Critical data with Power BI

PowerBi Educator

A Comprehensive Lesson and Assessment Strategy


When teaching abstract topics like networks, effective assessment and feedback are critical for student understanding. I have taught in two schools a series lessons for Year 9 to tackle networks, culminating in an innovative feedback method powered by Power BI. The unit spanned three lessons, each packed with hands-on activities and assessments. Students engaged with interactive content to explore key network concepts such as topologies, protocols, and packet switching. Each lesson concluded with a short quiz consolidating the day’s topics. The final piece was a “network packet storyboard,” where students illustrated the journey of a data packet—a highly visual and creative way to tie everything together. The backbone of the storyboard activity was a fantastic Computer Science video, “The Internet: Packets, Routing, and Reliability”, which brought real-world relevance to abstract concepts.

To make student progress visible and actionable, I integrated quiz results into Power BI, enabling dynamic analysis and class feedback. One of the map visualisations I used proved particularly effective with students as it was less intimidating for them to interpret collectively as a class. In this visualisation, the larger the box area on the map, the greater the student’s network knowledge. Students owning the largest spaces in the top left corner displayed strong understanding, while those in the bottom right had smaller boxes, representing areas needing improvement. This clear and simple representation helped students quickly grasp where they stood in their learning.

Additionally, I created a horizontal bar chart visualisation to show corresponding values for each network topic and the students’ totals at the end. This visualisation is an excellent tool for communication with parents, as they often prefer a straightforward, binary representation of data. The bar chart format offers clarity, emphasising both individual topic performance and overall scores.

By blending creativity, technical tools, and data analysis, I’ve crafted a teaching strategy that enhances understanding while fostering a culture of reflective learning. Power BI proved invaluable in this process, allowing me to provide immediate and meaningful feedback. The combination of engaging visuals, like the map and bar chart, empowers both students and parents to engage with the data in ways that are informative yet approachable. This approach not only improves student outcomes but also builds a transparent and collaborative learning environment, setting the stage for further innovation in future lessons.

A summary of how using PowerBi can be effectively used as a classroom assessment tool:

  1. Timely Feedback: The dashboard allowed instant visual representation of results, making feedback immediate and meaningful.
  2. Targeted Support: By identifying weaker areas (e.g., protocols or topologies), I adjusted future lessons to focus on gaps.
  3. Engaged Students: The visual nature of Power BI, paired with creative tasks like the storyboard, kept students motivated and invested in their learning.
To make student progress visible and actionable, I integrated quiz results into Power BI, enabling dynamic analysis and class feedback.
 

Steps to Build the Power BI Dashboard:

  1. Data Collection: I exported quiz scores from Microsoft Teams into Excel, cleaned the data, and prepared it for analysis.
  2. Data Modeling: Using Power BI, I categorised quiz scores across six network topics (1.1 to 1.6) and created relationships between data sets.
  3. Visualisations:
    • Individual Analysis: A bar chart displaying individual scores by topic.
    • Class Trends: A heatmap revealing topic areas where the class excelled or struggled.
  4. Real-time Feedback: After the final lesson, I presented the dashboard, discussing overall trends and individual strengths. Students could immediately reflect on their performance.
PowerBi network analysis
PowerBi network analysis
PowerBi network analysis
Network Results (St Ignatius)
Network Results (JESS)
Network Results (JESS)
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