Monday, March 25, 2019

5 E's: Evaluation

This is one of my reflections from my class, Classroom Strategies for Inquiry-Based Learning.

Evaluation is an opportunity by students and teachers to determine the extent of the learning that has occurred.

Forms of Evaluation


Forms of evaluation include tests, videos, presentations, websites, posters, and many other types of projects. I prefer that my students have a choice of medium when creating a project, though tests are sometimes necessary. As a student myself, I prefer to write out what I have learned.

When Should Evaluation Occur?


The appropriate time for final evaluation is after learning has occurred, though formative evaluation should occur at all times to determine student progress and whether they need help to meet the standards. The focus of evaluation should be to determine if students have learned the concepts required, and to diagnose any issues that might have become barriers to student learning.

Takeaways


Evaluation is not the final stage in the 5 E’s model. It occurs throughout the entire process to help guide both students and teachers to the final goal: understanding.

Sunday, March 24, 2019

5 E's: Elaboration

This is one of my reflections from my class, Classroom Strategies for Inquiry-Based Learning.


My Experience with Elaboration


There have been plenty of times where I have used prior knowledge to help solve a problem. Some problems, for example, I remember needing help to complete, so having prior knowledge helped me decide if I could solve the issue on my own or avoid a headache by asking someone else to assist me. As a learner, using existing knowledge can help greatly in the process of solving a problem. If I have knowledge of each step of the problem, suddenly a multi-step solution is quick to come by.

Connections to Social Studies


Every subject has real-life scenarios. I teach Social Studies, so in my opinion, it is easier to connect my subject area to real-world scenarios. I always try to connect my students’ lives to what we are learning in class. For example, my World History students recently learned about the Magna Carta. Historically, the Magna Carta is a turning point in which the people and the monarchy mutually signed into law their agreement about the rights of the people, including rule of law (no one, including the king, is above the law), people have the right to a trial, as well as many other rights. My students examined the Magna Carta, understood its main principles (such as individual rights), and then they created their own Magna Carta about the rights that students should have in the school. They will better remember the purpose of the Magna Carta after using its principles to enumerate the rights of students in our school district.

Takeaways


All of the steps are important, but the elaboration stage truly allows students to apply their knowledge to real-world scenarios. This is the most important part in my eyes. Our students constantly ask the question, "Why am I learning this?" and application to real-life is exactly why learning is necessary.

Friday, March 22, 2019

5 E's: Explanation

This is one of my reflections from my class, Classroom Strategies for Inquiry-Based Learning.


Albert Einstein famously said, “If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself.”



I don’t think that Einstein is being derisive here, saying that it should be easy to describe something that you understand. I think that he means that the more complicated the explanation is, the more difficult the concept is to understand - not the other way around. Basically, if you can simplify an explanation so a six-year-old can understand it, you understand the nuances of the concept well enough to determine what is important enough to share with others.

How Preparing to Explain Impacts Understanding


My teaching career is full of examples of this, but I am going to focus on one class specifically: Economics. Honestly, I have never been interested in Economics. I made sure to become certified in every strand of Social Studies, but I purposefully did not become certified in Economics because I simply did not want to teach it.

I spent four years at one school where I was not even approached to teach Economics (though of course, economic concepts must be discussed in any Social Studies class). Then my circumstances changed and I moved on to a school where I would be teaching Economics. I was, frankly, unprepared.

I spent the summer preparing to teach the class and actually ended up really liking it! The process of preparing to explain the concepts to my students really helped me focus on each piece of the concept. I knew that I would have to have a full understanding of the concept in order to help my students understand, so I paid close attention to each detail. I understand economic concepts much more deeply than I ever have because I am responsible for explaining the concepts to my students.


Is student explanation unnecessary, preferred, or a critical part of learning?


It is critical for students to explain their ideas to others. Without an opportunity to explain, we wouldn’t know if they truly understand. In addition, by explaining concepts to others, they have a chance to deepen their own understanding.

My Takeaways


My classes are already quite student-led, and the power of student-provided explanation is exactly why. Giving students the opportunity to explain concepts to each other allows them to deepen their understanding at another level.  With the proper preparation and encouragement, students can feel empowered to share their expertise with others and truly internalize the information that they are sharing with other students.

Thursday, March 21, 2019

5 E's: Exploration

This is one of my reflections from my class, Classroom Strategies for Inquiry-Based Learning.


My Experience with Learning Through Exploration


I like to learn things on my own, often by trial and error. One example is when I learned how to make websites by manipulating the html code. I was a middle schooler that was interested in creating art in MS Paint (yep, that was my “calling!”) and I wanted to post it online. In order to do that, I had to learn html. It wasn’t as easy to create websites then, as it is now! I loved trying a new html code and seeing it come to life on the screen. It could be frustrating if even one digit or character was misplaced, but I greatly enjoyed learning the language of html.

I was curious about how html worked, persistent in trying to get the html correct, and proud of myself for being able to master the skill.


