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Zerodaytea / codehs-nitro-solutions.

My solutions for the CodeHS Nitro track that were required to be completed for my AP Computer Science Course. Some of these solutions are not ideal and were done very quickly simply to get the assignments over and done with so make sure to review the code and maybe even improve it before using it.

• Updated Sep 11, 2021

ricky8k / APCSA-ProjectStem

Source code for the 2022-23 AP Computer Science A course on Project Stem.

• Updated Jan 13, 2024

mapoztate / apcsa2020

Answer key for APCSA Edhesive 2020 - learn from example, don't plagarize.

• Updated Apr 29, 2021

joshkmartinez / AP-CS-A

A stash of all the things I used in the AP CS A course

• Updated May 28, 2019

ari-dixit / apcsa

A place to store my previous work for AP Computer Science. Attempt to solve on your own first before utilizing this as a resource to help you.

• Updated Oct 9, 2023

chlohal / dinner-coding-time

AP Comp Sci homework helper

• Updated Jun 11, 2023

kayleyseow / Picture-Lab

In this lab you will be writing methods that modify digital pictures. In writing these methods you will learn how to traverse a two-dimensional array of integers or objects. You will also be introduced to nested loops, binary numbers, interfaces, and inheritance.

• Updated Jan 16, 2020

thatrobotdev / AP-CSA

All of my work for AP CSA

• Updated Nov 20, 2021

exoad / ap-compsci-a

Visit the crunch sheet here: https://exoad.github.io/ap-compsci-a/

• Updated Jun 1, 2022

ArsiaC01 / Java-Methods-Programs-AP-Comp-A-2021-2022

Selected programs from Java Methods Object Oriented programming and Data Structures textbook, from Mr. Tenzca's AP Computer Science A class (2021-2022). Benevolently provided for the benefit of confused students 😝.

• Updated Jan 8, 2024

Kevin-Kwan / codingbat

Repository of my own iterations/answers to the CodingBat exercises.

• Updated Jan 9, 2024

sollywollyson / Edhesive-AP-Comp-Sci-Term-1

Lessons 1-37

• Updated Dec 2, 2019

developerjeffreywong / APCSMineSweeper

This version of MineSweeper is an AP Computer Science A lab

• Updated Jan 29, 2019

BobSaidHi / CodeHSAPCSAUsefulFiles

Useful files I made/borrowed for APCSA on CodeHS.

• Updated Apr 28, 2021

mitchwag / AP-Computer-Science

All Coursework from AP Computer Science A at Pennridge High School

• Updated Jan 22, 2020

kudonon / AdventureGame

A basic text based adventure game using Java and GUI

• Updated Sep 9, 2019

rogerjaffe / search-and-sort

• Updated Mar 19, 2021

JohnLins / APCSA

My APCSA code, learning how to build algorithms with OOP

• Updated Apr 21, 2021

Techno11 / APCSA-1920

Repository with most of the code from my Advanced Placement (AP) CSA work for the 2019-2020 school year.

• Updated Dec 5, 2019

hershyz / apcsa-problemset

Comprehensive, holistic FRQ problemset for the AP Computer Science-A Exam

• Updated Apr 8, 2021

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AP Computer Science A

Assignments by date.

This is where each week's assignments in AP CS A are posted. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Week 31: Tuesday, April 9th – Friday, April 12th

Hello again! I hope you survived the solar eclipse and enjoyed your bonus 3-day weekend. Here's what we're doing for this week as we wrap up the last topic in the course :

finish Unit 10 Exam 🥨 

work on practice exams and FRQs

Now that we've finished all of the material in the AP Computer Science A course, we can focus on getting you ready for the exam in May ! My goal is to provide you with class time to study and work on practice questions so that you don't have to do any of that at home. Congrats on making it through to the end! Let me know if you have any questions.

