Formative Assessments and Notes from Days 1-4

Notes were taken by Katie, Nahla, and Missy

Monday - “L” and “A” did not show up on day 1.
Tuesday - “L” and “A” were both present on day 2.
Wednesday - “L” did not show up. “A” was 20-minutes late. (iPad not charged)
Thursday - “L” did not show up. “A” was in attendance.

Task of Understandings Student #1 - “L” Student #2 - “A”

STEM Camp Comments (Prior
Experience)
Day 2 - “L” has been to
STEM camp before (not last
year) but can’t remember
what was learned.
Day 2 - Joined late but couldn’t
understand English well enough to
answer. Nahla translated for us and
it took “A” a bit to warm up to the
discussions.

Understandings of Rules and Day 2 - Both understood how Day 2 - “A” understood how to mute
Expectations to mute and hide their video. her video and did not choose to use
“L” went back and forth on video so we could not see her.
both.

Prior Rube Goldberg Knowledge Day 2 - No prior knowledge of Day 2 - No prior knowledge of Rube
Rube Goldberg but has built Goldberg but has built a lego car
Magnatiles before. before.

Understanding on who Rube Day 2 - We skipped this Day 2 - We skipped this section due
Goldberg is section due to lack of time. to lack of time.

Understanding of a Rube Goldberg Day 2 - Seemed to Day 2 - Warmed up to conversations

Machine and Simple Machines
understand but didn’t
demonstrate a complete
understanding of what makes
it a Rube Goldberg machine.
May need to revisit what a
Rube Goldberg machine is
and what exactly we plan to
build.
a bit with Nahla translating. Did not
demonstrate a full understanding of
what a Rube Goldberg machine is.
May need to revisit to gain a
complete understanding.

Understanding of Materials Day 2 - Came up with one Day 2 - Came up with a few ideas but
Needed/Wanted for their own Rube idea but will cover this topic will come back to this topic right
Goldberg Machine again on Wednesday. away on Wednesday.

Understanding of Simple Machines Day 2 - Reviewed Inclined Day 2-Reviewed examples we might
plane, lever & wheel, and see of simple machines. Shared
axel. Shared examples of the examples of the simple machines we
simple machines we see. “L” see. Used pictures of common

Ideas for More Engagement
Notes on Personal Interests and
Perspectives
gave example of an inclined
plane and slide.
Day 2 - “L” likes to draw.
Perhaps use more drawings
or art to help engage “L”.
Maybe “L” can draw a Rube
Goldberg machine instead of
building one since we have
limited time?
Day 2 - Likes to draw. Has
three brothers and a sister.
examples. Said would look around
their house for examples when
looking for items for Rube Goldberg
machines.
Day 4 - “A” was engaged in the
lesson on this day. She was paying
attention and responding to
questions. We started the lesson by
reviewing the simple machines from
Day 2 and she showed us examples
she had at home. She and Nahla
were talking in Arabic. This seemed
to make her more comfortable. We
went back and forth between English
and Arabic throughout this day.
Day 2 - Use pictures and videos to
help “A” connect. Using the chat
option more so she can read our
questions? Continue to have Nahla
translate and have conversations
with “A”.
Day 2 - Difficult to connect for this
section with the language barrier but
plan to continue to build a
relationship with “A” for more comfort
and involvement in our discussions.
Day 3 - Due to the language barrier
Nahla translated for us. We only had
10-minutes with “A” so we thought
the time would be best spent getting
to know her and get her comfortable
talking. She also showed herself on
video today which we were excited
about. “A” has one sister and two
brothers. She is 10-years-old.
Tomorrow she will be going to the
aquarium at MOA. She seemed to
be looking forward to it and was not
sure if she would be in attendance on
Thursday. We did get a chance to
show her some of the materials that
we found to use in a Rube Goldberg
machine. When we asked her if she
wanted to learn more about it she
was unsure. So we adjusted and
spent more time getting to hear more
about her. She has also only been in
Rochester for two months so we
appreciated having Nahla translate
for us so we could have
conversations!

Day 4 - This day went well. We knew

a little more about “A” which helped
us keep her engaged in the lesson.
She finished by saying the Rube
Goldberg machines look fun!