- Validity of model - Is it a valid simulation?
- Basic coding skills
- Coding complexity - What and how many features are present in the model?
- Analysis of results - Are the results what you expected?
The rubric should have categories for the coding process - using logic and the correct commands to carry out the simulation; real world application - able to demonstrate the phenomena accurately; possibly graphing tool - to show and interpret the data; analysis - to explain the simulation
Four areas i think are important when assessing the computer model criteria are:
- Accuracy; does the code work and fulfill the initial objective
- Complexity; does the code demonstrate the student is working to his or her best ability?
- Applicability; can the simulation be applied to real life scenarios?
- Participation; was the student working diligently and did they focus for the duration of time available?
Areas of focus: Coding Ability, Driver/Navigator, Creativity, and Feedback.
Coding ability would focus on how well the student can navigate the platform and blocks to create a visual experiment.
Driver/Navigator: would be how well the team works together.
Creativity: is self-explanatory, students would be able to show what they know to make it more interesting.
Feedback: I would have a âgallery-walkâ type of situation where students can give glows/grows for projects.
Using Cs and rubric scoring with my student population is sometimes a challenge. I have all ESE students with various exceptionalities ( EBD, LD, etc.). How ever I still try to expose them to differential instruction.
Example RubricâŚ
Preparation/Initial Setup
Participation
Team Effort
Behavior
Scale Score:
4 = exceptional in all areas
3 = three qtrs. of the assignment is complete
2 = minima requirements
1 = non participatory
General Knowledge of Basic Code / can explain what is happening
Modification of Code / can change a variable
Collaboration / works with partner
Creativity / applies concepts to new topic
4 - Excellent 3-Good 2- Satisfactory 1- Needs Improvement
I made this rubric for the ecosystem project. I also had students create a poster to share with the class.
I also taught the ecosystem module. My ideas are as follows:
- Basic codingâdemonstrating understanding of each line of code for the base model
- Modification of the codeâsuccessfully modifying the existing code to add another breed and alter characteristics of the organisms in the model to match real life (ex: number of offspring produced, etc.)
- Experimentation and data collectionâdemonstrating understanding of how to use, modify, and collect data from the model in order to conduct experiments and answer research questions.
- Understanding limitationsâexplaining one of more limitations of the model and how it differs from real life.
I find that designing an effective rubric is easier said than done. There are so many components that a good teacher would like to place in a rubric; however, that typically makes it very complex and not very âtime-friendly.â The more detail you give it, the less objectivity required, which is good, but it typically takes more time to use it thoroughly. The less detail you give, the more objectivity needed for the grading, which means use by multiple teachers can interfere with consistency. However, it takes less time to use. Trying to find something in the middle can be frustrating and tends not to meet everyoneâs need. The additional issue is teaching the students how to use it effectively - so, what you design, has to be âkid-friendly,â too. Collaboration with other teachers sounds wonderful, however, this often entails even more time (not provided nor even recognized as being needed by school systems) and ends in a product that everyone agrees to use, but with which no one is absolutely satisfied because they had to make concessions. If we are looking just a how to judge a computer simulation, the four items that come to mind for me are does the model ⌠1) address a legitimate problem, 2) contain the necessary components to run feasible simulations, 3) allow for manipulations of components (variable factors), and 4) ultimately run. Youâve got to start with a reason for the simulation which involves students first coming up with a legitimate problem to be solved. Itâs not always easy to do this because youâve got to define the variables that come into play. The simulation then has to be set up appropriately with all of those factors and allow for the manipulation of them. Finally, of course, it has to come together and actually work and run yielding the data to address the problem.
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Rubric:
Coding - Students can do the basic concept of coding
Pair-share - Students can share and learn from each other
Presentation - Students present the information and can explain to others
Love this! I;m not sure how I will evaluate their scientific understanding. Maybe I would change #5 to understanding of task objective.