Week 30 : Tuesday , April 2nd – Friday, April 5th

Welcome back! I hope you had a fun and relaxing Spring Break and are fully recharged and ready to prepare for the AP Exam in May. Here's what we're doing for the first week of April as we continue our work in Unit 10: Recursion :

Unit 10: Lesson 3 - Binary Search

Unit 10: Lesson 4 - Merge Sort

On Monday, April 8th, the Great American Eclipse will take place as a rare total solar eclipse goes across North America, including most of Ohio. Here's some useful information about the timing of the eclipse :

1:59:28 pm: Partial eclipse begins - the moment the edge of the Moon touches the edge of the Sun is called "first contact"

3:14:30 pm: Totality begins 😱 - the moment the edge of the Moon covers all of the Sun is called "second contact"

3:15:54 pm: Maximum eclipse‼️ - this is the deepest point of the eclipse, with the Sun at its most hidden

3:17:17 pm: Totality ends 😭 - the moment the edge of the Moon exposes the Sun is called "third contact"

4:29:17 pm: Partial eclipse ends - the moment the edge of the Moon leaves the edge of the Sun is called "fourth contact"

There's also a really cool interactive map of the eclipse path , and you can find out all about the many, many eclipse-related events happening this weekend in Kent at the Kent Total Eclipse 2024 website . Make sure to build a pinhole projector out of cardboard and aluminum foil ahead of time – they're really cool and easy to make!

I hope you have a great week back from Spring Break! As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Week 29: Monday, March 18th – Friday, March 22nd

We've made it to Spring Break! 4th Quarter has begun and we can start Unit 10: Recursion – our last unit! Here's what we're doing for the first week of Spring:

BEGIN 4th QUARTER

start Unit 10: Recursion

Unit 10: Lesson 1 - Intro to Recursion

Unit 10: Lesson 2 - Recursive Functions With Returns

Unit 10 Quiz

I hope you have an awesome Spring Break and get lots of rest and relaxation ! I'll see you next month. 😎

Week 28: Monday, March 11th – Friday, March 15th

Welcome to the end of 3rd Quarter! I hope you survived the time change over the weekend and you're ready to finish strong. Here's what we're doing for this last week of Winter as we wrap up Unit 9: Inheritance :

Assignment 9: Ultimate Frisbee

Unit 9 Exam 🎏

E N D OF 3rd QUARTER

Seniors, you're 15/16ths done with high school. 😱 I hope you have a great week, and please let me know if you have any questions!

Week 2 7 : Monday, March 4 th – Friday, March 8th

Here's the plan for this week as we get further into Unit 9: Inheritance :

Unit 9: Lesson 2 - Inheritance Overriding Methods

Unit 9 Quiz 🚐

Unit 9: Lesson 3 - Is-a and Has-a Relationships

We only have two weeks left in 3rd Quarter, so make sure you're getting all of your work completed and turned in. Let me know if you have any questions, and have a wonderful week!

Week 2 6 : Monday , February 2 6 th – Friday, March 1st

Welcome to the end of February! To wrap up Black History Month, I'd like to tell you about John Henry Thompson (b. 1959), the creator of the influential Lingo programming language. The son of Jamaican immigrants, Mr. Thompson got his first opportunity to work with a computer as a 10th grader at the Bronx High School of Science when his geometry teacher, Ms. Strauss, gave him early access to the math department's computer lab and helped him get his first job as a computer operator in the New York State Psychiatric Institute. After graduation, he earned his Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Visual Studies from MIT in 1983 and continued on as a technical instructor, developed an early color pre-press design system for the Visible Language Workshop, which is now part of the MIT Media Lab. Mr. Thompson then became a project lead at Lucasfilm on the EditDroid project, an early nonlinear editing system that was a precursor to Final Cut, the industry standard in video editing. In 1987 he joined Macromedia (now part of Adobe), where he contributed to the development of a number of products, including Macromedia Director, and he invented the Lingo programming language and XObjects, which made it easier to create interactive multimedia content like Flash, Shockwave and graphics-based CD-ROMs. If you've ever played an interactive game in a web browser, his work helped make that possible! For the past two decades, Mr. Thompson has continued teaching in New York City, Philadelphia, Jamaica, and online, and he has since become an outspoken critic of social media companies such as Facebook for how they use personal data and what he describes as their negative impacts on society.

Here's the plan for this week as we wrap up 2D arrays and move into Unit 9: Inheritance :

Assignment 8: Battleship

Unit 8 Exam 🍝

start Unit 9: Inheritance

Unit 9: Lesson 1 - Inheritance

Remember, no school for Seniors on Tuesday due to the ACT. As always, please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great week!

