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West Chicago high school expands heart-rate monitors and timing system in PE classes
Summary
District 94 physical education staff described use of heart-rate monitors and a Dasher timing system to personalize fitness tracking, support grading and collaborate with science classes; district said monitors are used two days per week and data will track students across high-school careers.
Physical education staff at Community High School District 94 demonstrated how heart-rate monitors and a Dasher timing system are being used to give students real-time fitness feedback and to collect longitudinal data across their high school careers.
Connor Zapital, the physical development division head, said the heart-rate monitors create three intensity zones — blue, yellow and red — and provide students and teachers with immediate information about maximum heart rate and time spent in target zones. He said the district approved funding for the monitors last year and staff are beginning to collect multi-year data to track progress from freshman to senior year.
"So really just trying to get them to relate to how to use that, or for some of our students, how they close the circles…we're really just trying to motivate them to take accountability for their fitness levels in class," Zapital said.
Physical education teacher Joe Dzzynski described the Dasher timing system, acquired through a grant, that records 10- and 30-yard splits, top sprint speed and agility-drill times and can sync results to staff phones. Dzzynski said the department has used the timing system in collaboration with the school's physics class to demonstrate acceleration and speed in a science lab.
Staff said current implementation is limited by the number of devices: classes use the heart-rate monitors one to two days per week, and the district schedules the monitors so most classes can use them twice weekly. Students receive an emailed report after each session showing teacher-set goals, time-in-zone data and a timestamped graph showing heart-rate changes during class.
Presenters and the board highlighted educational benefits for student engagement, objective assessment and personalized goal-setting; no policy change or budget approval occurred at the committee meeting. Staff said they will continue integrating data into instruction and will expand use as device inventory and scheduling permit.
