Mitcham Primary School's STEM Extension group offers opportunities for identified high achieving students to be further challenged and extended in their learning. In this first semester, students are working on creating a computer game that connects to their learning in another subject.
After building their foundational coding skills last term, students began this term by focusing their thinking on their game design. Students brainstormed different possibilities to connect with their in-class learning and narrowed that further to select their main game idea.
This week, each student took part in a brief check-in interview to explain their game's purpose, curriculum connection, and challenges they are facing that they might need support to overcome.
In the coming weeks, students will be involved in testing their game prototypes, seeking peer feedback from their STEM Extension colleagues, and then bringing a friend from their class to have a trial of their game. All this feedback will be collated, and students will utilise it to inform their next design and refinement steps.
We are also lucky to be welcoming a special guest in the coming weeks, award-winning Adelaide based game designer, Kathy Smart, who will be talking with the students about her experience as a game designer, and the processes that she has used within the industry. Kathy will also be assisting students with their games and will be offering STEM Extension students a sneak peek at her own upcoming game. You can read more about Kathy on her personal website: https://kathysmartgamedesigner.com/index.html.
Lachlan Norman
Digital Technologies Coordinator