Week 2 5 : Tuesday , February 20 th – Friday , February 23rd

Hello again! This week I'd like to tell you about Dr. Clarence "Skip" Ellis (1943-2014), the first Black person to earn a PhD in computer science. Dr. Ellis grew up in Chicago and graduated from Parker High School while also working as a part-time night shift security guard for the Dover Corporation. While at Dover, he watched over the company's mainframe computers and became fascinated by them, so he read over the manuals during his shift and learned how to operate and repair the vacuum-tube-based machines. He earned degrees in mathematics and physics from Beloit College in Wisconsin, and while at Beloit, he was one of 10 North American college students to attend a computer science program at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Based on his experiences there, he earned his PhD in computer science from Urbana-Champaign in 1969, making him the first Black person to ever do so. Dr. Ellis worked at Bell Labs, IBM, and Xerox, and from 1976–1984, he worked at the Palo Alto Research Center, where he led the team that created Officetalk, the first program to use icons and the Internet to allow for long-distance collaboration. This means that every icon-based app or operating system you've ever used was directly influenced by Skip Ellis. You could say he's "iconic"! (Sorry.)

Here's the plan for this week as we begin Unit 8 : 2 D Array :

start Unit 8: 2D Array

Unit 8: Lesson 1 - 2-D Array

Unit 8: Lesson 2 - 2-D Array Algorithms

Two-dimensional (2D) arrays can be pretty challenging, so we're going to take this topic slowly and use some graphical organizers to make sure you understand what's going. If you think of a 2D array as a grid, like a chessboard, then they're a lot easier to visualize, which should make it a little easier to figure out how to implement them. Enjoy your abbreviated week, and as always, please let me know if you have any questions!

Week 2 4 : Monday, February 12 th – Thursday , February 15 th

Hello again! This week I'd like to tell you about Dr. Timnit Gebru , a Black computer scientist who studies artificial intelligence (AI), algorithmic bias and data mining. Dr. Gebru was born in Ethiopia and fled the Eritrean–Ethiopian War when she was 15, eventually receiving political asylum in the Unites States. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees as well as her PhD from Stanford University. While at Stanford, she worked as an intern at Apple making audio circuitry and later developed signal processing algorithms for the first iPad. After brief stint at Microsoft where she investigated racial bias in facial recognition software, she joined Google in 2018 to co-lead a team the ethics of artificial intelligence. However, in late 2020, her employment at Google was terminated when she refused to withdraw a research paper about the serious risks of large language model AI systems (Dr. Gebru claims that she was fired, while Google has refused to say whether she resigned or was terminated). Since leaving Google, Dr. Gebru has co-founded Black in AI, a community of Black researchers working in AI, and the Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (DAIR), a "space for independent, community-rooted AI research, free from Big Tech's pervasive influence". She has earned numerous accolades, including being named one of the world's 50 greatest leaders by Fortune Magazine in 2021 and one of Time Magazine's most influential people of 2022.

Here's the plan for this week as we wrap up Unit 7: ArrayList :

Assignment 7: Game Wheel

Unit 7: Review

Unit 7 Exam  

Enjoy your looong weekend, and please let me know if you have any questions!

Week 2 3 : Monday, February 5 th – Friday, February 9th

Happy Black History Month! Before I list this week's activities, I'd like to tell you about Dorothy J. Vaughan (1910–2008), the first African-American female supervisor of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) who became an expert in digital computers and their applications in NASA programs. Ms. Vaughan graduated from Wilberforce University in Ohio with a degree in mathematics and started out as a math teacher. In 1943, to support our country's efforts in World War II, she joined NACA as a human "computer" who did complex calculations for engineers and scientists. She worked with computers Vera Huckel and Sara Bullock to create an algebraic methods handbook for mechanical calculating machines, and when NACA became NASA, she joined its new Analysis and Computation Division and became an expert FORTRAN programmer. Ms. Vaughan and her countless calculations supported NACA and NASA accomplishments and helped to achieve our country’s aerospace goals. Very impressive!

Here's the plan for this week as we continue Unit 7: ArrayList :

Unit 7: Lesson 3 - Array Algorithms with ArrayLists

Unit 7 Quiz 🎈

Unit 7: Lesson 4 - Linear Search

Unit 7: Lesson 5 - Selection Sort

Unit 7: Lesson 6 - Insertion Sort

This is our last full week of school for a while, because next week we'll only have three and a half school days before having a four-and-a-half day weekend, and then we'll have other interruptions like the ACT. I hope you have a great week, and as always, let me know if you have any questions!

