Introduction
The room was dark and the screens
glowed blue hues onto the users faces.
Each subvocalizing commands into a small micro headset set stuck on their
chins. The room hummed with whispers
while a chaperone sat at the front of the room reading a Kindle. There was no need for instruction. The teachers had been replaced long ago by
the might of the microchip and The Game…
The above
paragraph sounds like some scary dystopian future doesn’t it? The educational system reduced to a
game! No adult available to mentor the
youth and everyone has become a zombie!
I once wrote a sci-fi novella that used this as a concept, but I thought
it applied well here. I think that
people have a deep rooted fear that something like the above paragraph will
come to pass if we allow technology and gaming to take hold in our schools,
which is simply false.
Let me begin
by saying that I have used video games, Civilization IV and Capitalism Plus,
and RPG’s to teach social studies concepts since 2010. Before that I didn’t think much of games
except jeopardy in my classroom until I was shown by a colleague the benefits of
how gaming could help teach concepts. I
enjoyed using the games and my students did as well. A teacher that uses games will find traits in
students that simply just do not blossom like they do using traditional teaching
methods.
If you would
like to know more about my Civ Lab that I do year round with my social studies
students click here: http://schwartensushistlessons.blogspot.com/p/civ-lab-page_8.html
Gamification?
After reading
the above article dealing with gamification, I was struck by how many people
are against the movement to implement games in the classroom. As a teaching tool games have existed for
quite a long time, but every time I try to convince people about the value of video
games in a social studies classroom I usually run into opposition. It is almost as if people don’t want to believe
that students can learn in an environment that is fun, exciting, and engaging
and instead would rather teach students the “real” or “serious” methods of
teaching. Occasionally I have a few students
that agree with this mindset, but most love what we do using Civilization IV
and at the end of the year, when I give my review of the class, large numbers
of them report that Civ Lab was the best part of class. I once conducted a poll in the third quarter
when I was having moments of doubt about the system and I conducted a poll that
showed 80% of my students wanted Civ Lab to continue and in an increased frequency.
How many other teachers can boast an
activity has 80% of the students excited and wanting to come back for more
every single day?
Below is my
response to the article Tim Walker wrote for
NEAtoday and the naysayers who believe gaming in education is hurting our
students. There is no way that bringing
simulation games into the classroom is hurting our students if it is done
properly. Mathew Farber is on the right
track in trying to frame the hard social studies concepts that we have to teach
in a short period of time in a way that Middle School students can understand. Isn’t that what teaching is all about? Are not
teachers supposed to use modern day connections to expand student understanding
and learning? So how is using gaming,
something that most students understand, horrible for our students? In reality, it is not harmful at all and is a
great motivator for critical thought in the classroom.
What is a teacher’s job?
Building the Gaming Landscape and Environment
Building
the gaming landscape and environment is an intricate process that requires a
massive amount of effort from the teacher who has tried to build a meaningful
simulation and is probably the most important part of using a simulation. Rules are created, skills are practiced by
students, and sometimes points are used to denote progress. The teacher that has opted to create a game
for his or her students to explore concepts is creating a world, which is a
model of creativity. The teacher has
gone big and taken a huge risk. From day
one students see that risk taking is part of creativity, but even if the game
doesn’t come out great the teacher tried to be creative instead of hiding
behind what “works". Isn’t taking risks
and being creative tools students will need in the twenty first century? Shouldn’t we be modeling these same behaviors
for our students? Of course we should.
The
environment must also be a safe haven for thought and experimentation. The tasks in the haven must be authentic and activities
in a traditional social studies classroom can only flirt with true
authenticity. I am not saying that a
traditional classroom doesn’t provide authentic assessments or projects that
help further student learning, but I do believe using games and simulations
does make it better. A truly authentic
experience can be created through a game where the students build the
governments they write about, vote for their leaders, write their own
declarations against an oppressive power, and write and pass bills in
congress. Reading about the process of
how a bill becomes a law only brings the students so far, but modeling the
process brings it to life and memorable by having students debate the pros and
cons of writing a law to stop dueling for example. It breathes life into the social studies
classroom in a way the texts cannot. The
right environment makes history and government memorable, which Jay Leno has
already proven to be hard to achieve in the traditional sense.
The
rules of the simulation or game provide a safe haven and in a true social
studies simulation the students are able to write some of their own laws to
keep the haven safe. Problems are
discussed in a civilized manner, which is taught and laid out in the rules. Critical thinking and problem solving is at the
forefront to many of the discussions as students discuss the finer points of
diplomacy and fight wars with other classes that we compete with in other
school buildings.
When
used properly gaming provides an environment that traditional methods do
not. It creates an entire world where
the same concepts that are read about can be implemented and practiced. It seems to me that this brings the learning
further than if the students simply created a poster or writing an essay
because they are trying the concepts on for size.
Badges: We don’t need no stinking badges!
