tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033889867235759780.post1878669413225951278..comments2023-06-11T04:03:03.102-07:00Comments on What Should We Do With Our Classrooms?: A Teacher's Reflection on Student Responses to Gamifying English Class for the First TimeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033889867235759780.post-79846489405099566132015-03-27T09:49:49.304-07:002015-03-27T09:49:49.304-07:00Thanks Kevin for the comment! Choice was the most ...Thanks Kevin for the comment! Choice was the most positive part of the experience, for sure, but I do think that leveling up, as well as measuring accomplishment by way of XP points, was key to igniting motivation and interest as well. When I first heard about gamification (in the form I implemented) I immediately thought "Oh, this just a creative way to provide options for differentiated learning." After going through this experience, however, I discovered that gamification means redesigning one's grading process for purposes of creating more trust, fairness, and transparency. In fact, so many students also commented that, for the first time, they weren't afraid of failure. Choice was key but so were these other factors, and the game-based approach made such a learning culture possible. Jaredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15668637066226373934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033889867235759780.post-7444302564585938262015-03-27T04:22:55.677-07:002015-03-27T04:22:55.677-07:00This is such a rich reflective post .. I need to c...This is such a rich reflective post .. I need to come back and digest more of it ... but the survey data is intriguing information and it does seem like some "choice" in the matter made a difference -- maybe more than the gamification aspect itself, right?<br />KevinDogtraxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079631702744063837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033889867235759780.post-80680467758457935752015-03-26T14:06:17.957-07:002015-03-26T14:06:17.957-07:00Thanks Joel! I love the scavenger hunt idea! I thi...Thanks Joel! I love the scavenger hunt idea! I think style analysis intimidates my sophomores more than most other activities, and this being their first experience with a more student-directed, choice-based approach, it made them feel uneasy. They wanted more teacher guidance here, but with the right kind of assignments (such as the one you mentioned) and more practice with self-directed learning, students may have a different, more positive reaction to this category of inquiry. Thanks Joel!Jaredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15668637066226373934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033889867235759780.post-18640314725609754562015-03-26T11:46:43.821-07:002015-03-26T11:46:43.821-07:00Kudos, first of all, on trying something new and t...Kudos, first of all, on trying something new and trying it so publicly. It doesn't surprise me that students responded so positively to Choice, Independence, & Motivation. Your remarks here have inspired me to think about getting to those positive payoffs earlier and more often in my year--with gamification, with a choose-your-reading unit, with anything. You seem to have built a tremendous amount of trust in your classroom. Your students were eager enough to complete optional "grind assignments" but self-reflecting enough to admit A+ grind points didn’t produce, in their own opinions, an exemplary command of Shakespeare's language and style. Maybe next time you make the entry experience points a kind of scavenger hunt for literary terms and their effects (soliloquy, foil, metaphor, anaphora, irony, litotes, etc.). Thanks again for sharing your work with Seth and your Oakridge students! Joelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10216643105687699035noreply@blogger.com