Week 22: Monday, January 29th – Friday, February 2nd

Welcome to the end of January! This month has really flown by, although I'm sure that having Winter Break, MLK Jr. Day and three calamity days all helped with that. Here's the plan for this week as we start Unit 7: ArrayList :

finish Assignment 6: Array Statistics

Unit 6 Exam 👟

start Unit 7: ArrayList

Unit 7: Lesson 1 - ArrayList

Unit 7: Lesson 2 - Traversing ArrayLists

With any luck, we'll be able to get through a full week without any interruptions as we move into February and one month closer to the end of the school year. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Week 2 1 : Mon day, January 22nd – Friday, January 26th

Hello again! Last week was certainly an interesting series of events. I hope you took advantage of your bonus three-day weekend and got some rest and relaxation! W e're going to continue our work on Unit 6: Array this week :

finish Unit 6: Lesson 4 - Algorithms on Arrays

Unit 6: Lesson 5 - The Enhanced For Loop

Assignment 6: Array Statistics

The weather this week looks to be much warmer and rainy, so I'm hoping we'll be able to get through all five days without any interruptions. Next week, we'll take the Unit 6 Exam and move on to Unit 7: ArrayList . Have a great week, and let me know if you have any questions!

Week 20: Tuesday, January 16th – Friday, January 19th

I hope you enjoyed your three day weekend! This week, we're going to continue our work on Unit 6: Array . Here's the plan:

Unit 6 Quiz

Unit 6: Lesson 4 - Algorithms on Arrays

These topics should be pretty straightforward, but a s always, please let me know if you have any questions . Have a great week!

Week 19: Monday, January 8th – Friday, January 12th

Happy New Year, and welcome back from Winter Break! I hope you were able to take some time to rest, relax and recharge before we get right back into the thick of things. Here's the plan for our first school week of 2024 as we start our work on Unit 6: Array :

review 1st Semester Exam

start Unit 6: Array

Unit 6: Lesson 1 - One-Dimensional Arrays

Unit 6: Lesson 2 - Traversing an Array

Unit 6: Lesson 3 - Arrays of Strings

I hope you have a great first week back! Let me know if you have any questions.

Week 18: Monday, December 18th – Friday, December 22nd

We finally made it to the end of 1st Semester! Your exam will be on Thursday, December 20th at 7:30am in Room 211, so make sure you're there on time. T he 1st Semester Exam will be on paper and will include 40 multiple choice questions from all five units so far. It'll look a lot like your quizzes, tests and the practice exam I gave you in class, so review those materials to prepare . Here's the schedule for the week:

1st Semester Exam prep

HW: work on 1st Semester Practice Exam

1st, 2nd & 6/7 or 7/8th period exams

HW: finish 1st Semester Practice Exam

Thu . 12/21

1st Semester Exam @7:30–9:00am

ALL WORK DUE FOR 1st SEMESTER

In case you didn't get it last week, the entire exam schedule is available here . I hope all of your exams go smoothly and you have a restful Winter Break. Have a Happy New Year, and I'll see you in 2024!

Week 1 7 : Monday, December 11 th – Friday, December 15 th

Welcome back! Here's the plan for the last full week of 1st Semester as we wrap up Unit 5: Writing Classes :

Assignment 5: Player

Unit 5: Review

Unit 5 Exam 🦒 (please complete by Tuesday 12/19)

Your 1st Semester Exam will be on Thursday, December 21st at 7:30am and covers Units 1- 5 of the course with 40 multiple choice questions that you'll take on paper . I've prepared a practice exam that is very similar to your semester exam that I'll give you in class . The entire exam schedule is available here . I strongly recommend taking notes while doing the practice exam and doing it as far in advance as possible so that you can ask me questions if you need help with anything. Have a great week!

Week 16: Monday, December 4th – Friday, December 8th

Hello again! We're going to continue our work on Unit 5: Writing Classes so we have all the tools we need to complete Assignment 5 next week. Here's the plan for the first full week of December:

finish Unit 5: Lesson 6 - Constructors

Unit 5: Lesson 7 - Documenting a class

Unit 5: Lesson 8 - Static Vs. Instance

Unit 5: Lesson 9 - Wider Impacts of Computing

Next week, after we complete Assignment 5 you'll have time to complete the practice exam and study for the 1st Semester Exam, which is all multiple choice and should be very similar to the quizzes and exams you've seen so far . As always, let me know if you have any questions. Have a wonderful week!