In
a classroom that uses gaming properly the experience has nothing to do with
extrinsic motivation or badges. In fact,
it can be argued that much of the learning pushes for a better sense of efficacy
as the students figure out which strategies or concepts work best for their civilization. I have never used badges. I have rarely had trouble with motivating my
students to play the game. Really, most
of them want to see their country progress and do better than the other classes
that are at other schools or against their peers in other classes in our
school. Those that are against the
movement to use games in the classroom do not see that it is more than giving
students points or badges and instead a place for students to try on concepts
for size.
Plus,
the naysayers are lumping all different kinds of games into one barrel. Some games don’t use badges. Some don’t use points. Some are just friendly competitions to see
who can create something first or the strongest. There are so many different ways to provide a
gaming experience that associating it all with badges is a gross
misrepresentation and concentrated version of the real thing. It is like drinking juice concentrate and
saying that all juice is bad instead of trying out a glass of freshly squeezed
juice.
The
relationship between modern day marketing campaigns and the classroom that is
using gaming basically stops outside the school building. No teacher sees students as customers. We see them as human beings that need to
learn to be productive adults someday.
Those outside the profession might see it this way, but no one is trying
to “make them want what our
public schools are selling!” All teachers are just trying to reach students who think that sitting
down and reading an article on the life of George Washington is boring. We are told be engaging and creative, but
then are hammered by others who do not understand the full magnitude of what
gaming accomplishes. Personally, I think
we need to work on letting teachers use whatever methods they want to try. The US needs to figure out a way to have students
buy into the educational process and if the one part of their day they like is
creating laws and thinking of ways to beat another class shouldn’t we be
offering them that instead of telling them that games have no place in school?
Are we “…conceding that learning
isn’t meaningful?”
This question is a loaded
one. I have run into so many people that think what
I am doing using Civilization IV is a waste of time and isn’t “meaningful”. All of the teachers in the Civ Lab
Partnership in Maryland who use Civilization IV to simulate the concepts we
teach on paper have had to explain ourselves to administrators or parents who believe
that games have no place in school. The environment
has made it hard for teachers to explore new avenues, since “good teaching”
often does not look like students getting all into a game spying on one another
at lunch or sending a message for a trade agreement. Part of this is that the process takes all
year and a snapshot of the classroom does not show how much the students
interact with one another. I also
think that at times to much has been pushed onto the “best practices” and has
slowed creative thought. The best
practices have a place and they work very well when used properly, but when do
we stop saying what teachers are doing is wrong because they don’t look like
the person next door? Are we all
supposed to be clones teaching in the same way all the time? I think not.
But I suppose that is a different topic to tackle on different
post.
Games do not strip the meaning
away from learning. In my experience
games enhance what is being done in the traditional classroom and allows
students to experiment with the concepts to see how they work. I have found that using games allow the
students to interact with worlds that have disappeared or simulate modern day environments. I have had students build secret societies
that had card carrying members, empires with emperors that have risen and
fallen, democracies that could not pass laws and others who could, invest in a
stock market that rose and fell based on the events of the period, had students
go on RPG adventures where their character fought in the Mexican War, and held
presidential elections that have been decided in the electoral college and in
congress. Without games none of this
would have been possible. If I am wrong
then I don’t want to be right.
Gaming does not exclude traditional media and methods
I think the most common
misconception is that those who are against gaming seem to think that
traditional methods have been thrown out the window. Students in my class still read difficult
text. Students in my class do DBQs and
learn how to write properly. Students in
my class learn how to think critically.
Gaming is only a fraction of what I do every day, but it is a way for
the concepts to come to life.
Those of us that employ games
still do the “hard work” with our student that has to be done. No one is just sitting around all day
watching videos and playing games all day.
We are engaging with the content in a way that has previously been out
of reach as we strive to help our students realize that our content is
exciting.
Conclusion
As teachers who use games we are desperately
trying to engage a student body that exists in two different worlds that
includes cyberspace and the physical world.
Our students use technology regularly.
Our students play games. It’s a
fact. We can’t just ignore it and
pretend like it doesn’t exist because it is real and it is now. If we don’t engage our students in the space
they exist in then we are going to lose them.
Plus, we already know that many of the methods used back twenty years
ago did not work or we would not have tried to overhaul the entire thing around
the year 2000. So shouldn’t we be trying
to keep the innovation going and engaging our students in a space that is
meaningful to them and us? If we don’t
try they are going to leave us behind and give up on school completely, which
would be a disaster for all involved.
So next time you hear about
gamification or using games in the classroom give it a second glance. There is more than meets the eye. We are not just handing out badges, but
implementing creative ways to engage students to help them try on concepts for size. We are not sugarcoating anything and in some
ways are able to engage the students in debates that they could not have
without the simulation. In short, we are
building the future senators, doctors, lawyers, etc of the world that learned skills
from the game and will apply them to their adult life.
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ReplyDeleteWell put, Steve. This is the way 21st century students should be taught. Those who are skeptical have either never taught, or have been out of the classroom so long they forgot what it's really like to teach. It's about finding ways to reach students and make them think.
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