Game-based Assessment Plan

I will be creating a game that my students will play to use as an assessment activity with middle school math students. My semiotic domain is my mathematics classroom and the math content that I teach to students. The internal grammar of my domain are the vocabulary, definitions, properties, symbols, formulas, etc. that are used to regulate math concepts. The external grammar includes how to communicate math solutions and discuss math processes with others.

For this assessment I am going to focus on adding and subtracting integers. The specific internal grammar involved are the definitions of integers, positive and negative numbers, and rules for adding and subtracting. The external grammar focuses on a student’s ability to discuss their strategy for the game with others and why they chose to proceed as they did.

My game will involve a dice and a number line. Students will start at 0 on the number line and roll the dice 5 times. After each roll, they will have to choose if they want their number to be positive or negative to determine which direction to move on the number line. The goal of the game is the end as close to 0 as possible. This game will be played against another student, so whoever ends closest to 0 will win.

In Twine students will be directed to roll a dice, and then they will have to make a choice between positive or negative. There is a factor of chance in this game that will dictate how a student does, however there is strategy as well. If a student rolls a 5 and chooses the positive direction, and then rolls a 6 and chooses positive again, by not understanding the internal grammar of adding and subtracting integers there will be the consequence of moving farther away from 0 and lowering the opportunity to win.

I will pair two students together and have them play against each other. They will each play in Twine, and after tracking their 5 rolls the students will compare their paths and their end point on the number line to see who wins. In order for this game to be an effective assessment, I will have students discuss their strategy with each other and why they made the choices they did along the way. This will help with the external grammar of being able to communicate mathematics language, but it will also help students to see where they could have made a different choice and to give each other feedback.

I will have students play the game a couple of times against different partners to try different strategies and to see what works best. I will be able to assess students in a couple of ways. First, the choices they make and their ability to move on the number accurately (for example, if they roll a positive 2 and then a negative 3 they should end up at -1), which will help me to see how well students understand adding and subtracting integers, the internal grammar. After playing the game a few times I will have students submit a short reflection on what strategies work best to win the game and why and if they think the game is fair for both players. This will also help me assess student understanding of adding and subtracting integers, and also the external grammar of being able to communicate in these terms clearly.

A couple aspects of my ADC checklist are accounted for with this assessment. My questions “Does my assignment align with objectives and learning goals?” and “Does my assessment provide me with insight regarding student progress towards learning objectives?” are addressed within the game itself. The learning goals of this assessment are adding and subtracting integers, and the students have to do this as they move through the game rolling the dice. The game will also provide me with insight into my students’ ability to think critically and to add and subtract integers.

My questions “Does my assessment allow for exchanges between the teacher and student for learning opportunities?” and “Does my assessment provide students the opportunity for self-assessment?” will be accounted for with the other activities involved. Students will not only receive feedback from me, they will receive feedback from their classmates during the discussion that occurs after each game is played. Students will also be able to self-reflect after each game and with the short reflection they will submit after playing the game multiple times against different classmates.

Stay tuned next week for a prototype of my game!