CCSSO-National Conference on Student Assessment 2013

National Harbor, MD– June 21, 2013

Girlie C. Delacruz, Eva L. Baker, Gregory K. W. K. Chung

Solving The Puzzle: Designing Games And Assessment For Young Children’s Physics Learning

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Overview

Design and development

Research study

Games for learning and assessment

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Part One

Games for learning and assessment

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Mastery and challenge

Why Do Kids Like To Play (Good) Games?Learning

Escape

Intuitive activities

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Why Use Games For Learning?Escape…

Frictionless Environment

Place them in situations that are not easily experienced or easy to manipulate

Sloping Hills

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Why Use Games For Learning?Mastery And Challenge…

Scaffolded sequencing

Support complex problem-solving through guided exploration

Non-player game characters

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Why Use Games For Learning?Intuitive Activities

Free body diagram to

control motion

Explore innovative learning and assessment mechanics

Draw predicted

path

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Why Do Kids Like To Play (Good) Games?Assessment

AdaptivityEvaluation of performance

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Why Use Games For Assessment?Evaluation of Performance

Formative Assessment:Use and interpretation of task performance information with intent to adapt learning, such as provide feedback. (Baker, 1974; Scriven, 1967)

Games:Use and interpretation of game performance information with intent to adapt learning, such as provide feedback.

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Why Use Games For Assessment?Adaptivity

Rich data source

Front-end efforts support ability to identify key events to capture

Capture process of

learning

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Part TwoDesign and development

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Assessment requirements

Technology requirements

Instructional requirements

Integrated Assessment, Learning, and Technology

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Evolution Of Design Process

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c

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What We Have DoneDetermined targeted concepts and types of thinking

Instructional sequence and task specifications

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Challenges Driving Assessment Innovation

2. Classroom and online context

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1.Children in grades K-3

3. Integrated science content, cognition, and SEL

• Gamelike• Graphical icons• Nonverbal prompts• New combinatorial design• Assessment mechanics• Automated scoring• Comparable tasks

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Innovative Learning and Assessment Game Mechanics

Comparison using contrasting cases

Complex problem-solving through guided exploration

Active reflection through graphic prompts

Free body diagram to control motion

Graphical formalizations of underlying physics laws

Physics and SEL integration

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Part Three

Research study

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What Did We Want Kids To Learn?

• Improved understanding of physics concepts: force and motion

Force magnitude

Force direction

Friction

Mass

Gravity

Slope

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How Were They Going To Learn?

• Play a set of physics games

Go Vector Go RoboBall

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Meaningful gameplay data

How Would We Know They Learned?

Kid-friendly assessments

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Timeline of Activities

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Pretests

Gameplay

Posttests

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Results (Go Vector Go)

• Scores increased significantly after playing the game

• Even the kindergarten and 1st grade students!

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Results (RoboBall)

Third graders got further and advanced more quickly between two gameplay sessions.

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Conclusions And Next StepsConclusions

•Results are promising…

•Improved student performance on science assessments even for the kindergarten and 1st grade students!

Next Steps

•Crowdsource different adaptivity rules

•Test games in multiple contexts including closer classroom integration

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Thank You!

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