1) Labels Nudge Behavior
Call a student “behind” and you’ll triage. Call them “not yet” and you’ll coach. The same reality; different category; different action. Choose labels that produce the behavior you want… from you and from them.
2) Count Before You Calibrate
If you’re overwhelmed, start with a count: How many submissions? How many absences? Counting creates traction. Measurement can come later to improve what counting reveals.
3) The Two-Minute Variable Test
If you can’t explain how you’d collect it in two minutes, it’s not ready. Rewrite until a colleague could gather it without you in the room.
4) Make the Invisible Visible
“Confusion” is invisible. “Questions asked in chat” is not. If it matters, make it observable. Observation is the on-ramp to improvement.
5) Thresholds vs. Trends
Use categories to enforce thresholds (late/on-time). Use quantities to improve trends (minutes earlier each week). Don’t ask a variable to do the job it wasn’t built for.
6) Name Your Sampling Bias
Even a quick pulse can be useful when you confess how you took it. “This is from the Wednesday section only.” Honesty extends shelf life.
7) Action Lives in the Note
After you measure, write one sentence: “Because of this, I will ____.” If you can’t finish the sentence, you measured the wrong thing.
8) Iterate in Public
Tell students the variable you’re trying this week and why. Transparency buys trust… and better data.