GmR Final evaluation task

Introduction

This series of tasks is designed to help us evaluate students' learning in the Guess my Robot activity. It addresses both indevidual and group learning. As an evaluation tool, this set of tasks differs from traditional means of learning evaluation in two ways:

• It is weaved into the activity, rather than being extrinsically imposed on it.
  
• Student are active partners in the evaluation proccess, rather then being aliented subjects.
  

The philosophy behind this tool stems from the communities of practice framework, but the detailed design is embedded in the specifics of the activity and the domain knowledge.

The central theme of this set of tasks is that students are asked to produce materials for introducing newcomers to the game. The rationales for this approach are:

• It provides a joint enterprise, which is a strong motivation for collaborative work.
• It invokes a mechnism of apprenticeship, which is common in indigenous game settings.
  

Aims

To assess students conceptions of nuber sequences, and their ability to articulate those, in reltaion to their activity in the Guess my Robot game.

Outline of the tasks

Ask the children to create an introduction report for new participants. This report should include:

• A set of challenges for new participants.
• A set of hints.
• Example solutions.
• General relevant ToonTalk / math tips.

Record & transcribe the discussion, post a web report.

Schedule

Session 1: personal report "my favourite sequences".

Students compose an indevidual report, listing and explaining their favourite sequences. Explain that as veteran players, the group will publish a report which is aimed at helping new players enter the game. As a first step towards that report, each student will write a personal report listing her favourite challenges (whether she posed them, solved them or tried and did not solve them).

Personal report template available at:
http://www.weblabs.org.uk/wlplone/Members/yish/my_reports/Report.2004-09-23.0516

Session 2: group discussion, how to introduce new participants.

Ask the group to discuss the content of their report for new players. Specificaly:

• What should be explained in the text of the report?
• Which challenges should be included as examples, and why?
• What other tools and examples should be included, and why?

Encourage students to relate to their indevidual reports.

Record and transcribe this disscssion. Create a first draft of the report, but don't publish it! The report is owned by the group and should be published by them.

Add the group members as owners of the report.

A template for the report is available at:
http://www.weblabs.org.uk/wlplone/Members/yish/my_reports/Report.2004-09-23.5836

However, you may prefer a different structure which relates better to the class discussion.

The "guidance how-to" tutorial shows how to add owners to a report:
http://www.weblabs.org.uk/wlplone/Members/yish/my_reports/Report.2004-06-21.1153#owner

Session 3: group report.

Review the indevidual and group reports. Ask the group to discuss and amend their report until they are all happy with it. Publish it.

Session 4: comment on other groups’ report.

This session might take place a few weeks after the previous, due to the difficulty of synchronizing with other groups.

Read a simmilar introduction report published by another group, discuss the differences between their report and ours, and comment on them.

Corollary

If appropriate, ellect one or two students to act as facilitators for the new participants.