Improvement-Con

John Watson‘s background as a software and database developer early in his career and life-long interest in human cognition and ai was a good foundation for his current role as Data Scientist at San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE).

After graduating from University of California at San Diego with a degree in economics and concentrated studies in applied math and computer science, John established a small software firm and developed a number of commercial applications, many of which focused on education, specifically curriculum content alignment, student assessment, and computer-aided learning. As his firm expanded, John dedicated evenings to pursue a multi-disciplinary masters degree at San Diego State University, focusing on artificial intelligence techniques that mimic human cognition, a topic that was increasingly finding its way into software. One of the firm's applications was acquired by an internet start-up, which began John's involvement architecting database applications and developing IP at several start-up companies.

As the internet boom evolved and stabilized, John pursued his Ph.D. in Education, and conducted research in metacognitive awareness in young learners (Joint doctoral program, Claremont Graduate University and San Diego State), receiving the California State University student research and Phi Delta Kappa Outstanding Dissertation awards. Post graduation, John received funding for a start-up (EyeCues, Inc.) to develop software to track student progress and provide classroom observation tools. EyeCues was acquired by a math content publisher.

Fully entrenched in technology, data and education, John developed the software engineering masters program while an associate professor at National University, then served as Senior Director of IT and Analytics at The Institute for Evidence-Based Change, a nonprofit operating CalPASS, the California community colleges research data system prior to joining SDCOE.