Students often have difficulties in switching between reasoning knowledge on a perceiving level (macro-thinking) and knowledge on a particle level (micro-thinking). For example, water freezes when temperature is below 0°C (macro-thinking). This happens as a result of molecules that stop moving around and form crystals. While perceiving a phenomenon is the first step to gaining a solid understanding of the concept, merely perceiving the phenomenon does not explain it or entail a full grasp of the concept. Therefore, teachers want to encourage an effortless switch between empiricism and theory and stimulate the connection between both knowledge levels. To provide a deeper understanding of students, we introduce the Cardsorting App. The Cardsorting App allows students to connect their knowledge on the macro-level with their knowledge on the micro-level by sorting the congruent cards. This way, a student can connect a picture of frozen water to an illustration of molecules forming as crystals. A teacher can create these cardsets themselves to suit their (students’) specific needs. People tend to learn better visually and by engaging with the content. In this manner, the Cardsorting App aids the process of macro-micro-thinking. Furthermore, the application takes the user experience on both the student and the teacher side very seriously, resulting in a smooth game which aids the mission.
Our client and us had quite a professional relationship where we met every other week to report progress and/or pose our questions. We used these meetings also to demo the progress. From the start, the communication was pleasant and the customer had a good vision on what they wanted. We think that the communication on our end could have been a little more frequent and updates could have been given more coherently. This would guide the customer better during our project. Overall, we feel that the existing agreements made at the beginning of the project were honored and we responded adequately to feedback. This feedback was valuable and, as there existed quite an open environment, was given in a natural manner.
The team dynamics were experienced as positive. Although plenty of us come from a different study background, the cooperation happened naturally. From the beginning onwards, we used this diverse team composition to our advantage as we split the tasks according to everyone’s strengths. The workload and overall energy throughout the project could be improved upon as there existed peaks and valleys rather than a steady, ongoing flow. The scrum method did aid us with regards to this pitfall. We, however, feel that we could have met a bit more frequently in person as opposed to online. This would also assist us in working in a steady flow. This was rather difficult sometimes, though, because we live quite far away from each other. Nevertheless, we look back fondly on the collaboration and can say that no real internal conflicts have arisen.