Tried "Gamification" in my classroom.(Check updated post 283 for User Group info, it's now ready)
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Great job. Way to spear-head the effort. On a side note, I am presently attending college to become a teacher, so hopefully I will be gamifying class-rooms soon enough myself.Chiefwakka said:Let me start off by giving a little background information. My name is Brian Person and I am a licensed social studies teacher in Colorado and am currently working on my SPED Masters. Right now, with social studies jobs being hard to come by I am working as a substitute teacher and float between a middle school and high school from where I did my student teaching and coaching.
I am also an avid gamer, playing choplifter on my Sega master system when I was 6 and not looking back. I've played every genre out there, but my main focuses are RPG's, shooters, and RTSs. MMORPGs used to be my main focus, ranging from Dark Age of Camelot to WoW, but time constraints make attending a heroic 25-man raid difficult.
I saw the Extracreditz episode on Gamification last week and after getting over a very troublesome stomach bug, I decided I couldn't take it anymore and had to see if this could work. To those of you not familiar with Gamification, please watch the Extracreditz episode because these guys explain it perfectly, here's the link?
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/extra-credits/2985-Gamification
You back? Awesome, let's get down to it then.
As a substitute teacher I have to overcome certain obstacles to get a class motivated. I think Edward Norton in Fight Club would say it best, a sub is a self-serving teacher. You are there for your time and then you are gone, probably never to see that class again. On occasion I will sub for a teacher regularly, but most of the time it is a one shot deal. As students or former students you know what I mean. Subs always mean easy days, where the rules are lax, the work is easy, and you can just loosen the belt with no care in the world.
This is the setting I am using Gamification in.
There are two classes with one being my control group and one a variable group. Both are 9th grade health classes.
- Administer a test
- Play a movie
- remain quiet during the test
- remain quiet during the movie
- ensure students pay attention during the movie for a future assignment
- What I did for the test- I explained the expectations for the test. That they were to remain quiet until all tests were completed and to not look at their partners papers. I then passed out the test, told them to quiet down, and watched them take the test.
- What happened?- The students were quiet during the test, but the problems came as some students were finishing early. I noticed they were pent up and anxious and it did not take long before students, who had finished the test, started whispering to one another. I put my finger over my lips and reminded them to be quiet, but the second I turned around I could hear the faint whispers again. I then reminded the whole class that you cannot talk until all tests are completed, but after a few minutes the small bits of whispering continued. I had to issue proclamations of doom (you will get an extra assignment) to get them in line and even then it was not a deal buster. By the time the last student finished, the class had all but burst into conversation.
- What I did for the movie- I put in the movie and again, I verbally reminded the class that the material covered would be on a future assignment and that it had to remain quiet.
- What happened?- About the same you would expect from the test. I almost had to stop the movie because the noise level got so bad.
The problem was, as a substitute teacher, you are not going to command automatic respect. Basically take any issues a normal teacher has with talking, fidgeting, rudeness, etc and multiply that times 100 and that is what a substitute usually has to deal with. What happened here was an average day for me and most teachers simply tell me to lay the hammer down or report the students to the office.
Today though, I tried Gamification for the next class.
With the same expectations as before, I put the following on the board before the students came in.
XBOX Classroom Achievements
1- "I am Copyrighted"- Do not look at other student's tests.
2- "Ebert got nothing on me"- Do not talk during a movie.
3- "Shhhh, I am taking a test"- Do not talk during a test.
4- "I am Caveman, buy my insurance"- Do not use handheld electronic devices during work time. (there will be break times)
5- "What's a battle?"- Do not talk and remain attentive when instructions are being given.
6- "I leaned my lesson Sempai"- Recover a lost achievement by not repeating the action over the course of the period.
Basically the way it worked was I had everyone pull out a sheet of paper, put their names on it, and number 1-6 blank. If they failed these achievements I would mark them off with a sharpie, but they could gain them back if they didn't repeat the behavior. Why give them a chance to recover? For this reason?