Relationship Between Exploration and Learning


If a person is interested, he or she can certainly learn through exploration. Exploration is necessary in order for people to gain perseverance, as well as to show that in order to learn things independently, some trial and error is necessary.


Takeaways from this Module

Once students are comfortable with taking risks, they engage themselves deeper into exploration, allowing for deeper learning.

It's absolutely true that students learn more if they are in charge of their learning. I have found that when students are given an over-arching research question (or they come up with a research question on their own) and are given the time and resources to explore and search for answers (whether through reading or experimentation), students often find new knowledge that even I did not anticipate or did not notice. Students are very observant and should be given an opportunity to practice this skill.


Engaging students in exploration is essential. Students need chances to take risks and try to find information on their own, as this is an essential skill post-graduation as well. The exploration stage also encourages students to try new things and discover new knowledge on their own or through collaboration with their peers.

Monday, March 4, 2019

Google Tour Builder - Black Death Migration

 After listening to Midterm episode #4 of the Shukes and Giff podcast today (#FakeKimAndKelly), I was inspired to try Google's Tour Builder.

I created a tour walking students through the migration of the Black Death during the Middle Ages. The tour doesn't include every location that was affected (as the map would be full!) but it does follow the first case of the plague through the decline of the plague.


In order for others to view the tour, according to Kim Randall and Kelly Kermode, guests on the podcast and authors of Bring the World to Your Classroom: Using Google Geo Tools, the tour must be downloaded as a .kmz file, uploaded to Google Drive, and shared via Drive.



If you want to check out my Black Death tour, feel free to follow the link to my tour, make a copy, and import it into Google Tour Builder. (Here is a link to preview the tour.)


One thing that I wish I could do in building the tour is creating branching paths. Google Tour Builder is in Beta, so it's possible that branching paths could be a possibility in the future, but it would be perfect for the spread of the Black Death. The plague didn't follow a linear path but branched out from place to place.






Sunday, March 3, 2019

5 E's: Engagement

This is one of my reflections from my class, Classroom Strategies for Inquiry-Based Learning.

Engaging students right away and keeping their interest throughout the lesson is incredibly important in order to motivate students. I start some of my lessons with engaging "hooks," but not every lesson. After completing this module, I understand more thoroughly the importance of engaging students at the beginning of every class. I am going to be more deliberate about including an engaging hook at the beginning of each and every class period.






Here are some ideas that I have for types of engaging hooks that I could include:
  • Short video (as a class, or EdPuzzle)
  • Thought-provoking question
  • Share your opinion
  • Riddle/brain-teaser
  • Image - What is happening in the image? What do you see?
  • Historical quote
  • Mini-simulation
  • Game (content-related, possibly a review game)
  • Perspective - imagine yourself in another person's shoes
  • Connect to students' prior knowledge
  • Connect to students' personal experiences
  • Connect to pop culture
  • Show a clip from a historical movie - How accurate is the clip?
  • Pictionary (could draw, use Play-Doh, or Legos)
  • Charades
  • Math problem (in a Social Studies context)

Saturday, March 2, 2019

Joining the Microsoft Educator Community

By finishing the course, Leading Change: Go Beyond Gamification with Gameful Learning, I gained my first badge in the Microsoft Educator Community. I have decided to check out the community a little closer, as there are so many opportunities to learn from other educators!

Leading Change: Go Beyond Gamification

Community Member

Capstone: My Plans to Create Gameful Changes in My Classes

This is the final reflection from my class, Leading Change: Go Beyond Gamification with Gameful Learning.


How did having choices about which lessons to participate in, and in what order, impact your learning experience in this MOOC?


When I first started looking into gamification, I took a quiz to find out “What Type of Gamer Are You?” It was no surprise to me to see that I was an “achiever.” These types of gamers loved to “catch ‘em all.” I am the type of person who wants to do well at everything (hence the reason that I took this MOOC on my own terms, as well as why I put a lot of thought into my answers). I also want to collect as many achievements as possible.

Because of this, I greatly enjoy the way that this MOOC is structured. I know that I can focus on particular parts of it to obtain an overall understanding of gameful learning, but I chose to complete each and every module. This way I know that I was able to delve into each and every bit of knowledge that is shared in the MOOC, helping me to fulfill my “achiever” tendencies.

What do you want your school/context to look like in 1 year? 3 years? 5 years? What are the barriers you foresee impeding progress to those milestones? How are you planning to mitigate those barriers?

The teachers in my building/district are of the same mind when it comes to what truly matters; we want our students to be productive members of our global society. In order to do this, many students need motivation. My district has been moving to grades based on summative assessments instead of based on formative assessments. We are also moving to standards-based grading.

I see us continuing to move toward these goals, but I know that introducing gameful learning can help us reach beyond those goals. Because gameful learning provides choice, students will be intrinsically motivated more often. With more motivation, they will be willing to complete more practice (formative assessments), which in turn will help them master the skills that we use summative assessments to measure.

