Video Game Classroom-
What do kids love, crave, and dream about...
VIDEO GAMES!
When Rory gave us the task of creating a classroom that runs like you are playing a video game, my imagination immediately went to work. I then started second guessing some of my ideas because i've never even run a regular classroom so how would I be able to design a class that could run like a video game? After a couple of days of considering the idea I decided that maybe my ideas would be relevant because they are not clouded by the knowledge about students and their current lack of motivation. Maybe they would be so far outside of the box they would be good! Sooooo without further ado, here is my idea for a classroom that is like a virtual video game...
- Day one, students should pick a character that represents them (Mario, Luigi, Steve, Wolverine, etc...) (when kids play video games, they always choose a character to play with)
- There should be a big board in the class that represents the characters progress through the levels
- The big units will be divided into smaller levels with a boss (test/exam) at the end (kids love trying to beat the boss at the end of a level)
- The units should be arranged so students can move at their own pace (if they finish early, they get a bonus game or activity to complete)
- Teaching should be done using a variety of different techniques: group work, computer work, and independent work should be used evenly (this will help keep all different types of learners engaged)
- Students will not be given grades, they will either beat the level or be faced with a try again (kids fail video games often but they try over and over until they beat the level, what if a failing grade is causing them to give up? Maybe a try again, would cause them to keep trying until they beat it?)
- The teacher should act as a facilitator and help guide students through the levels (I think classrooms where teachers act as facilitators to help guide students learning are a lot more effective than classes in which the teacher acts as a dominator or conductor)
I look forward to reading your questions or comments about my ideas :)
These are fantastic ideas! I think there is potential for my ideas for a video-game classroom to blend with yours quite nicely! The achievement idea could certainly be adopted to fit your classroom. I wonder though, might there be a push-back against not giving grades? I really like the idea personally, and I think it could certainly find a place in a charter or private school. But the public classroom is wedded to grades and assessments so I wonder how you might be able to throw that system out of the window and not be tossed out after it. How would the class contribute to the students GPA? I really like the idea and I definitely think there is opportunity for ideas to work together! : )
ReplyDeleteHey Jeni --
ReplyDeleteI like these ideas a ton and I really like how they incorporate choice. This part of your proposal stuck out to me the most:
Students will not be given grades, they will either beat the level or be faced with a try again (kids fail video games often but they try over and over until they beat the level, what if a failing grade is causing them to give up? Maybe a try again, would cause them to keep trying until they beat it?)
First of all, I REALLY like the general idea of it. I'm personally opposed to the grading system as it stands because I don't believe that grades are a great way of assessing all of the work and growth that students undertake over the course of a class. Moreover, I think that grades can, at their worst, be the final goals for a student (rather than the goal of actually learning and grappling with ideas).
Like Casey, I do wonder how such a system might fit into the system as it currently exists. Would a passed level result in an A automatically? I think this is fine, especially if you design your assessments and assignments in such a way that completion really does merit an A. However, one thing that might be problematic is this: what if a student just can't pass the level? Will they be trying to pass the level for the whole class?
I think that you could design your levels in a really effective and scaffolded way so that nobody fails them. I think, actually, that this may be the most effective way to teach STEM subjects, especially since so much of what we learn in math and biology and physics, etc. is cumulative -- the better we know foundational concepts, the better we'll be able to understand advanced concepts. A student who gets an F at the beginning of your class will be at a massive disadvantage if he doesn't feel the need to try again and really learn these foundational concepts.
Thanks for sharing such evocative ideas!
Matt
__I really like how your setting is more about cumulative accomplishments than piling up points for grades. Especially with the importance of completion. I think that with that idea, you could determine what skills are required for moving onto the next step or if they are useful but not immediately necessary (like learning matrices in algebra).
ReplyDelete__It really does bear repeating, classes should use a variety of activities. If every level of a game played the same way, people wouldn't play it for more than a day or week.
__Lastly, I really like the idea of Enrichment being seen as a bonus reward for completing your task early. I think that this is what can help us replace grades. Keeping track of what students have accomplished and give them the opportunity to advance that in their bonus lessons would give them a CV of accomplishments that they could show instead of some ethereal number grade.
Thank you for spurring on my own thoughts,
Nate
Sounds like a great start to a “gamified” classroom!
ReplyDeleteI like your idea about letting students move at their own pace through the levels so that students will face appropriate challenges based on what they have learned so far which helps students who usually can’t keep up with the pace of a normal classroom. It also allows advanced students to move ahead and continue to engage in more challenging material. I can see how the teacher as a facilitator would allow students to become self-directed, allowing students to take more ownership over their learning. Also, giving students a chance to “try again” is definitely crucial to provide a safe environment for students to be persistent, focusing on the material to be learned rather than just getting past the level. Thanks for sharing such creative ideas Jeni!