Ultimate Achievement-
"I love Substitutes"- Complete all the above achievements.
This way, if they lost one, they would have an incentive to gain it back for the big one. Here was how the rewards worked.
- Gain 3 achievements- choice of gum or laffy taffy
- Gain 4 achievements- choice of gum/taffy or big piece of Reeses chocolate.
- Gain "I love Substitutes" achievement- choice of any 3 pieces of candy plus your name will be given to your teacher as having done exceptionally well and should be further rewarded.
What I did for the test- I was, at first, concerned with how long explaining the achievement system would take, but I found that was not a concern. The second the kids saw, "XBOX", they knew exactly the nature of what I was talking about. It took me less than 5 minutes to communicate these expectations. I also found that I didn't have to repeat things like "you must be quiet" during the test because the achievements explained to them all what was expected. I simply told them, "ok class, you're working on achievements 1 and 3 now."
What happened- In 4 years of subbing I have never seen a class so quiet during a test. There was one whisper (and I'm a nazi with achievements) that I marked off, but I told the girl she could get it back if she didn't repeat it and guess what? She bit her tongue and got it back
There was one funny moment that I almost busted out and had to control myself. There was a kid whose head was leaning to whisper something to his friend, but he was waiting for me to go away. So I walked away, but kept him in the corner of my eye. Instead of him talking, his intended recipient made a "shoo away" motion with his hands and while he said nothing his body language screamed, "DON'T TALK TO ME". I've never seen that as a sub and I almost busted out laughing.
I also had something else unprecedented happen. As a sub, students are quickly apt to pull out their IPODS and 4g Iphones without thought since it's almost an extension of themselves. But 3 students, who didn't want to lose out on achievement 4 actually raised their hands, when they finished the test, and asked permission to pull out their phones. I of course let them since they finished that portion of their work, to unwind.
One student attempted communication via sign language, but saw me looking over and quickly dropped her hands to the desk.
After the test I gave the students a 5 minute stretch break, told them they all won achievements 1 and 3 and to mark them on their sheets. During this time they could talk, walk, text, etc.
What I did for the movie- I was almost speechless when this happened. Only teachers, whom after months of constant reinforcement, could do what I was getting ready to do. I was simply going to say "Ok class, time to be quiet and focus." But I got this far...
"Ok class, time to-"
And there was a hushed silence in the room. Everyone, who just a second ago, was talking out loud, texting, and semi-crazy after having taken a 45-minute test, were as quiet as a graveyard. I was so amazed I almost zoned out, but I simply told them that I was putting the movie in and that were working towards achievements 2, 4, and 5.
- What happened- There was 30 minutes left in the class and not a word was spoken when the movie played. This was a movie on drugs and alcohol in schools and it was very heart provoking and strong because this man was asking kids some real questions. Some students, who were listening attentively, actually started crying when the movie's host busted out the big questions.
At the end of the class everyone won the ultimate achievement and I simply threw the candy out and let em all have at it. I'm sending an email after this to the teacher to call me, cause quite frankly, I can't write this down in a substitute report.
I have come to the conclusion that Gamification can work. I am going to pursue this further as a video documentary. I am going to get some real materials, different rewards, use different methods, and film myself doing this in various classrooms. Not only that, but I have decided to use Gamification as my capstone Masters project for my school (a subject that, up to this point, has been hard to come by). I will provide updates as they come along on this forum and post preliminary findings as I get them.
First things first, gota go text my friend for that camera he said he never uses
Thank you for time and please, any feedback is welcome.
R,
Brian
A teacher trying something new.
This is awesome. Major props to you, sir, for applying what you learn on the Escapist in a classroom setting.
