Pre-Service Teachers’ Perspectives on and Strategies for Assessment of Computational Empowerment-based Projects
Assessing Critical, Creative, and Project-Based Approaches to Digital Literacy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21240/constr/2025/77.XKeywords:
Computational Empowerment, Assessment Methods, Teacher Education, Digital LiteracyAbstract
Young learners today find themselves in an increasingly complex and digitalized world. Accordingly, educational research, policy and practice need to develop and implement modern frameworks and approaches that foster critical and self-determined engagement with corresponding challenges. Computational Empowerment (CE) represents a recent development in response to this need. It applies ideas inherent to participatory design and constructionist learning in order to promote digital literacy and a creative, hands-on approach to engaging with digital technology. Despite its proven potential, CE has yet received little room in formal education. This paper focuses on two key problems in this regard: difficulties with assessment and the limited role of CE in teacher education, both of which hinder its adoption in schools. To explore these issues, the paper analyzes 17 student reflections on assessing CE-based projects. It examines students’ assessment strategies, including criteria, methods and challenges. Based on the findings, the paper highlights key challenges and, consequently, proposes strategies for advancing CE in formal education.References
Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and Classroom Learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 5(1), 7–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969595980050102
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2022). Thematic analysis: A practical guide (1st edition). SAGE Publications Ltd.
Byrne, D. (2022). A worked example of Braun and Clarke’s approach to reflexive thematic analysis. Quality & Quantity, 56(3), 1391–1412. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-021-01182-y
Dindler, C., Smith, R., & Iversen, O. S. (2020). Computational empowerment: Participatory design in education. CoDesign, 16(1), 66–80. https://doi.org/10.1080/15710882.2020.1722173
Fields, D., Shaw, M., & Kafai, Y. B. (2018). Personal learning journeys: Reflective portfolios as “objects-to-learn-with” in an e-textiles high school class. Constructionism 2018: Constructionism, Computational Thinking and Educational Innovation: Conference Proceedings. http://www.constructionism2018.fsf.vu.lt/proceedings
Göbl, B., Duvivié, M., Jovicic, S., & Kayali, F. (2023). Towards Bridging the Gap between Participatory Design and Formal Education. Proceedings of the 22nd Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference, 652–656. https://doi.org/10.1145/3585088.3593881
Göbl, B., Guenther, E. A., Kayali, F., & Frauenberger, C. (2023). Situating computational empowerment in formal education: A multi-perspective view. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, 100604. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcci.2023.100604
Hartikainen, H., Ventä-Olkkonen, L., Kinnula, M., & Iivari, N. (2023). “We were proud of our idea”: How teens and teachers gained value in an entrepreneurship and making project. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, 35, 100552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcci.2022.100552
Ingold, S., & Maurer, B. (2019). Making in der Schule. In S. Ingold, B. Maurer, & D. Trüby (Eds.), Chance Makerspace: Making trifft auf Schule. Chance: MakerSpace, München. kopaed.
Iversen, O. S., Smith, R. C., & Dindler, C. (2018). From computational thinking to computational empowerment: A 21 st century PD agenda. Proceedings of the 15th Participatory Design Conference: Full Papers – Volume 1, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1145/3210586.3210592
Kaspersen, M. H., Graungaard, D., Bouvin, N. O., Petersen, M. G., & Eriksson, E. (2021). Towards a model of progression in computational empowerment in education. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, 29, 100302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcci.2021.100302
Kim, Y., Murai, Y., & Chang, S. (2020). Embedded Assessment Tools for Maker Classrooms: A Design-Based Research Approach. https://doi.org/10.35542/osf.io/4h3n7
Könings, K. D., Seidel, T., & van Merriënboer, J. J. G. (2014). Participatory design of learning environments: Integrating perspectives of students, teachers, and designers. Instructional Science, 42(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-013-9305-2
Lam, R. (2019). Teacher assessment literacy: Surveying knowledge, conceptions and practices of classroom-based writing assessment in Hong Kong. System, 81, 78–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2019.01.006
OECD. (2020). What Students Learn Matters: Towards a 21st Century Curriculum. OECD. https://doi.org/10.1787/d86d4d9a-en
Pang, H. A. (2016). Alternative Assessments and Feedback in a Maker Classroom. In P. Blikstein, S. L. Martinez, & H. A. Pang (Eds.), Meaningful Making. Volume 1 / edited by Paulo Blikstein, Sylvia Libow Martinez, and Heather Allen Pang (pp. 28–33). Constructing Modern Knowledge Press.
Schaper, M.-M., Smith, R. C., Tamashiro, M. A., Van Mechelen, M., Lunding, M. S., Bilstrup, K.-E. K., Kaspersen, M. H., Jensen, K. L., Petersen, M. G., & Iversen, O. S. (2022). Computational empowerment in practice: Scaffolding teenagers’ learning about emerging technologies and their ethical and societal impact. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, 34, 100537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcci.2022.100537
Veldhuis, A., Murai, Y., Lin, A., Kumpulainen, K., & Antle, A. N. (2023). Reimagining Assessment for Maker Education in Elementary Education: Findings from a Values-led Co-Design Workshop with Teachers. FabLearn / Constructionism 2023: Full and Short Research Papers, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1145/3615430.3615435
Weixelbraun, P. F., Göbl, B., Steinböck, M., Duvivié, M., & Kayali, F. (2024). Discussing the Protagonist Role of Students in Game-Based Learning. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 8(CHI PLAY), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1145/3677065
Downloads
Published
Conference Proceedings Volume
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Barbara Göbl

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.