Ali Carr-Chellman: Gaming to re-engage boys in learning

Many boys are having a hard time in school—they’re disproportionally suspended, marked as learning disabled, and diagnosed with ADHD. In this talk from TEDxPSU, Ali Carr-Chellman ponders whether this could be a simple culture clash. She shares a fascinating idea — that creating educational video games full of rich narratives could help boy culture connect with school culture.

As an avid video game player and believer that games can transform how our students view school, literature, the world and their lives, Ali-Carr Chellman makes a compelling argument for gaming to re-engage boys in learning.  Enjoy!

Making the Most of Parent/Teacher Conferences

These days are circled on our calendars!  We know that parent/teacher conferences are a busy time of the year for teachers and the amount of preparation that precedes the conversations between parents and teachers seems endless.  I have found ways to be more efficient in my preparation for conferences over the years, but I still understand that I will most likely lose my voice at the end of the night! 

My solution to a great night with parents: LET THE STUDENTS TO THE TALKING! 

Immediately after the end of the first quarter, I hand out a Standards Based Report Card (Think back to kindergarten when we all got these) to allow my students to think about and reflect on the skills they’ve mastered or still need to improve upon.  It’s a tough task for many, but these report cards set the stage for the conversations I have with most parents.  Instead of conversations about grades or missing homework, I let the students tell their parents about their level of mastery in my class.  For most parents, this is an eye-opening experience! 

While I use paper and pencil for this activity, many teachers in my school use an online resource called Blue Harvest.  Billed as “Assessment through Feedback”, Blue Harvest allows teachers and students to be in constant communication about their mastery of specific standards.  As an online tool that provides on-going assessment and feedback opportunities, there is nothing better. 

Consider some of these ideas as you begin your own parent/teacher conferences, and remember to let the students do the talking.

Call of Duty...Curse or Cure?

Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Preparing for the biggest Call of Duty video game launch of all time, USA Today published an article on their website warning employers and teachers that workers and students might be “sick” on Tuesday.  As Call of Duty: Black Ops II hits shelves at midnight on Tuesday, the draw to play may be too great for some people and their work may suffer.  While I don’t see any of my students coughing or sneezing, I certainly am prepared for a few more absences than normal. 

From an administrative perspective, attendance is a major issue in schools and principals work tirelessly to improve attendance rates each day.  It might be our first reaction to fight against this type of event and force students to get away from the television and back in school.  However, I feel that teachers and administrators should take a hard look at why so many students will skip school to play a little video game.  And the answers, I assure you, go far beyond entertainment. 

·         Clear Objectives – We can post the standards on the board, hang the standards in our room, and they still just aren’t that clear.  And let’s be honest, many students fail to recognize how their mastery of standard will impact their future.  In a video game, the objectives are clear and concrete.  There is no gray area.  When you complete the objective you move to the next level.  If you don’t, then you start again until you have mastered the skills to move forward. 

·         Relevant and Rigorous Learning – After the clear objectives have been established, games require players to master skills that are relevant to their success in the given world.  While the time it takes for some players to master the skills necessary is far greater than other players, games have the ability to enhance rigor based on the player’s existing skill set.  From the easy level to the “hardcore” mode, players adapt to an increasingly difficult world each time they play.

·         Immediate Feedback and Adaptation – While schools do provide some incentive for getting to class every day, the benefits of coming to school every day aren’t necessarily visible until later in life.  With a video game, the benefits of showing up are immediate.  Students win, lose and adapt each minute in a video game and that immediate feedback is motivation to continue. 

Do these things exist in every school and classroom in this nation?  Absolutely!  So why don’t students wait in line for hours to get into our schools the same way they do in anticipation for a big game release? MOTIVATION!  Video games motivate people to risk failure but rewards them with upgrades and trophies for their successes.  Schools can do the same.  As teachers and administrators, we must consider why we are failing to motivate our students to be successful at school and why video games succeed in motivating our students to master complex sets of skills in the matter of hours.  Instead of spending our time cursing Call of Duty and similar games for ruining our perfect attendance, we might start looking to them as the cure for some of our most difficult problems. 

To see the entire USA Today article, go to http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2012/11/11/call-of-duty-sick-days/1694633/