Playing by the rules: An interview with Shaundra Daily about Scratch Lab Rules
Shaundra “Shani” Daily admits that Scratch Lab Rules is a misnomer, noting that the principles they cover are universal for any group of Scratch learners. “If you’re in groups, and you don’t know something, ask each other to try to figure it out. If everyone in your group doesn’t know, consult the Scratch cards. Then, if the Scratch cards don’t help, then, finally ask the teacher.” These simple, clear directives assist teachers in facilitating students in the exploratory learning process and encourage teachers not to be intimidated by the Scratch technology. “It’s okay not to know everything. Don’t worry. The kids will know it before you.”
The rules were originally conceived for a Scratch Day Competition in Birmingham, Alabama. Shani and Alia Carter designed the curriculum for the program, integrating the school’s current science and math curriculum with Scratch. Third, fourth, and fifth graders were given four weeks to create Scratch projects that expressed any science concept that had been covered during the year. The assignment became a competition that culminated with the announcement of the winner on Scratch Day. “I’m often not a fan of competitions, but as soon as the kids heard that it was going to be a competition, they were on it. They were so excited that there was going to be a prize at the end of the tunnel. It was awesome.” Celebrity judges from the community chose three final projects to be presented on Scratch Day. “One of the girls jumped out of her chair when they said her name. It was great.”
While the students were excited about Scratch, the teachers were more apprehensive. In the Scratch Lab, a math and science coach was appropriated to facilitate learning Scratch on XO laptops. “We worked a lot with the coach in the computer lab who was extremely nervous about not feeling like she knew everything about Scratch. It’s a very different classroom culture than she was used to.”
This is where the Scratch Lab Rules could be renamed as: “Scratch Facilitation Resource”.
“The difficulty that we encountered was the different sort of facilitation that you have to do when you’re teaching Scratch. What we saw is a need to shift the way you think about how you teach and what it means to teach. We had the most success when we gave the teacher tidbits. The rules really made her feel better about facilitating that sort of environment and feeling like she didn’t have to know everything.”
Scratch Day was also a huge success. Students impressed the judges with presentations of their elaborate Scratch projects, and teachers witnessed students proving their understanding of the subject matter using technology. “That’s the bonus. Computer science is not the focus. The focus is whatever the teacher needs it to be. ‘Look, they can take this science concept that you taught them and create a simulation of it, and guess what? They happen to be learning computer science in the process.’” The winner of the competition was a third grade girl who created a project about a chameleon changing its colors. Second place comprised of fifth grade boys who simulated the relationship between potential and kinetic energy in their project, and third place was awarded to a fifth grade girl who animated the water cycle.
Ultimately, everyone involved had gained from the experience, including the students, teachers, and even the XO laptops. “The laptop had came to the school with lots of activities, but no one could immediately see the educational value.” Through the competition, Scratch helped the XO laptop prove itself as a viable product for the school. “Nobody thought that you could do anything with the XO, but Scratch immediately lent itself to, ‘Oh I see why that’s important.’ Some people were like, ‘Wow! Look, these kids created this with the XO. We can do something with them.’”
Shani and Alia have demonstrated how Scratch can yield positive gains for all players involved. With Scratch, everyone is a winner. All you have to do is follow a few simple rules.
