Module 3.2: Assessment¶
Link to Play Trout Quiz in Scratch
Describe briefly your game/quiz and the programming platform you have used:¶
I used Scratch to design a quiz to test 8-9s knowledge of trout traits at different developmental levels. First, I drew the background and individual characters to include visual clues about the environment and physical traits. I animated the characters to mimic the behavioral traits of trout in specific stages. I set up three rounds of questions with a bonus question.
I learned how to set up a score calculator during lab hours and how to code my characters to move along the x-axis. I also learned how to use costumes to create movement in the background and characters, as well as how to use the costumes to display questions.
While thinking through different user cases for coding games in Scratch, I worked through coding a character to exhibit specific behavioral traits. You can see the cat creeping, pouncing, and licking its lips below. I did not share this test animation with my students, but it could be a fun activity for students to try when learning about animal traits.
Discuss about your main challenges:¶
Initially, I began coding this quiz for Field Assignment 4, where students will use Makey Makey to create exit quizzes for their Mammal Study Expo. The main challenge was figuring out how to code each round to use options 1 through 3, and then to update the score calculator with the correct points and sounds for incorrect buttons. The questions were set up as a separate sprite, and another challenge was coding the questions to broadcast to the next one once answered correctly. There were a lot of nested if-else statements, and it was easy to leave out steps.
Code Screenshots¶
When you design a learning activity how do you take into account diversity? Could you describe one learning situation in which you did not take into account diversity in planning? How did you solved the situation?
When designing activities for my lessons, I account for the age group and the specific students’ learning styles. Our class populations range from kinesthetic to auditory learners. So I try to take a universal design approach to my activities to ensure that all learners are receiving information in a form that is accessible.
Early in the year, I planned an activity that required a lot of writing. We weren’t moving too quickly, but for one student, it was too much writing too quickly. I hadn’t noticed before this class that he had difficulty keeping up with note-taking. At that moment, I started to check in with him and help him add the headers. This helped to set up his page layout and lessened the writing load. In future lessons, I made sure to have a plan to check in with him to help him get his thoughts down on paper or to help him keep up with note-taking as needed.
What aspects would you need to take into consideration if you have kids with a) learning disabilities, b) physical disabilities, c)emotional disabilities when preparing your DF activities.
The most important part of planning lessons for a diverse group of learners is to keep the steps small and introduce them individually. This may result in some students finishing early, but they can easily become helpers. Sometimes I will have an activity for students to work on while the rest of the class catches up.
I also find it helpful to engage students in sensory-rich explorations to engage learners who need more tactile input than others. For example, in the circuit lesson, I introduced circuits using Energy Sticks which is a full-body, sensory-rich activity. This scaffolded a a more challenging, fine motor activity with a low-pressure, gross motor activity.
How do you usually assess learning activities which involve digital fabrication? Which is your favourite method? What aspects do you think you can change in your assessment practices?
Before this course, I had not integrated digital fabrication technology. A skill that I assess in both science and woodshop is a student’s ability to follow multi-step instructions. This is a transferable point of assessment to digital fabrication. Another point of assessment that I use in science engineering activities is a student’s ability to use information from a first design to inform the second iteration of the design or to use data to inform design choices. This is also transferable to digital fabrication assessment. As I grow in my digital fabrication skills, I can start to assess on a more technical and skills-based level.
What could be the challenges when integrating programming in your classes?
The most significant challenge for me at this point is that I’m still learning coding myself. I find it hard to create a wholly exploratory activity, because I can’t always help troubleshoot on tasks I haven’t encountered or mastered myself. It’s easier to keep the project parameters within what I know. Otherwise, I’ve found myself in situations with a backlog of questions and students who couldn’t move forward without support.