3.3 Assessing Student Learning

Formative Assessment

It is very difficult to give every student the same amount of attention, at least in terms of time, while teaching a lesson on coding. In fact, you may want to strategically spread your interactions with individual students over different classes so that you can offer a deep and meaningful feedback. Quick conversations may sometimes be beneficial, but students may become frustrated if they feel like you are rushing between different stations trying to 'put out fires'. In my experience, there will always be more demand for your attention than you have time to give. 
That being said, these one-on-one conversations can be important scaffolds as students develop their skills and strengthen their understanding. If there is not enough time to fully address a question or issue that they are having, and peer supports are not sufficient, you may need to ask the student to follow up with you after class. I often send students emails outside of class with extra resources and instructional videos if I recall a question they asked that I was not able to answer in class. 

Summative Assessment

One of the challenges of teaching coding as a classroom teacher is providing students with constructive feedback without creating an overwhelming amount of work the instructor. The most effective method of assessment that I have been able to sustainably and consistently implement is a rubric-based assessment that identifies key skills and critical levels of achievement. This assessment tool offers flexibility and can be an efficient way of tracking student progress and growth. As many educational bodies move away from percentage-based grades, it will be up to each instructor to determine how the example rubric might fit into their assessment model. 
*If you don't see a document displayed above this line of text then proceed to the next section and download the document using the step for 'For those without Google Accounts'

Instructions for Downloading the Summative Assessment Rubric

For those with Google Accounts: 
  • Make sure you are logged into your Google Account (this can be done in a separate tab)
  • Click 'File'
  • Select 'Make A Copy'
  • Select a location in your Google Drive for the copied file 

For those without Google Accounts: 
  • Download the Summative Assessment document by clicking this link