This is the first of several Programming Activity & Reflection Reports. You are to report and reflection on four different learning activities in this report—1) Snap! storytelling; 2) Snap! initial drawing; 3) Snap! game; and 4) Snap! trivia. The report is to address the highpoints of the activity and reflection on them individually and as a whole. You may refer back to the code.org experience Those highlights might relate directly to the activity or indirectly to programming more generally, some of the basics of programing, elements of computational thinking or to the teaching and learning for programming.
The report is to be completed cooperatively, however it works best for the partners. It could be written and proofed together or drafted by one partner, critiqued/revised by the other(s), and then finalized together or in some other cooperative manner. However, taking turns to individually prepare and submit the PARRs is not considered cooperative work. The finished document is meant to demonstrate professional practice and to be the shared work of both/all partners.
As the report will cover several activities across days or weeks you will want to record activity and thoughts for reflection as you complete the activities. I recommend producing an activity journal that includes: 1) the outside-of-class time spent each day/time you work; 2) notable elements of the activity; and 3) notes about possible reflection topics or actual reflections.
The reports are to report on both activity and reflection. They are not the same.
Activity is meant to be a statement facts or opinion. Some sample facts and opinions you might report on are:
The list above is not comprehensive. You are welcome to share anything you want. Note that not all of them will need to be addressed in reflection.
Reflection will often begin with one of the above elements then elaborate on it. The elaboration will explain the statement or extend it to some other context or compare and contrast it with something else, etc. Some possible cues for reflection are:
This will be more than another statement, i.e., not a parent's response to "Why?" of "Because I said so!" It should be a paragraph of at least several sentences. Many of the fact & opinions identified above could be reflected up in this manner. For example ... Why you think a particular difficulty was difficult, how it might be mitigated, whether it would be similar for your potential students.
For example ... How the modification makes it better and why you think so. When the insight was recognized and how it relates to the bigger context.
For example ... When you see a connection between two things a discussion of: similarities and differences, how/why the similarities are important, how/why the differences are not critical. This is like explaining an analogy.
You might notice some connection between what is done here and some experience you had in a different context. The reflection begins with the connection but then explains it and why it is useful for your understanding of our learning context and goals.
Again, the items above are not comprehensive. The main idea is that there is a discussion that all relates to one idea or ties several things together. The general PARR document said (among other things):
Reflection involves activity such as connecting to personal experience; considering consequences, asking "what if ...?"; placing experience in a larger context; analogizing (and explaining the analogy); explicating your feelings/reaction and attempting to understand them/it. You might examine Reflection (a .pdf from Queen Margaret University's effective learning service) to get some additional sense of reflection and its utility. You might start with fact or opinion, then go further. The "further" could be an explanation of an opinion or an idea for an extension of the activity and a rationale for it, etc. Some other possibilities are:
The PARR submission should contain/address the ideas above. To ensure completeness you might organize as follows:
James East / Philip East
Time: 1/1, 2/2.5, 2.5/2, 3/3.5
Totals: 8.5/9
Each pair of numbers relates to a particular activity and the first number in each pair is the hours for the first partner and the second number is for the second partner. You may organize it differently but the information indicated should be included.
This will be things you think worth mentioning but that you did not include in your reflection. Each of the four activities should probably have multiple entries here. You may organize them by activity if you wish.
Probably a sequence of paragraphs with each identifying a topic and the reflection. Do not include two topics in one paragraph unless the connection between them is the object of reflection. Feel free to use several paragraphs for a single reflection if you think it is needed. You should probably include at least one item of reflection from each of the four activities.
After the report has been prepared, one partner should prepare an e-mail message. The report should be typed (or copied and pasted) in an e-mail message (not included as an attachment) and should:
Students always ask "How many pages?" and I always reply "As many as it takes to provide a good answer." I usually add a range, in this case, if you submit much less than a couple pages, you probably are not including enough and if you use more than four pages you may be doing more than is needed or overthinking it, rambling, duplicating, etc. Having too much information is not a problem if you are not saying superfluous things.
The credit for the assignment will be split about evenly between 1) the non-reflection elements and 2) the reflection elements. Grading is mostly a matter of did you do as directed in a conscientious manner. If it appears you did everything requested, the information is neatly formatted, and the information provided seemed reflective/thoughtful (not just going through the motions), you should receive an A or B. Slight departures from specifications may result in a lesser grade. More departures, even lower grades. Late submissions will receive a deduction commensurate with the lateness. Reports that seem superfical will receive at most a C-. The syllabus provides additional information about grading and the general PARR document contains more on the report.