Week 15: Monday, November 27th – Friday, December 1st

Welcome back from Thanksgiving Break! I hope you were able to rest , recharge and get caught up (if n ecessary) so we can make it through the next four weeks before we go on Winter Break. Here's the plan for the last week of November:

finish Unit 5: Lesson 4 - Return Methods

Unit 5 Quiz 🥪

Unit 5: Lesson 5 - Classes - The Basics

Unit 5: Lesson 6 - Constructors

I hope your first week back goes well! As always, let me know if you have any questions.

PS: Make sure you plug in your Chromebook to charge overnight!

Week 1 4 : Monday, November 13 th – Friday, November 1 7 th

We finally made it to Thanksgiving Break! 🦃 Here's the plan as we continue our work on Unit 5: Writing Classes : 

Unit 5: Lesson 2 - Parameters

Unit 5: Lesson 3 - Parameters - Primitive vs. Class 

Unit 5: Lesson 4 - Return Methods

I hope you get some rest and relaxation over break! Use this time to get caught up if you need to, and please let me know if you have any questions about anything you're working on.

Week 1 3 : Monday, November 6 th – Friday, November 10th

Hello again! Here's the plan for the first full week of November as we wrap up Unit 4: Iteration and move on to Unit 5: Writing Classes : 

finish Assignment 4: String Shortener

Unit 4: Review

Unit 4 Exam 🪥

start Unit 5: Writing Classes

Unit 5: Lesson 1 - Void Methods

L et me know if you have any questions , and have a great week!

Week 12: Monday, October 30th – Friday, November 3rd

It's the last week of October, and it's finally starting to feel like Fall ! 🎃 I hope you got out and enjoyed the last bits of nice weather. Here's the plan for this week as we continue our work in Unit 4 : Iteration :

Unit 4: Lesson 4 - Algorithms for Strings

Unit 4 Quiz 🐧

Unit 4: Lesson 5 - Nested loops

Unit 4: Lesson 6 - Algorithm Efficiency

start Assignment 4: String Shortener

As always, please let me know if you have any questions. Stay warm!

Week 11 : Monday, October 23rd – Friday, October 2 7 th

Welcome to 2nd Quarter! According to the Project STEM pacing guide, here's where we should be as we start Week 11 with Unit 4: Iteration :

BEGIN 2nd QUARTER

start Unit 4: Iteration

Unit 4: Lesson 1 - While Loops

Unit 4: Lesson 1 ½ - Tracing Code

Tuesday 10/24: Security Summit Field Trip to I-X Center (meet at the cafeteria entrance at 8:45am!)

Wednesday 10/25: Capture the Flag Competition! (in class)

Unit 4: Lesson 2 - Algorithms for Numbers

Unit 4: Lesson 3 - The For Loop

These coding activities should be a little quicker to finish, but as always, please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great week, and get out and enjoy the nice weather while it lasts!

Week 10 : Monday, October 16 th – Friday , October 20th

Welcome back from your 3-day weekend! Here's what we're doing for the last week of 1st Quarter as we wrap up Unit 3:

Unit 3: Lesson 7 - Comparing Objects

Assignment 3 - Crack the Code!

Unit 3: Review

Unit 3 Exam 🐘

END OF 1st QUARTER

Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great week!

Week 9: Monday, October 9th – Thursday, October 12th

I hope you had a great weekend! This week, we'll continue our work on Unit 3: Boolean Expressions and If Statements. Here's the plan for this abbreviated week:

Unit 3: Lesson 4 - Logical Operators and Truth Tables

Unit 3: Lesson 5 - Short Circuit Evaluation

Unit 3: Lesson 6 - De Morgan's Law

We'll also have these important events this week:

Monday 10/9: Parent-Teacher Conferences @5-8pm –  sign up here ! Tuesday 10/10: Passport to IT Careers field trip (8:15am-2:00pm) Thursday 10/12: Early Release Day Friday 10/13: Teacher PD Day –  NO SCHOOL

Enjoy your three-and-a-half-day weekend! Please let me know if you have any questions.

Week 8 : Monday, October 2nd – Friday, October 6 th

Welcome to the first week of October!  Here's the plan for this week as we move int o a new unit :

start Unit 3: Boolean Expressions and If Statements

Unit 3: Lesson 1 - Simple Ifs

Unit 3: Lesson 2 - Relational Operators

Unit 3: Lesson 3 - Else

Unit 3 Quiz

Boolean expressions and if statements are absolutely critical concepts in computer science. Some experts have argued that artificial intelligence (AI) is nothing more than lots and lots of if statements, so we'll want to make sure we have a solid understanding of these topics. I hope you have a great week! As always, p lease let me know if you have any questions.

