Amie E. Germain

Abstract

A two-part authentic assessment, in an early childhood undergraduate course, creates significant learning experiences while utilizing the Universal Design for Learning guidelines to promote flexibility.The assessment provides deeper learning outcomes for students, since it supports the students in using their acquired knowledge to think critically about play spaces. 

      I have taught a 200-level undergraduate course on the early years of human development
(Human Development I) for over a decade. For many years I incorporated visits from babies and young children into the course as a method to build observation skills with child development, and a way to link developmental theories explored in the course to “real life.” With course delivery shifting through the pandemic, and visitors (especially young children) not allowed in classrooms, I made shifts with the course design, including how learning is assessed. One of the new assessments I continue to use is Play Space Exploration.

    Play Space Exploration is grounded in L. Dee Fink’s (2013) work of creating significant learning experiences by helping students connect course learning with life learning. Fink’s Significant Learning Outcomes taxonomy helps me build assessments of students’ learning about human development that are both meaningful and authentic.

     I pull from the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines (CAST, 2018) to embed options and flexibility into assessment methods that support learner variability.Though the course incorporates frequent opportunities for students to practice, build on, and showcase their learning during the semester, this article focuses on the Play Space Exploration assessment.

Play Space Exploration 

     Play Space Exploration consists of two parts, each worth 20 points, resulting in a total of 40 points, weighted to 20% of the course grade.The ultimate outcome of the authentic assessment is for students to evaluate children’s play spaces using knowledge developed throughout the semester.They do this by critically assessing skills needed by children to access and utilize a play space.

     Assessment Part One (see Appendix A for complete Part One instructions and prompts). The first part of the authentic assessment takes place early in the semester (due at the conclusion of week four of a 16-week semester) when students are building foundational knowledge about the course topic, human development. In this part of the project students select and visit an outdoor place where children play.The place a student selects may be a place that the student once played, a place that is enticing to them, or new place they find through exploration for the assignment. Part One has two sections: Play Space Description and Development Theories.

     Play space description. In the first section of Part One students are asked to describe the play space and upload images or videos of the play space (see Table 1 and Figure 1). Students are asked to refrain from taking pictures or video of anyone from whom they do not have permission. 

Table 1
Students’ Initial Observations
Describe what you like about the space and note physical properties of the space. Put your description, along with a photo, video, or audio submission, onto Padlet.

Students’ responses:
Since I was a child my absolute favorite thing to do was go to the playground.This playground is around the corner from my house. I spent many hours racing my brother to the playground and playing with our neighbors. For my entire life, I remember running first to the swing set. My best friend and I would find two swings next to each other and swing on them for hours.

The best part of this play place is the environment in which it is located. To get to the playground area you must drive on a dirt path through the woods and park in parking lot with rocks. As a kid, when I first got to the park, I would run to this one big red swing and my sister and I would take turns pushing each other.

Note: Excerpts from two students’ discussions of play spaces they chose to observe.

Figure 1. On Padlet, students place text, audio, photos or video, describing the space and what they like about it. Child photo by
Isabelle Bennet, Undergraduate.

      Development theories. Subsequent questions in Part One of the assessment require students to begin to think critically about the play space by relating one of the development theories discussed in class to their observations (Table 2).

Table 2
Student’s’ Analysis of a Play Space in Relation to Child Development Theory

Pick a theory from the theories we have studied in class to answer the following questions:
. What elements of the theory stand out as you imagine yourself as a child playing in this space or as you observe children playing in the space?
. Why do you think these elements stand out to you? Give a minimum of three examples.
. How do the concepts in the theory relate to children playing in this space?

A student chose Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory of Cognitive Development to critically frame the student’s play space observations:
     An element of Vygotsky’s theory that stood out to me was scaffolding, which is when through guided participation, a child can learn cognitive skills within a certain range (Zone of Proximal Development). 
     A specific example in reference to the play space is the bubble station.Toddlers may not understand how to use the wand and blow bubbles yet, but the parents can teach them through guided participation.They can at first blow the bubbles while the kid watches, then they can have the child dip the wand in the bubbles themselves.The child may at first blow bubbles alongside the parent until the child is able to do it independently.

