Initial Rubric Criteria Thoughts

I totally agree with the ability to collaborate especially in the CS field.

As a Diverse Learner teacher, I have to take into account the strengths of my students. For some of my students, just following the instructions step-by-step is a huge achievement. So, the four categories on my rubric would be as follows:

  1. Accurate Creation of the Base Model–Students need to be able to follow the instructions step-by-step and create the base model from the initial lesson.

  2. Scientific Accuracy–Students have to build their models with actual scientific occurrences in mind for them to learn the science of the model. Their model should be as closely related to the real world as possible.

  3. Creativity in Coding–For the students who successfully create base models, their creativity in modifying those models will certainly gain them additional points.

  4. Presentation of Your Model–Although every student is not going to be able to create an elaborate model, it is the aim for every student to verbally articulate their ideas, the process, and the science behind their models. This will hit both listening and speaking standards, and will allow students to work on sharing their work, both in and out of the classroom.

I would have two rubrics, one for the model and one for student self-assessment of collaboration and process.

The model rubric would assess the following:
Validity - does the model actually test or simulate the scientific concept? The student needs to keep focus on the reason for the computer model’s creation. That focus will lend itself to the accuracy and efficiency of their coding.
Accuracy - how accurately does the model test or simulate the scientific concept? The student needs to also be aware of how accurate the model needs to be. This will aid them in their planning and design solutions before they even touch the keyboard, since they need to have the big picture before they start designing the detailed processes.
Code Efficiency - how efficient is their use of code blocks/design? The student would also annotate the revision process as they strive to make the code as efficient as possible. This will help them to think in terms of simplicity, even when the project is very complex.
Data Generation - how well does the simulation generate usable data to help describe the scientific concept? The student needs to think in terms of their model helping to describe (qualitative) or evaluate (quantitative) a scientific phenomenon, idea, or experiment. This will help them design appropriate means of gathering and displaying data with their model.

For the process criteria I would use the IB Design Guide rubrics:
A - Inquiring and Analyzing
i. explain and justify the need for a solution to a problem
ii. state and prioritize the main points of research needed to develop a solution to the problem
iii. describe the main features of one existing product that inspires a solution to the problem
iv. present the main findings of relevant research.
B - Developing Ideas
i. develop a list of success criteria for the solution
ii. present feasible design ideas, which can be correctly interpreted by others
iii. present the chosen design
iv. create a planning drawing/diagram which outlines the main details for making the chosen solution.
C - Creating the Solution (in conjunction with the model rubric)
i. outline a plan, which considers the use of resources and time, sufficient for peers to be able to follow
to create the solution
ii. demonstrate excellent technical skills when making the solution
iii. follow the plan to create the solution, which functions as intended list the changes made to the chosen
design and plan when making the solution
iv. present the solution as a whole.
D - Evaluating
i. outline simple, relevant testing methods, which generate data, to measure the success of the solution
ii. outline the success of the solution against the design specification
iii. outline how the solution could be improved
iv. outline the impact of the solution on the client/target audience.

I believe that there are a number of factors that students should be able to exhibit in order to successfully advance in the programs. These topics include Accuracy in Coding (Information), the students Ability to Collaborate (with other students), the students ability to be Creative, and finally the Knowledge aspect of coding. This last category (Knowledge) is important because this will lead to the students overall understanding.

I want to make sure that I assess the computer science and the science. In addition, I am putting a big emphasis on both collaboration and on perseverance. My students really need to work on both of these!

  1. Lesson 2. Identifying code and making a T-chart.
    Code that I recognize and code that is new.
    Can they identify the code? When they look under the hood, do they identify 4 commands that are familiar? Can they identify 3 commands that are new?
  2. Lessons 4 and 5. Teamwork. Does everyone on the team contribute and collaborate.
  3. Perseverance. Does the team work together to solve problems and find solutions.
  4. Can students identify the impacts water resources that were present in their model? How do computer simulation models help engineers determine the impact on resources?

