After years of hoping to truly differentiate my classroom, I think I have finally found a way!
Game-ification...
I went to a training this August from a fellow teacher and she talked about the idea of trying to make class more like a game. She talked about the appeal of games to people of all ages. She was giving grades as XP points. She wanted the training to be a launching point for a dialogue of ideas.
I liked the concept, but like all teachers in August, felt overwhelmed by normal responsibilities, so I filed the concept away hoping to eventually dust it off.
My year started off OK, but not great. I was feeling frustrated; my normal approach was just not working. I didn't feel like the kids were as engaged or a driven as they needed to be. I also felt like I was holding some kids back and leaving others behind. Call me an idealist, but I want to teach all my kids, not just a few.
I was sick at home on a Sunday when I realized something had to give. I talked with my son, who loves on-line strategy games and asked him what aspects of his game that he liked.
This is what he told me.
It hit me...sometimes in the modern day classroom individualism seems to be left out. Our constant pushing of group work and time constraints make it difficult to meet the needs of each individual student. I wanted my class to be more self-paced and for more responsibility to be put on the shoulders of the individual.
So began the idea of differentiation with game-ification...
Game-ification...
I went to a training this August from a fellow teacher and she talked about the idea of trying to make class more like a game. She talked about the appeal of games to people of all ages. She was giving grades as XP points. She wanted the training to be a launching point for a dialogue of ideas.
I liked the concept, but like all teachers in August, felt overwhelmed by normal responsibilities, so I filed the concept away hoping to eventually dust it off.
My year started off OK, but not great. I was feeling frustrated; my normal approach was just not working. I didn't feel like the kids were as engaged or a driven as they needed to be. I also felt like I was holding some kids back and leaving others behind. Call me an idealist, but I want to teach all my kids, not just a few.
I was sick at home on a Sunday when I realized something had to give. I talked with my son, who loves on-line strategy games and asked him what aspects of his game that he liked.
This is what he told me.
- individualism
- competition
- challenges to get to the next level
- title of distinction
It hit me...sometimes in the modern day classroom individualism seems to be left out. Our constant pushing of group work and time constraints make it difficult to meet the needs of each individual student. I wanted my class to be more self-paced and for more responsibility to be put on the shoulders of the individual.
So began the idea of differentiation with game-ification...