     Assessment Part Two (see Appendix B for complete Part Two instructions and prompts). Part Two of the authentic assessment takes place in the final two weeks of the course. It assesses more advanced knowledge and higher levels of analysis and integration, and includes two parts: Analysis and Reflections.

     Analysis. Students return to the play space (if they are unable to return, they may use their pictures and videos from the previous part). With this visit, students analyze the motor skills a child needs to access and utilize the play space, play skills a child uses in the space, and sensory systems activated in the space (as in Table 3). 

Table 3
Analyzing a Play Space for Motor Skills, Play Skills and Sensory Systems

. Analyze motor skills and play skills a child needs to access and utilize the play space.
. How are one or more sensory systems activated in the space?

Excerpts from a student’s responses:
Motor Skills. Washington Square Park features a lot of portions of the park dedicated to climbing. You can climb onto playsets, swings, turtles, slides, poles, and so much more.Children can climb using gross motor skills with symmetry/alignment and postural control. With all the climbing that goes on in a playground, children use certain grasp patterns. For example, the power (cylindrical) grasp pattern is used when climbing a ladder and holding onto the bars, climbing up a slide, climbing on a jungle gym, swinging on a swing, holding the roles, and sliding down a pole with your hands wrapped around the pole.
Play Skills. In the toddler section of the park, there is a lot of tactile material, which includes sandboxes, swings, spinners, brightly colored equipment, and toys floating around. Because of all the features that the park has to offer, solitary play is evident as well, and I am a living testament to this! I used to play by myself all the time with any available toys and objects at the park. Whether at the sandpit, the water fountains, or the musical playsets, there are not only enough materials to allow for solitary play to occur (children entertaining themselves without any other social stimulus), but there is enough space as the park is rather wide. This allows children to explore freely in all sorts of terrain .
Sensory Systems.One of the sensory system activated is the tactile system. It is connected to our nervous system and allows us to sense, perceive, and organize/integrate information through skin receptors.This playground features a lot of tactile supports to allow for tactile input.The park features brightly colored equipment for visual stimulation that encourages children to  engage and explore with their tactile senses. Evoking children’s other senses, such as vision, sound, and smell with playground equipment, tends to make children more curious to engage in touch.The two major parts of the playground that promote a lot of tactile activity include the sandboxes and sprinklers (only turned on during the summer).

Note: A student analyzes motor skills and play skills needed for a child to use the space, and sensory systems a child would develop in the play space.

     Reflections. At the conclusion of Part Two, students are prompted to reflect on how their views and analysis of the play space changed at different points in the semester by describing what they noticed or analyzed differently about the space with their second visit compared to their first visit. This final reflection builds on Fink’s element of learning how to learn (Fink, 2013). By reflecting on their learning gains made, using a consistent play space for application of course material and critical analysis, students reflect on their individual process of learning and growth (Table 4.) In text and photos, video, or audio recordings, students reflections go on their Padlet, along with their responses from earlier in the semester (Figure 2).

Table 4
Students’ End of Unit Reflections

Reflections prompts:
1. How has your view of this play space changed since your first observation of the space?
2. What do you notice differently?
3. What do you notice more or less?

Excerpts from Students’ Reflections:
Going back to the playground, I was able to view the playground not as the fun space I used to spend hours on end at, but as a tool for developmental progress.

This assignment has allowed me to come back and think more in depth about the types of development and grasp patterns needed to access the playground and play on all of the wooden structures provided. Additionally, once I returned back to the play space this time, I thought more of how sensory systems are integrated throughout the playground and how they affect a child’s experience

Note: Examples from students’ reflections on how their thoughts about play spaces have evolved.

Figure 2. With all parts of their assessment on the same Padlet, a student’s growth in learning is well represented.