For a rubic I would measure the lesson on the following critera:

Basic coding- Do the student understand the basic concept of the lesson
Collaboration-Are the students working together to complete the lesson
Sharing-Are the students sharing ideas with one another?
Creativity-Are the students going above and beyond and adding information to the lesson
Presentation-Can the student present the information and explain it to others?

I have used the following to assess basic use of the program.
test over SLNOVA.docx (11.5 KB)

My initial thoughts were much like ckimmel’s Rubrics, I’m also an IB teacher, so I would have one rubric based on a 100 point scale and one based on an IB objective, most likely Inquiry and Design, but maybe Processiing and Evaluation.

My 4 categories:

  1. Coding Skills - did the student successfully create a code that models the desired scientific outcome? How efficient was the code? How creative was the code?
  2. Scientific accuracy/validity - is the model accurate based upon what students have been learning?
  3. Data Analysis - how well did the student create graphs, counters, etc. How well can someone else gather data using the model?
  4. Ease of use - how much explanation is required to use the model? Does it have multiple applications? Can we perform multiple types of experiments?

I would include code vocabulary and how it relates to science
collaboration is important and is everyone contributing on a daily basis
can students relate coding to the real world and have an understanding of the importance of a simulation
basic understanding of how to write code.

Small Group Rubrics - CODE.docx (139.7 KB)

Categories for Rubric:
Collaboration
Accuracy of code
Creativity in code
Understanding of the scientific content

Categories for rubric:
Scientific Accuracy-relate the experiment written in code to the science standards and objectives.

Problem solving-shows tenacity and perseverance when meet with challenges

Code Design -use the steps to accurately make a base model and then use their creativity to modify the code

Communication -explain the steps used and why in their code and how they worked and related with their partner

  1. Demonstrate knowledge of and skill regarding coding language
  2. Demonstrate knowledge of and skill regarding program correctness issues and practices
  3. Design, implement, and test programs of sufficient complexity to demonstrate knowledge and skills included in coding

I am not sure if I am on the right path with this. These would be three of the areas that I would include on a rubric. I would have to work with a couple of colleagues to discuss exactly what each stage of the rubric looks like.

I was thinking about the Ecosystems module (#3) and these are the skills I would want students to have after exploring and modifying the model

  • explain one or more limitations of the base model (i.e., how the model is different from real life, such as rabbits reproducing just one rabbit after reaching a certain energy level)
  • manipulate and modify the model to add a breed
  • add “chase” and “run away” procedures to the base model

I think just the coding aspects of these can be tricky and not all students will be able to reach this level. For those that achieved mastery of the coding aspects, I would want to change the coding pairs so that they could work with a new partner to devise an experiment and have a separate rubric to evaluate the pair’s experiment design.

These are great idea shared so far, and I’m grateful to read them several weeks before teaching the content-based coding module! I agree that the most important areas are:

  1. Collaboration in coding - working successfully with a coding partner, continuing to collaborate whether you are the driver or the navigator.
  2. Reaching module goals- having a working model at the end of the lesson
  3. Demonstrating scientific knowledge of the content behind the module- being able to write a CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) conclusion about the scientific concept the module is based on.
  4. Originality in coding- being able to add an extension of their own.

Scientific Accuracy

  • Students understanding of chemical equations and balancing equations.
    Code
  • The code reflect the chemical equation.
    Perseverance
  • Students when struggling continue to work together to solve the problem.
    Collaboration
  • Students working together to develop the code.
  1. Completing the basic coding instructions - all students would have to get it approved by me before moving on to the next sections
  2. Creating extensions - must write a summary of what they are trying to do, were they successful, what issues did they have
  3. Completing a lab report where they pick out their independent variable and what dependent variable they will measure.
  4. Communication/Collaboration peer evaluation

Basic steps completed
Advanced
Creativeness
Content Knowledge

4 categories I feel are important for assessing a computer model:

  • General CS knowledge, including reaching goals
  • Ability to problem solve/debug, including creativity
  • Collaboration with peers
  • Overall perseverance