Designing a reporting tool for space mission simulations for use in elementary schools

This paper presents the design recommendation of a dashboard to accompany a weeklong computer mission simulation for use in fifth grade classrooms. The mission is a hands-on learning experience developed by the Challenger Center, a non-profit organization committed to exciting students about science, technology, engineering, and math through innovative learning tools. The Challenger Center has a valuable opportunity to gather data on student performance and experience throughout the mission. The dashboard is a user interface that will share this data with educators, allowing them to guide classroom instruction both during and after a class simulation. To design the dashboard, the team used an iterative process that continuously engaged key partners including the Challenger Center, educators, and the software developers. This iterative and inclusive approach was particularly important because the new mission was developed concurrently with the dashboard, giving the team a unique opportunity to influence the development of the mission as well. The key findings include specifications on what features and information need to be included in the dashboard design as well as prototypes and guidance on how it should be displayed. The specifications identify the need for two types of educator feedback: live feedback during the mission to ensure the class's successful execution of the mission, and more detailed summary feedback following the mission that focuses on performance against learning standards and planning for future classroom instruction.