Choice and Autonomy

     The choices provided with this assessment (choice of play space, choice of theories to use while addressing prompts, and choice of format for expressing knowledge) support an authentic assessment of learning while promoting autonomy and personal relevance. Providing the opportunity for students to choose the space they will observe connects with the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principle of engagement by offering a mechanism for recruiting interest through embedding options for individual choice and autonomy (CAST, 2018). The idea of choice and autonomy supports Fink’s elements of the human dimension and caring in the Taxonomy of Significant Learning to help create an authentic learning experience (Fink, 2013). 

     To further promote authenticity with the assessment, students take pictures or videos of the play space during their visit.They can choose to play in the space or not, most do, and take pictures of themselves with family and other companions in the space. 

     Providing students with individual choice with the theories they select to respond to question prompts, again promotes autonomy and optimizes personal relevance and value with their analysis and responses. Another choice is provided to students by giving them the option to respond to theory-based prompts with text, photo, video, or audio submission on the Padlet. 

Deeper Learning Outcomes

     The Play Space Exploration authentic assessment focuses on the deeper learning outcomes of critical thinking and using acquired knowledge. Students think critically about how play spaces used during their childhood or other play spaces they have observed relate to development theories they have learned. In addition, students strengthen their communications skills by communicating in a variety of modes.

Relevancy and Engagement

      The active learning of Play Space Exploration and the option to assess a play space that was used by the student when they were young made the activity relevant and engaging. Martin and Bolliger (2018) note that students in an on-line course ranked participating in real-world projects with guiding questions to be the most beneficial strategy when promoting learner-to-content engagement and heighten understanding of a topic. Villarroel et al. (2020) discuss implications of poor assessment on student achievement and propose changes to assessment, such as increasing authenticity with testing when assessing higher-order skills. 

Rubrics

      Each part of the authentic assessment is evaluated using a rubric supplied to students with the assignment guidelines. Providing students with the rubrics supports students in keeping on track; and empowers them by explicitly conveying how their work is evaluated.The rubric for Part One of the project includes criteria focusing on elements of exploration and application. A separate rubric for Part Two of the project provides specific criteria for aspects of analysis and reflection. 

  Padlet

      Both Parts One and Two of the assessment are completed using the Padlet platform. Padlet is a web-based platform allowing users to create and share content with others in multiple formats. Users can select a variety of ways to represent information and express knowledge on Padlet, such as posting pictures, video and audio clips, web links, and files (e.g., word or PDFs). Using Padlet offers further flexibility with this project by providing different options for organization and creativity. Drawing on Universal Design for Learning guidelines (CAST, 2018), Padlet provides multiple means of action and expression by allowing students to respond to the assessment prompts in a way that best supports their learning. 

     Flexibility with responding allows students to incorporate text responses, photos, audio recordings, and/or video recordings.The Padlet platform lends itself to authentic learning with this assessment by providing a pathway for students to upload images and videos (often of themselves) in the play space used for the project. Incorporating both Parts One and Two of the project on the same Padlet encapsulates a significant learning experience for students by providing a clear representation of growth in learning and critical thinking, over the course of an academic semester.

My Reflections

     The two-part Play Space Exploration project has created significant learning experiences for my students, allowing them to deepen their learning over the course of time using analysis, critical thinking, choice, and personal exploration. Promoting authenticity with the project by offering choices and personal connection maximizes my students’ engagement. Providing flexible methods for students to express their knowledge supports the variability of my students’ learning strengths and learning style preferences. 

     I have continued to use the Play Space Exploration learning assessment for three consecutive years. Over the three years, I have made minor adjustments to the question prompts to promote clarity (e.g., made questions more specific, and provided aspects of a theoretical perspective for a more specific focus). Additionally, I have provided examples of student project submissions from previous years to help students conceptualize the full scope of the project. I have adjusted the weighting of this project over the three years I have used it, by placing a higher value on this assessment in the context of the entire course grading scheme.The higher weighting of this assessment is based on the significant effort put forth by students with their submissions. 

      To further promote the authenticity of Play Space Exploration assessment and further connect with deeper learning outcomes of communicating effectively and working collaboratively, I could adapt Villarrole et al. (2020) “authentic assessment cycle” which includes having students develop assessment criteria, engage in peer review, and conduct self-assessments.

