Reflection: Blow up the Gradebook
Having been immersed in the quest-based learning environment as a student for the past several months, I completely agree with the power of the format. The choice and the motivation of the game-based model are truly compelling. As a grad student, a full-time teacher, a husband, and a father of two young children, I have more than enough demands on my time. And yet, I still find myself completing quests above and beyond the threshold that guaranteed me an A for the course. That says something.
Even more amazing, I have just started the new school year by implementing a quest-based format in my high school chemistry classes, which include 3 sections of college prep "standard" level, and 2 sections of a lower level class formerly known as Chemistry in the Community (ChemCom). In my first 10 years of teaching chemistry at various levels, students across the board have struggled to complete homework and grades have typically been lower than I would like them to be. More importantly, I know that the students at the college prep and ChemCom levels have a hard time with the concepts in the course, despite my efforts at differentiating and finding different ways to introduce the concepts.
After giving an overview of the quest-based concept and the 3DGamelab, I gave one of my ChemCom classes the login instructions for 3DGamelab yesterday, and asked them to create their accounts. Most of the students did this at home, and several of them started completing quests at home right away. This is a group that I would not expect to complete any homework under normal circumstances.
Today was the first full day of getting students logged in and turning them loose. It is often a struggle to keep these students on task when they are asked to work independently. Even getting them to navigate to a webpage and complete a brief form can find them distracted and socializing without constant supervision. These same students quickly worked through a series of brief quests, asking clarifying questions and watching their XP go up with excitement. Most of them even completed quests that I had made clear were completely optional. It is only a small sample (100 students on a single day), but the change is staggering.
The question of equity and choice are also important to consider in this process. beyond the assumptions described in the video, there is the question of learning differences that may alter the way in which students approach "typical" homework assignments, quizzes, and worksheets. One size does not fit all, and attempts to create a monolithic assessment either result in a product that is too narrow or too broad to be meaningful. By providing multiple pathways to success, students take control of their experience and become more invested in the process of learning.
Due dates not only promote inequity, they take away student choice, which can lead to further frustration and alienation. When students are allow to have flexibility in which quests they complete and when, they can make incremental, continuous progress by completing quests as their schedule allows, rather than trying to rush through a longer assignment simply because they have been told that they have to complete it on an arbitrary Thursday.
In a typical class, the game being played pits the students against the teacher, often making the content a secondary consideration at best. Quest-based learning creates obstacles that the students and teacher overcome together, with the learning taking place organically.
Even more amazing, I have just started the new school year by implementing a quest-based format in my high school chemistry classes, which include 3 sections of college prep "standard" level, and 2 sections of a lower level class formerly known as Chemistry in the Community (ChemCom). In my first 10 years of teaching chemistry at various levels, students across the board have struggled to complete homework and grades have typically been lower than I would like them to be. More importantly, I know that the students at the college prep and ChemCom levels have a hard time with the concepts in the course, despite my efforts at differentiating and finding different ways to introduce the concepts.
After giving an overview of the quest-based concept and the 3DGamelab, I gave one of my ChemCom classes the login instructions for 3DGamelab yesterday, and asked them to create their accounts. Most of the students did this at home, and several of them started completing quests at home right away. This is a group that I would not expect to complete any homework under normal circumstances.
Today was the first full day of getting students logged in and turning them loose. It is often a struggle to keep these students on task when they are asked to work independently. Even getting them to navigate to a webpage and complete a brief form can find them distracted and socializing without constant supervision. These same students quickly worked through a series of brief quests, asking clarifying questions and watching their XP go up with excitement. Most of them even completed quests that I had made clear were completely optional. It is only a small sample (100 students on a single day), but the change is staggering.
The question of equity and choice are also important to consider in this process. beyond the assumptions described in the video, there is the question of learning differences that may alter the way in which students approach "typical" homework assignments, quizzes, and worksheets. One size does not fit all, and attempts to create a monolithic assessment either result in a product that is too narrow or too broad to be meaningful. By providing multiple pathways to success, students take control of their experience and become more invested in the process of learning.
Due dates not only promote inequity, they take away student choice, which can lead to further frustration and alienation. When students are allow to have flexibility in which quests they complete and when, they can make incremental, continuous progress by completing quests as their schedule allows, rather than trying to rush through a longer assignment simply because they have been told that they have to complete it on an arbitrary Thursday.
In a typical class, the game being played pits the students against the teacher, often making the content a secondary consideration at best. Quest-based learning creates obstacles that the students and teacher overcome together, with the learning taking place organically.
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