Good luck on the research. I'm attempting to get my former public school to try being a part of research into a new type of teaching and learning, which actually uses Gamification and the Internet to help students master any subject (though at the moment the focus is perfecting the Math portion of this system)
Also, to whoever posted that TED video, thank you, as I was just about to bring that up. Jane McGonigal also has a TED talk on a slightly narrower scale than Schell's talk, but still dealing with gaming as a worldwide force for good, and Salan Khan has a TED talk regarding the system I'm speaking of above.
Seriously, though, good luck. Getting teachers who have been in the system to change their ways, even if the new way has been proven to vastly improve the welfare of the students, is extremely difficult, so I hope you get some great proof.
Also, to whoever posted that TED video, thank you, as I was just about to bring that up. Jane McGonigal also has a TED talk on a slightly narrower scale than Schell's talk, but still dealing with gaming as a worldwide force for good, and Salan Khan has a TED talk regarding the system I'm speaking of above.
Seriously, though, good luck. Getting teachers who have been in the system to change their ways, even if the new way has been proven to vastly improve the welfare of the students, is extremely difficult, so I hope you get some great proof.
First, major props for trying something like this.
As you already said, this isn't the absolute solution to the problem. Like darkapothem2000 already said, you could use a point system to award which could then be traded for various prizes. With the obvious exception of age in this example, I had a teacher do something like that in 2nd grade. If we behaved and did what we were told to for the day, we were given 2 "points". If we did something wrong, we'd get one, and everything wrong we do after that carried a punishment (miss recess, call home, ect.)
Of course, you're just trying to promote certain actions rather then create a reward/punishment system. One thing you could try is to have certain actions be 'invisibe'. Like most Xbox games, you can hide certain things you want done hidden, which can force themselves to try and figure out what you want them to do. They might even do some things you wouldn't expect them to do.
This, of course, would work a lot better for younger students then for upper level classes.
As you already said, this isn't the absolute solution to the problem. Like darkapothem2000 already said, you could use a point system to award which could then be traded for various prizes. With the obvious exception of age in this example, I had a teacher do something like that in 2nd grade. If we behaved and did what we were told to for the day, we were given 2 "points". If we did something wrong, we'd get one, and everything wrong we do after that carried a punishment (miss recess, call home, ect.)
Of course, you're just trying to promote certain actions rather then create a reward/punishment system. One thing you could try is to have certain actions be 'invisibe'. Like most Xbox games, you can hide certain things you want done hidden, which can force themselves to try and figure out what you want them to do. They might even do some things you wouldn't expect them to do.
This, of course, would work a lot better for younger students then for upper level classes.
Love the idea of achievements in the classroom. I think I will try a similar action in mine. I'm a teacher in a foreign country and I think using a clearly defined reward system would be a huge benefit to their learning.Chiefwakka said:
I dont see how this would work on a long term, after months of that system they would just get tired and keep talking, a candy at the end of the class is good but they would stop caring about it.
One thing that was helping was the fact they probably kind of liked the experience since it was something fresh and fun.
One thing that was helping was the fact they probably kind of liked the experience since it was something fresh and fun.
Poked my head in before I walk out the door. By all means, use what I have to whatever purpose helps out these kids.CplDustov said:
Ok, now for real, I will return. I was heavy in League of Legends for my free time, but I have a feeling it's going on the back burner
Wow, that's so cool.
Wish I had a teacher like you when I was a school, might have done better since in my classes the teachers tended to spend about half the lesson screaming at the rest of the kids and the other half helping someone who was louder than me do their work. (I was a very quiet kid in school)
Im gonna have to ask though, mind if I borrow a little bit of your post for an assignment on the psychological effects of games and gaming? My lecturer is the sort of guy that thinks games are all evil and seems to think that me, an avid gamer, is going to write a report telling of how bad they are and I intend to do different. (Don't ask me why he has the lecture for computer game development, I have no idea)
Wish I had a teacher like you when I was a school, might have done better since in my classes the teachers tended to spend about half the lesson screaming at the rest of the kids and the other half helping someone who was louder than me do their work. (I was a very quiet kid in school)
Im gonna have to ask though, mind if I borrow a little bit of your post for an assignment on the psychological effects of games and gaming? My lecturer is the sort of guy that thinks games are all evil and seems to think that me, an avid gamer, is going to write a report telling of how bad they are and I intend to do different. (Don't ask me why he has the lecture for computer game development, I have no idea)
That is amazing and I can see how that would work. Being a grade 9 avid gamer with little respect for teachers, substitutes in particular, I totally get what you must have to deal with. And speaking from outside such a situation, I would assume my reaction to an in-class 'achievements' system, especially bearing the name 'XBox' would be to scoff incredulously at the person trying to appeal to the youth audience.