My rubric thoughts are:
-
basic coding: was the coding accurate and efficient?
-
understanding of task objective: was the student able to conceptualize and create the model?
-
perseverance: working independently or in groups in a consistent and unwavering fashion
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collaboration: working productively in pairs or in teams to create an accurate computer model
My 4 initial rubric ideas are:
- Coding: does the program work and does it show an understanding of blocks and procedures.
- Efficiency: is the coding efficient without sacrificing readability and understanding.
- Collaboration: how well did the students work together
- Scientific Accuracy: the students can explain how their program addressed scientific content.
My 4 initial rubric ideas:
- Coding: does the program work and does it show an understanding of blocks and procedures?
- Efficiency: is the code efficient without sacrificing readability and understanding
- Collaboration: how well did the students work together?
- Scientific Accuracy: were the students able to make the program to connect to scientific content?
Categories for assessing a computer model:
General CS knowledge, including reaching goals - knowing what is taking place
Ability to problem solve an change variables
Collaboration - working with a partner
Creativity - apply concepts
4 categories that I feel are important:
- Basic Coding - Student understands the basic concepts of the code.
- Creativity - Student displayed work above the basic concepts.
- Perseverance and Collaboration - Students showed positive attitude worked together to solve the issues.
- Scientific Concepts - Student correctly applied scientific concepts.
- Functionality of model*
- Coding (struggled with code taught in class, used
basic code taught in class, went beyond basic code taught in class)* - Relevance of model to scientific scenario
- Reflection on strengths &
weaknesses of mode
*Functionality and Coding may actually be assessing the same things, depending on how you handle these categories. However, I think including functionality separately from coding pushes students to test their code, which they often fail to do!
4 categories that are important :
- Creativity
- Basic Knowlegde of coding
- Scientific Concept understanding
4.Coding
I initially made my list of my top 4 assessment focuses and they were
⢠Accuracy
⢠Completion of Task or Success of Goal
⢠Complexity
⢠Creativity
I chose these 4 criteria as my main focus for a few reasons. Accuracy is important because I want to see accurate work they couldnât complete any coding and believe any effort is quality especially when it is not pass/fail although even then I would be looking for quality.
Completion of Task is important because how could I gauge their finished product completely if they completed their task, were somewhat able, or not able at all.
Complexity may mean that some students pushed themselves further to attempt more variables in their finished coding project and I believe this should be recognized.
Lastly, I chose creativity. This is really important to me because creativity is often overlooked as a criteria in other subjects but with coding it could mean the difference between an ok project and a WOW project.
However; as I went onto the forum to complete this task I read through a bunch of posts and I overlooked a really important aspect that I saw one of my classmates highlight and that was Perseverance. I looked back at my own experience learning coding and the first couple of days, I really needed some perseverance to get myself somewhat up to speed and not become frustrated. I thought wow I may need to revise some expectations for my students and combine Accuracy with Completion of Task, when we begin our coding project, which will be in about 2 weeks. Thank you for your posts everyone I found them really helpful.
The 4 categories that I feel are important to assess a computer model, are:
- Effectiveness â This means that when used, the computer model is able to achieve the purpose for which it was created. For instance, if the model was created to demonstrate a scientific concept, then it must be able to do so, without any problems. If its purpose is to enable the user to test a hypothesis, then it must be able to do it, with accuracy.
2.Aesthetically pleasing to the eye â I feel that aesthetics is also important, because this is part of a computer modelâs appeal: to make it engaging to the user. A computer model that looks good and eye-catching is engaging, which makes the user motivated to use it.
3.User-friendly â The whole point of using computer models is to create independent learners. However, if the model is too complex for anyone to use, then it will not be able to serve its purpose of creating independent learners.
4.Relevance â I think that every computer model is created for a purpose. One main reason for creating models is to offer solutions to a scientific problem or explain a scientific phenomenon. For a computer model to work, it has to be relevant to the problem at hand.