Week 7 : Monday, September 25 th – Friday, September 2 9th

Hi there ! We're going to wrap up Unit 2: Using Objects with an assignment that looks harder than it actually is, and then we'll take the Unit 2 Exam. Here's the plan for the first week of autumn 🍂:

Unit 2: Review

Assignment 2: Control Tower

Unit 2 Exam ⛵️

I hope you have a great week! Please let me know if you have any questions.

Week 6 : Monday, September 1 8 th – Friday, September 22nd

Hello again! For this final week of summer , we're going to continue our unit on objects in Java with important but less confusing topics . Here 's the plan:

Unit 2: Lesson 6 - Using methods

Unit 2: Lesson 7 - Wrapper Classes

Unit 2: Lesson 8 - Math Functions

Methods are simply functions that somehow interact with or modify an object, while wrapper classes let us use methods with our primitive data types (like integers and floats). Easy stuff, I promise! As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Week 5: Monday, September 11th – Friday, September 15th

Welcome back! I hope you had a great Homecoming weekend. This week, we' re going to continue learning about objects in Java . Here are the topics we'll be working on:

finish Unit 2: Lesson 3 - String Methods

Unit 2: Lesson 4 - Classes and Objects

Unit 2 Quiz 🍍

Unit 2: Lesson 5 - Using Constructors

You've already been using classes like String and Scanner, so we're just going to dive a little deeper into their structure, which is defined by a constructor . It sounds a little w eird, but with enough examples and analogies, I'm confident you'll understand it, and that knowledge is going to be extremely helpful going forward. Let me know if you have any questions, and have a great week!

Week 4: Tuesday, September 5th – Friday, September 8th

I hope you enjoyed your 3-day weekend! We're wrapping up Unit 1 this week and moving on to Unit 2: Using Objects . Here's the plan for this hot, hot week:

Unit 1 Exam

start Unit 2: Using Objects

Unit 2: Lesson 1 - Strings and Class Types

Unit 2: Lesson 2 - Escape Sequences and String Concatenation

start Unit 2: Lesson 3 - String Methods

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or need help with anything at all. Stay cool!

Week 3 : Monday, August 28th – Friday, September 1st

I hope you enjoyed your unexpected 3-day weekend! Here's what we're doing in class for the last week of August:

Unit 1: Lesson 5 - Modular Division

Unit 1: Lesson 6 - Numeric Casts

Assignment 1: Calculating Grades

Unit 1: Review

The assignments in this course can sometimes be a little challenging, so please ask me for help as you're working on Assignment 1. We'll take the Unit 1 Exam next week after another 3-day weekend. Keep up the great work, and as always, let me know if you have any questions!

Week 2: Monday, August 21st – Friday, August 25th

Welcome to the first full week of the 2023-2024 school year! Now that we've had a few days to get to know each other and get everyone logged in to ProjectSTEM , we can get to work! Here's what we're doing in class this week:

Unit 1: Lesson 1 - Output In Java

Unit 1: Lesson 2 - User Input and Variables

Unit 1: Lesson 3 - Data Types

Unit 1 Quiz

Unit 1: Lesson 4 - Number Calculations

I've also included a link to a weekly schedule of all of the assignments for the year .

I hope you had a great first week and that you were able to get some rest this weekend before we attempt to go to school for five full days without strange bell schedules or burning birds. Let me know you have any questions!

# Unit 5: Writing Classes

# lesson 1: void methods, # lesson 2: parameters, # lesson 3: parameters - primitive vs. class, # lesson 4: return methods, # lesson 5: classes - the basics, # lesson 6: constructors, # lesson 7: documenting a class, # lesson 8: static vs. instance, # assignment 5: player.

Assignment 5

The content of this assignment will be disclosed in due course. here is a preview of what you will be required to do., (note: click your mouse anywhere on the canvas first. to switch amongst five different demonstrations, press and hold any of the number key 1 to 3 for one second.).

How to Successfully Assess STEAM Projects

STEAM projects provide a unique opportunity to evaluate student understanding and hone your teaching practice. Students’ learning and level of engagement can be impacted by assessment strategies you use before, during, and after project construction. Determining what your students learned, how effectively they worked together, and how they are progressing in your STEAM program are essential steps to master.

In this article, we will review the importance of assessment, as well as outline basic STEAM assessment strategies to ensure the best learning outcomes for your students.

