Developing a Digital Game to Assess Lower Primary Students' Computational Thinking Practices based on Evidence-Centered Game Design

Computational Thinking (CT) has become increasingly essential in the current era of rapid digital advancement. Despite the availability of various tools to assess CT, there is a notable scarcity of tools designed for evaluating CT practices in lower elementary students. To address this gap, this study develops a digital game titled "Magical Adventure" based on the Evidence-Centered Game Design (ECGD) framework, which aimed at assessing the CT practices of young children. The game comprises five scenarios, targeting five CT practices respectively, including pattern recognition, abstraction, problem decomposition, algorithmic thinking, and debugging. Scoring criteria were designed to evaluate students' CT abilities based on the anticipated gameplay process data. This study describes the design and development process of the game. Future steps will include validation of its effectiveness through expert reviews and cognitive interviews, followed by empirical research to optimize and refine the game, enhancing its accuracy in reflecting students' CT practices.