Skip to main content

Week 6

Materia makes many claims about the new world of teaching. The essential questions for this week are: How valid are these claims? Is there research to support this? 

 On page 26 Material lists a table laying out old vs new world ideas of teaching.

 Old world
  • traditional, fossilized 
  • controlling
  • produces followers
  • plotted path
  • quiet compliance
  • automatons of knowledge
  • constructing lessons
  • passive receivers of content
new world- requires us to look past the old ways to create more dynamic learning environments and methods of teaching.
  • new and innovative ways to connect to students and inspire students
  • freedom and flexibility
  • produces risk takers
  • sense of exploration and discovery
  • creative confidence
  • independent artistic thinkers
  • creating heroes
  • sense of wanderlust, spirit, and passion

In this chapter Materia made 3 claims in this chapter. 

Claim 1- The educational structures built on the needs and desires of our great granddparents' generation are fundamentally different from those of students today (pg 25).

As teachers it is our job to teacher to students. With that comes an ability to adapt and change to meet the changing needs of our students as well as changes in technology and resources available to the teaching community. When I think of this claim I think of how much has changed since I was in school. I remember in high school when one of my teachers got to pilot the use of a smart board in her classroom. It was one of the most exciting and frustrating classes. Exciting because we got to be one of the first students to use an explore with the board, but frustrating because the teacher was also learning so we sent a lot of time waiting for her to trouble shoot problems with the board. 
This reminds me of how much technology in the classroom has changed just because the students now have completely grown up with technology so it seems very normal for them. 

Claim 2- The human spirit awakens when we are inspired and challenged to confidently go beyond our limits (pg 29). 

"The power of play brings back the natural yearning that exists inside all of us to learn" (pg 29). When students are given a gamified experience in the classroom they are able to return to a state when they were younger and eager to learn. I think as students get older they become more disinterested in learning new and challenging ideas. With the use of games and interactive lessons this problem can be combated because it allows students to discover a new love of learning. 

Claim 3- It is important to be flexible and fun for students (29).
This claim again goes back to making sure as teachers we are always striving to make sure we provide students with an engaging education. In classrooms I have worked in each has made comments that show me the importance of adapting lessons in the middle of the day or adapting seating charts or simply changing the type of seating available to students. Flexibility can be seen in many aspects through out the day of a classroom or over time in a teachers classroom management strategies that differ from one year to another. 
All teachers need to realize that the class they had last year is not he same as this years and because of that they need to look at what is working at what is not and make any necessary changes.    
Matera, M. (2015). Explore like a Pirate: Engage, Enrich, and Elevate your Learners with Gamification and Game-inspired Course Design. San Diego, CA: Dave Burgess Consulting.










Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 6, 2018 at 5:10 PM

    I was also struck by the comment about "The educational structures built on the needs and desires of our great granddparents' generation are fundamentally different from those of students today." I mentioned in my own post that it amazes me how different the students are than even when I was in school. I think it is important to keep in mind the type of student that exists now and work toward making them successful in their learning. I think gasification can play a key role in this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownOctober 7, 2018 at 9:35 AM

    Erika
    Great job at discussing how educators need to “look at what is working at what is not and make any necessary changes” Reflection is alike a silent tool that needs to happen periodically. You can survey the class growth by analyzing test scores to find what areas your students need to review and what they have mastered. Online quizzes or student journals are also great reflection tools.

    Josie

    ReplyDelete
  3. GalinaOctober 7, 2018 at 3:38 PM

    I liked how you organized your post! The third claim really stood out to me because teaching is all about being flexible and adjusting to meet the needs of the students. The second part of that claim emphasizes the need to have fun with students. I believe this is incredibly important because our job can be exhausting if we don't make an effort to have fun with our students. The new teacher turn-over rate proves this. I always think about it this way, if it isn't fun for me, it isn't fun for the kids.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

final reflection

At the end of this semester, think, again, about “Why games in education?”; and reflect on your experience in this course and share what is the most important take away for you. The blog is due by Sunday night (Dec. 9) Games in education make sense. I say this because in todays world students are so used to technology being engrained into their daily lives. They see their families on their phones, their teaches wear smart watches, at school their teachers use smart boards to deliver lessons. Every single day students are exposed to technology. With technology comes a need to understand it and use it effectively. This is also true in regards to technology based games. I think so often technology is used at a surface level instead of its full potential.  Games in education make school more fun. How boring is it for students to sit at their desks all day and never play a game. I remember when I was in school it was so much fun when we got to play games like heads up seven up and j
Post a Comment
Read more

Week 4 reflection

This week I learned a lot. I have been really enjoying reading the "pirate" book. I like the way it is organized and how easy it is to follow along. This weeks topic was one that I have experienced in my teaching and my personal life many times, but never in the capacity of exploring it more in-depth. I think flow is something I always strive to have in my classroom, and so I don't think about it as much as I had to this week. Lately I have been subbing and it is so different to see how each teachers classroom works. Everyone has a different way things are organized and flows through out the day, that I have learned a lot working in so many different classes. I think again it was interesting that I was able to apply my own personal experience to a week topic. I haven't had too many classes where I can look back at my own education or daily life and think about how it relates to the topic we are discussion that week. Perviously I was able to reflect on my French cl
1 comment
Read more

Week 9

Which aspects of story and game mechanics will be useful in your class and how might you use them? This weeks main question has a lot of room for  interpretation. I feel that with everyones unique situation and experience the blog posts this week will be a lot of fun to read. For me I will need to think of this question in hypothetical situation because I am not currently working in a classroom.  When I was in my own classroom I used games a lot. We would play games with Osmo sets. We would also play structured games outside on the playground to help them understand and practice taking turns, sharing, and playing nicely with each other.  There are so many aspects of game mechanics and stories that can have a positive impact on students learning. Whether it be from actual games that are played like ones that allow students to practice their letter or sound recognition, look at parts of speech, or prepare for a quiz. All these will help students find the motivation to learn more. Th
6 comments
Read more