The Importance of Assessment in STEAM

The planning phase of a STEAM project can be daunting. Then, as your students complete the project, you may find your focus fixing on maintaining your planned class schedule and timeline. It can certainly be a challenging task to lead an entire class of students through a detailed, multi-step project. Upon completion, you may be tempted to display your students’ work and move on to the next project. In doing this, you will skip the crucial assessment portion of STEAM learning.

In assessing the work of your students, you can record and track their progress in a number of areas. Having a real sense of your students’ skill levels in different areas allows you to adjust your next lessons and projects to reinforce ideas and skills that they have not fully mastered yet. Conversely, you can skim over the concepts of which your students demonstrated a solid understanding. This helps you maximize your class time in order to provide the greatest benefit to students long term.

Assessment is not only helpful to you as a teacher, but it is crucial to the success of your students both in and outside of the classroom. The feedback provided to students following an assessment enables students to learn from mistakes, also known as productive failure .

Productive failure is a key skill in STEAM learning, but it additionally benefits students in all areas of their lives. Taking constructive criticism, learning from it, and trying to do better in the future is a life skill that everyone needs. You can help your students develop this skill in your STEAM classroom through assessment.

Types of Assessment

There is more than one way to assess the progress of your students in the STEAM-based classroom. Here are just a few:

• Formative Assessment : This assessment type focuses on providing students with feedback (in real time, if possible) rather than a letter or number grade. The goal is to allow students to learn new ways to approach problem-solving while also showing teachers how they can improve their instruction to better fit the needs of their students.
• Summative Assessment : Unlike the one above, this assessment type involves a specific letter or number score. Summative assessments are typically provided at the end of a lesson, unit, or semester. They encompass the results of all assignments within a certain defined window of time.
• Performance-based Assessment : This type generally focuses on students demonstrating mastery of skills and concepts taught in a lesson or unit. There is a wide variety of ways to implement performance-based assessment. Common ways include short answer responses, a brief presentation, or an experiment. The key is to focus on the process students take to solve the problem rather than just the answer.

Strategies for Effectively Assessing STEM/STEAM Learning

Align with learning objectives.

The simplest way to set your students up for success in STEAM learning is to clearly outline the objectives of a lesson or a project. Below are some questions to consider when outlining learning objectives for yourself and your students.

• What new concepts will be introduced?
• What key STEAM skills will be needed to solve this problem?
• How long should this project/lesson take to complete?
• Is there a specific order that should be followed when completing different steps in the project?
• How can students best demonstrate mastery of these concepts by the end of the project (or, what is the desired outcome)?

Once you know exactly what you want your students to get from the project or lesson, communicate it to them prior to the start. This helps students guide themselves through the project with the learning objectives in mind. Students should be aware of what exactly they will be assessed on so that they can use their own discretion to try to achieve the best outcome.

Use multiple tools/types of assessments

Before you begin, you will need to decide which type of assessment you will use for this project. In making this decision, you will also choose when the assessment takes place. For example, if you choose formative assessment, you will assess and provide feedback throughout the duration of the project. If you choose summative, your assessment and feedback will be provided to students after the project is done. In choosing performance-based assessment, you will commit to assessing and providing feedback during and after the project. Choose what type works best for you and your class’ needs.

To keep the assessment simple, create a list or a template of key factors to focus on as you observe your students. Here are some easy considerations to keep in mind as you create an assessment template for your project.

• Consider how your students utilized their provided resources to brainstorm, approach, and solve problems.
• Focus on how students use new vocabulary terms and phrases when thinking and talking through a problem.
• Observe and consider the way students utilize failure to reassess and reapproach a problem. After making a mistake, how did they reset and proceed?
• Consider how students work when they are alone versus in groups. In a group setting, do they collaborate well? Read more about how to assess teamwork during STEM and STEAM projects and grab our STEAM Teamwork Rubric . Set expectations for your students before your project even starts!

If you need some help formulating your assessment strategy, consider trying a TinkrWorks project ! All TinkRworks STEAM projects have built-in assessments to help you monitor your students’ progress. Try an introductory classroom package of our Art Electric project and see for yourself .

In Conclusion

Assessment is a vital component to a high-performing STEM/STEAM classroom. The way in which students use feedback and critiques to learn is essential to their progress, both in your class and in their lives. As an added bonus, assessment helps you as an educator learn more effective ways to teach STEM/STEAM material. In any classroom, the use of proper assessment is a genuine win-win scenario.

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