“It shows how you can use games and play and fun and creativity to enable students to see what they know, and for teachers to figure out what they know.”īerland says the book provides a useful model for teachers to assess classroom-wide learning about specific subjects. “It presents a novel new take on how we might think about what assessment is for in classrooms where assessment isn’t dictated,” he says. Berlandīerland says the book presents an exciting way to think about how assessment can be reimagined - and used in imaginative ways as well. The skills used in the game align to a national computer science learning framework, with topics including data collection, visualization, and interpretation. The game, Beats Empire, allows students to step into the shoes of a music producer who needs to advise and shape the work of the bands on their roster to respond to song trends in an imaginary city. The book shares insights from three years of interdisciplinary research directed at designing, developing, implementing, and reflecting on the efficacy of a game intended to test middle school students’ computer science and data science skills.

Matthew Berland, an associate professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and founder and director of the Complex Play Lab and the UW Game Design Program, co-authored “ Playful Testing: Designing a Formative Assessment Game for Data Science ” with several colleagues from UW–Madison and other institutions. A new book co-authored by a UW–Madison School of Education faculty member sheds more light on how to build and use games to effectively measure students’ learning.

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