     As an educator that seeks out flexible options and methods for students to express their knowledge, I have found Padlet to be a platform that meets my criteria. I highly recommend exploring Padlet and the many possibilities it offers to support learner variability. Furthermore, I have found Padlet to be an excellent and versatile tool to use with a portfolio type project that develops over time. 

     As when integrating any new form of technology or platform into the learning environment, it is important to spend time helping students create an account if needed (with Padlet there are free and paid subscriptions available) prior to the project, and allotting time to explore, experiment with, and ask questions about the tool. I do this by incorporating Padlet into class sessions throughout the semester with small group work and class discussions that do not bear weight on the course grade. By the time students submit a Padlet for assessment purposes, they have practiced using the platform. 

     I encourage anyone considering an authentic learning assessment, such as this assignment, to require students to submit pictures and videos of themselves immersed in the assignment (in this case the play space) to optimize relevance, value, and authenticity (CAST, 2018). and to further build on the human dimension of significant learning (Fink, 2013).

     Finally, I recommend that with in-depth assignments, such as Play Space Exploration, leave options open to foster student creativity and autonomy. The authentic and unique nature of each student’s submission is exciting to review and a wonderful representation of learning that occurs over the course of a semester.

References

Appendix A
Assessment Part One Instructions and Prompts

You can write your responses, video record your responses, or audio record your responses on the Padlet in addition to providing pictures.

Appendix B
Assessment Part Two Instructions and Prompts

1. Return to the outdoor space you visited for Part One of this project. If you are unable to access the place, use the photos/video from Part One.
2. Re-evaluate and analyze the play space using the prompts below.
3. Answer each question set on the Padlet you created for Part 1 of this assignment. You can write your answers, video record your answers, or audio record your answers.
4. Copy/paste your Padlet link in the text box for this assignment to submit. 

Part Two Question Set 1: Motor Skills (gross or fine)
A. What is ONE specific motor skill a child needs to use to play in a specific area of this play space? Use developmental terminology (name of grasp pattern: ex. Spherical grasp, name of gross motor skill: ex. Running, climbing). Include a picture of this skill on your Padlet (it can be you doing the skill in the play space, a family member or friend in the play space doing the skill, or a picture of the skill from the internet).
B. Why is this specific motor skill needed in this specific play area?
C. How does the skill you describe require the following elements: postural control, antigravity movement, symmetry and alignment, dissociation with movement, accurate and grade movement, endurance, or refined movement? Pick two elements to focus on.

Part Two Question Set 2: A Second Motor Skill (gross or fine) – same prompts as above
A. What is ONE specific motor skill a child needs to use to play in a specific area of this play space? Use developmental terminology (name of grasp pattern: ex. Spherical grasp, name of gross motor skill: ex. Running, climbing). Include a picture of this skill on your Padlet (it can be you doing the skill in the play space, a family member or friend in the play space doing the skill, or a picture of the skill from the internet).
B. Why is this specific motor skill needed in this specific play area?
C. How does the skill you describe require the following elements: postural control, antigravity movement, symmetry and alignment, dissociation with movement, accurate and grade movement, endurance, or refined movement? Pick two to focus on.

Part Two Question Set 3: Play Skills
What social aspects of play (according to theorist Parten’s views) would you expect children to exhibit in this play space? Describe at least two. Include a picture from the internet on your Padlet of children (a child) playing this way.

Part Two Question Set 4: Sensory Systems
Focus on one internal sensory system (tactile, vestibular, or proprioception) you think would be activated in a specific area of this play space.
Describe the sensory input the child receives in the play space to activate this sensory system. Include a picture of this specific area of the play space on your Padlet. (It can be you playing in the play space, a family member or friend in the play space, or a picture that represents an area of the play space from the internet.)

Question Set 5: Reflection
How has your view of this play space changed since your first observation of the space? What do you notice differently? What do you notice more or less?

Amie E. Germain, EdD, MOTR/L is Associate Professor, Occupational Therapy Department, Occupational Therapy Graduate Program Chair, and Director of Educational Development, Center for Faculty Excellence at Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York. Amie Germain can be reached at agermain@ithaca.edu.