The Gee reading mentions how video games can encourage risk taking for the players. I can't help and think about school and how afraid I was of taking risks in fear of failing. It was terrifying to "go outside of the box" because if I didn't follow the rubric given I was bound to be penalized. I remember that taking different routes in Legend of Zelda allowed me to explore a bigger area than if I had only followed the first route I took. In the pokemon games I was able to challenge myself with different opponents found in different terrains. In school we should be allowing students to explore the material but how can we achieve this when we are also pressed in time to cover all the objectives in the small amount of time given?
I also remember that the faster you got things done the "better" student you were considered. This left little to no room for further research or exploration. Learning the facts and being able to "spit" them back out was the best strategy to earn good grades but after the test the facts were free to leave our brains. There was little to no room for learning and critical thinking. I realized how much I had missed out in high school when in college my microbiology professor gave us a test where only five points where based on memorization and the rest on applying the knowledge to answer the questions. I enjoyed being challenge by this puzzle test because I was able to remember what I learned in class.
Another topic covered in the reading is performance before competence. I couldn't help but think back to the many trial and errors I had while conducting research. It took me a couple times of running a protein gels to actually be able to competently run them to be able to use them for data analysis. How can we expect students to walk into the classroom and not make errors along the way? If the students where competent in the subject then why is there a need for us to teach them? We wan to be able to stimulate student to become competent learners.
Playing Brain Pop (Grow your own cell) was interesting... I knew most of the information and it wasn't very action packed. It was mostly and informative activity. I think the game is appropriate for someone who is just learning about the cell as an introduction to the unit.
Lulu, I agree with you and often remember hearing that the "better" students were the ones who completed assignments/assessments faster. I didn't necessarily believe this because I always took my time checking my work to make sure I got everything right, but I am definitely familiar with the idea. I think using video games is one way to lessen the effects of this false idea because in some games , such as open world games, players can explore many different areas. Rather than staying on one path and just rushing to complete the game in the quickest way possible, one can rack up more points and collect objects/tokens/etc if they take different routes. This would illustrate that sometimes slow and steady wins the race, while also demonstrating that taking risks are a part of learning.
ReplyDeleteI own several Harry Potter games where players become Harry and complete tasks to collect jellybeans (all flavors!), famous witch/wizard cards, and defeat dark wizards/magic. If I just ran straight through Harry's world to get to the end to destroy Lord Voldemort, I would miss out on a lot of challenges and opportunities. If I instead wandered around the castle and grounds, I would find lots of hidden objects and skills that I could use to my benefit. Taking the risk of exploring different areas in the game helped me see that slowing down could increase my score. Similarly, slowing down in school can increase a student's grade and general understanding.
Your question about how to allow students to explore the material when we are pressed for time is an important one. I think that as teachers we must make decisions about what is best for our students. Sometimes we must forego the exploration, but other times we can provide them with different methods of completing a task and let them choose which to explore.
April, you bring up a good point. I think what I am concerned about is having a hard time choosing when to let go of the exploration. What if I feel that my students would benefit from the exploration but we don't have the time? I don't want to take the opportunity from he students to be bale to experience science to it's fullest. But I see your point that sometimes as teachers we have to make choices and choose what's best for the students.
DeleteHello Lulu,
ReplyDeleteYou raised some interesting points, but I want to (nicely) challenge you on your comment regarding the reality of risks in video games. I share your sentiment regarding the fear of failing in the classroom, but do the risks in video games really compare to risks in the classroom? Is a risk a risk if there are no potential or real consequences? I agree that a classroom should invite or expect failure from its students, but do you think that the recognition of consequences should also be communicated in the classroom? The real world is not risk free.
Thanks for nicely challenging me Jesse! I guess I should clarify by what I meant when I said. I don't mean students have no rules to go by or consequences...that would not be good classroom management (imagine the chaos!) I agree that the risks in the video games do not compare to the risks of the classroom. One is real life and the other one can disappear by a click of a button. But when it comes to the material, we should allow students to try again when they make errors. Making this a norm in the class can maybe help increase student participation. By providing a safe environment where its ok to make mistakes can really help students try. Everything with limits of course, in the tests students should know that they will lose points for wrong answers. This can also help students cope when in life they don't succeed in the first try and they can be better able to face the consequences.
DeleteI can't tell you how many hours of my life were dumped into Pokemon and Zelda as a kid. Your blog got me thinking, so if games like Pokemon and Zelda allow for exploration, or choosing a different route then the one placed before you, what is the reward of exploration? Typically you get rewarded for investing more time with "experience points" that will help you have an easier time with the game. So how can we apply this to a classroom? I think it would be really cool to try and make a structure that allows for students to practice their skills further for additional "experience points" that could be not only used on a future test, but hopefully it will be a skill that can be applied outside of the content taught.
ReplyDeleteIt's really unfortunate that we still think the smartest students are the ones who work the fastest, which is also a testament to how much college can change people. Usually the kid who finishes the fastest in college has no idea what they're doing and just gave up.
ReplyDeleteI think teachers nowadays are trying to change the outlook. When I was in school, teachers would say things like "there's no prize for being the first one done" or something among those lines to remind us that rushing = bad results. That being said, nobody has ever said anything about failing and trying again. We as a society say we value persistence, but we also idolize those who can get it right on the first try. Which one is the one we truly believe in?
Also, what happened to creativity? I wish I had it. In school I was so focused on learning the "right" things and thinking about it in the "right" way that there wasn't any other perspective for solving problems. Doesn't work this way in grad school. How do you think we could encourage students to think outside the box given the current constraints on our curriculum?
Great question! I think that y allowing students to take the risk of thinking outside the box is a great start! I don't know how we can fully encourage them but just letting them know that our classroom is a safe environment to where they can be creative can help. I am right with you in my creativity being held back by my focus on getting school work done. I had the opposite experience actually, teachers would praise those who finished quickly.This really put pressure on the rest of us to finish quickly as well, mostly in elementary school but also in middle and high school. I wish high school would have been more like the environment of your experience in grad school where you NEED to be creative to get things done and do things right not rushed.
DeleteLulu loved reading your post.. the idea that making mistakes can lead to penalization, could curb so much enthusiasm from students. Its just plain sad. The fact students can wander off in video games with out worrying about real life consequences and the student conception that they can fix everything in the next game - is a big encouragement for students. Why cant we as adult driven society create that kind of learning opportunity for kids at school..to make mistakes without fear and learn.
ReplyDeleteLulu, loved your post because I can really relate with the idea that students should be able to explore, just in like the 20 Zelda games or the Elder Scroll Series. However, we also need to motivate the students. In a game like Skyrim, I am motivated to go off the beaten path because I know that I can get a cool piece of armor that will help me be better equipped to beat the final boss. I actually took a video games and learning class in which you didn't have to do every assignment to get an A, and so it allowed you to choose your path to get to the final result. It was really cool and made me not stress too much. Personally, I think in order to stop this fast kids are smart mentality is to change our attitudes around education and to encourage students to not use competitive language and encourage students to work together. Honestly, if I could make a class so that you can only pass if everybody gets at least a B, I would do that, but that obviously raises ethical concerns.
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