?)
2. So what? (What does this mean?)
3. Now what? (Where to from here?  What and how can we improve?)

Self assessment changes everything.  Why does everything change?  Because all the questions, and ultimately all the answers, are all forward facing and future focussed.

It is geared towards ensuring that students achieve their desired outcomes and goals while returning value to the major investor - the government. 

I thoroughly recommend that you find out more on evaluations with a click here.