But, I have pushed myself to the point of cursing insanely at a TV screen just trying to get that ONE achievement that has no value in the real world, just for the sake of saying I got the achievement. If there was candy and academic pride (yes, I DO have that sometimes!) involved, as well as the familiar setup and my automatic response to seeing achievements with slight jokes attached to the names, I know I'd probably keep my mouth shut if you told me to. Even if we're not actually playing a game, I imagine our pride as gamers (in the sense of 'Oh, I know what that is! That's a set of achievements and I can get them all!') and familiarity with what you're asking us to do would be very effective.
The adults of tomorrow are going to have been raised in a very different environment than the adults of today, and I admire your progressiveness in appealing to our generation. Maybe I sound insane, but - gamification can easily be called the way of the future, no matter how much that concept terrifies my parents.
But, I have pushed myself to the point of cursing insanely at a TV screen just trying to get that ONE achievement that has no value in the real world, just for the sake of saying I got the achievement. If there was candy and academic pride (yes, I DO have that sometimes!) involved, as well as the familiar setup and my automatic response to seeing achievements with slight jokes attached to the names, I know I'd probably keep my mouth shut if you told me to. Even if we're not actually playing a game, I imagine our pride as gamers (in the sense of 'Oh, I know what that is! That's a set of achievements and I can get them all!') and familiarity with what you're asking us to do would be very effective.
The adults of tomorrow are going to have been raised in a very different environment than the adults of today, and I admire your progressiveness in appealing to our generation. Maybe I sound insane, but - gamification can easily be called the way of the future, no matter how much that concept terrifies my parents.
The teaching profession, as far as kids are concerned anyway, is all about understanding the mind and manipulating the limits of attention and interest with our innate desire to learn. There will always be speedbumps.Chiefwakka said:I won't lie, my imagination is swooping with the possibilities after today. Someone else told me, as I planning this in the teacher's lounge, that I'll hit some serious speed bumps, but it wouldn't be worth it otherwiseVanguard_Ex said:
As a teacher actually attempting to push the boundaries of learning I say don't lose momentum for a second
Edit: Sorry, I've just realised how patronising that looked...I wasn't insinuating that you don't understand your profession, just for the record
Being in high school with an utter hatred of my annoying class, it makes me wonder if they'd agree to it, or if they'd shrug it off and not care. Being a cynic and hating people, I'd assume they wouldn't be able to do it. But, that's just me. Inspiring story, to say the least.
You could have started something really big and efective here. Kind of like the lady (forgot the name) who taugh 5-7year olds to not be racist by making them hate on brown eyes one day and blue the other day and then on the third day she just this evidence to teach the kids that racism is stupid (saw documentary about long ago don't remember more then that.)
captcha: the mysour.
captcha: the mysour.
This is really cool that you've actually done this, i wish you luck with doing your documentary on it or whatever, because this will be awesome if it becomes a staple in teaching
oh god, my school was frickin awful compared to that... i would have been gleaming with joy if you were my sub
OT: good stuff, but every student isn't the same so if you were not a sub but a full time teacher, you might have to switch things up
but for a sub, sounds like you've got a really solid plan!
OT: good stuff, but every student isn't the same so if you were not a sub but a full time teacher, you might have to switch things up
but for a sub, sounds like you've got a really solid plan!