The first barrier that I have already experienced has been our grading system. Our grading system is based on the A through F model, which does not meld well with the 4-point grading scale. Our district has been moving to remedy this by finding ways to put the 4-point grading scale into our existing system. The district also discourages giving students zeros and instead encourages pushing and motivating students to complete their work. In our district, 60% and above is passing, which is different from other districts. I’m not sure exactly how this motivates students, but a lower passing score does stop low grades from de-motivating some students.

Other barriers include teachers not willing to change their ways, parents not completely understanding the changes, and students resisting the changes. These can all be remedied with some professional development and the dissemination of information to each group to help them understand why we are making changes.

In addition, if I simply share out what is occurring in my classroom and show that students are motivated to succeed, I can prove the worth of gameful learning. Of course, everything isn’t hunky dory every day and there are times when students aren’t motivated, but I have noticed a connection. When the activities in my classroom devolve to traditional teaching methods, student motivation takes a dive. When I focus on gameful activities, motivation increases incredibly. Showing the difference to stakeholders can be all that I need to convince them that gameful learning makes a positive difference.

I can also share my journey with stakeholders. By showing them how I have set up gameful learning modules and activities, as well as how I find ways to motivate students, can also be helpful to persuade them that gameful learning is valuable.


What are the “bright spots,” i.e. learning experiences in your context that have already been designed to support learners’ intrinsic motivation? How can you build off of those bright spots?


I have found that games and simulations are a great way to increase motivation. Even when students don’t earn something outright (no points, no grade, no treats, just having fun), they are motivated when we play games or role-play in simulations.

In my gamified classes, I award experience points (XP) for positive behavior. Sometimes when we play games, I will award XP, but not every time. Here is an example activity in which I awarded points, though randomly:

I was teaching WWII. In general, I focus on the big picture and what we can learn from the past when teaching history. It is important to cover specific information such as battles (including who won, when they took place, and who was involved), but the most important part is understanding why each battle was significant and how it led to a long-term impact. I don’t force my students to memorize information such as the specific date of certain battles, as long as they understand an overall chronology of history.

For our WWII battle activity, I put together a “WWII Battle Stations” activity. I chose 13 battles (5 in the European theater and 8 in the Pacific theater) and put together a graphic organizer that required students to find the date, victor, and significance of each battle listed in the chart. I posted a short one-page reading about each battle around the room so students would get up and moving.

After reading about one battle and filling in the row in the chart, the students were to come to me and have me check for accuracy. If their information was accurate, the student was allowed to choose a card.

The cards were another element that I added in to increase motivation. I put together cards that either had positive effects (You have found some penicillin. This can help heal you.) or negative effects (You have run out of food. If you do not find SPAM by the end of the next battle, you die of starvation.) This made the information scavenger hunt into more of a game; after each battle, students chose a card. Some cards required students to roll a die to see if they lived, died, became sick, or deserted.

I added another mystery element by awarding a certain amount of XP to each student based on which cards they held. For example, one card was worth 10 XP, another was worth 100, and one very rare card was worth 500 XP.

Creating this activity was an example of building off of prior successes; I created a Civil War game just like this last year. Including the cards into the activity motivated students to complete the activity in just one class period instead of stretching it out over three days, which is how long it took before I introduced the cards.

I have also created other simulations and games that have captured my students’ interests and kept them motivated during class.

In general, I want my classes to be the classes that I would have wanted to be in while I was in school!


If you are a classroom instructor, what are going to be (or have been) your first forays into gameful curricula?


I have included gamification in my classes for the past two years. I first learned about gamification at a Social Studies conference. Michael Matera, a world history teacher himself, presented about how to increase motivation in the classroom by including game elements. I was hooked right away!

Since then, I have been using Classcraft to keep track of my students’ XP, HP, AP, and GP. They can also log in and train their pets, buy equipment, and use their powers.

Just including a system where students can “level up” has greatly increased motivation, but I have continued to add more game elements to almost each day to help increase motivation even more.


I have earned my certificate!

I successfully completed the course, "Leading Change: Go Beyond Gamification with Gameful Learning" on edX.

It was a lot of work but I learned so much!


Thoughts About Micro-Credentialing and Badging

This is one of my reflections from my class, Leading Change: Go Beyond Gamification with Gameful Learning.
How might you support your learners in getting micro-credentials for extra-curricular learning?

In my classes, students already earn experience points (XP) for following expectations and completing various tasks. Offering XP for completing micro-credentials could be an option as well.

I have had students create art projects outside of class just to earn XP. I could create similar experiences and challenges in which students earn XP and badges from those challenges.

I’m not entirely sure how to integrate this system with existing micro-credentials in the area, but I will conduct some research into that aspect.

What might be the advantages of connecting your formal learning context with an organization that offers digital badges? 

Connecting my classes with an organization that offers digital badges will tap into the motivations of students who are the “achiever” gamer type. These students (like myself, as I fit into this category) strive to earn as many badges or achievements as possible, and badges can be a concrete way of showing the achievement of learning.