Games Case Study

Blog 5: Games

Case study number two was about a teacher’s incorporation of games into her classroom. The kids in the classroom where all playing different games, which had various objectives. The playing of games was an engaging way for students to reflect on subject material they had been working on. For example, some students were playing the game of Yahtzee, which allowed them to work on probability. This is classified as engaging because the students are actively learning the objectives instead of simply learning out of the textbook. I believe learning through doing is important as; it builds a deeper understanding of course material. Assessment for this could be done through self, peer or formative assessment. For self-assessment you

This would be good for both students. The more the students reflect on the material the better it is for the learning experience. For formative assessment I would ensure I was continually walking around the room and asking students about their games. I could ask questions, such as, how does this game relate to what we have been learning in class? Are there any other subjects this game could be used for? Another way I would formatively assess students is by having them write exit slips when leaving class. This would be beneficial for both the students, and me since they would be reflecting on the material again and I could formatively assess them. When planning this activity I think it would be key to make sure the games represented the objective appropriately. As a teacher I would want to make sure each game had a strong connection to the course material. The most interesting thing about this case study was the teachers comment about students’ willingness to try again after failing at the games. How come students will repeatedly fail at games without becoming discouraged, but will become discouraged when failing a test or assignment? This was a very interesting observation

At the kitchen students prepared and served food for other people. The students visited the soup kitchen as part of their grade six leadership class. The students got hands on experience of what it means to be an ethical citizen in their community. Although the objectives of this activity were for a leadership class this lesson could be used to teach across the curriculum. For example, for math, students could work on conversions or in social studies students could discuss community. As a teacher, I would assess this activity through formative assessment. I would have students reflect on their experience at the soup kitchen. I wouldn’t summatively assess students’ at the soup kitchen, but could summatively assess a project I had students complete after their visit. I believe the use of language would be very important for this particular activity. Students could use language to reflect on their experiences or to illustrate other ways in which they could contribute to the community. There are several writing activities students could perform, both before and after this experience. One project I would have students complete that would allow me to summateively assess, as well as, integrate the use of technology and language, is having students create their own recipe book as a class. Each student could find a recipe either online or another source, such as a family member and use