After completing a class on gamification I was excited to try it out in my classroom. In the class I created a plan to gamify my classroom using the theme of a book I had recently read, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Below is the plan I created.
In this plan students worked individually and in groups. The class I gamified was my 8th grade class, and I had them for both math and science. Below is a sample of how I kept track of the points. Students picked their own avatar names, and for those who didn't pick a name I picked theirs. I picked student groups trying to even them out to keep the game competitive. The color of the avatar name indicates the group each student is in. Next I color coded math in blue and science in green. This helped me to even things out for the few students who were pulled out for services during math time.
To keep students involved I tried to mix up activity with game and would reward points for top earners. I also rewarded students for attending class everyday that week. This helped to establish and maintain a responsive environment for all learners. With classwork my students also loved Kahoot, Quizlet.live, and Quizizz. All 3 of these are game sites that my middle school students loved so I tried to incorporate them at least once a week. These are all websites that I try to share with every teacher. They allow easy classroom management and collaborative learning strategies to maximize teacher and student use of digital tools and resources and access to technology-rich learning environments. Students want to be a part of this learning and don't want to miss out. I have very little, if any discipline issues, when playing these games.
Within the 2 classes I tried to encourage group projects as well. Students need to learn the importance of self-regulation and group interaction skills in addition to learning how to work alone. With the gamified classroom I kept a bulletin board which I updated weekly with scores. I would also hand out level up rewards like the ones below. In addition to these rewards each student would get a new power card (shown below) when every student on their team had leveled up.This helped create a positive climate where students wanted to do more to earn more points. Learners developed self-direction by wanting to better their own score and collaborative skills by wanting to help friends or teammates do better. There was always the chance I might award teamwork points, or other points for just being a good classroom citizen. With a variety of activities I was able emphasize creativity, higher-order thinking skills and processes, and mental habits of mind throughout the use of projects, games, and classwork.
Within the 2 classes I tried to encourage group projects as well. Students need to learn the importance of self-regulation and group interaction skills in addition to learning how to work alone. With the gamified classroom I kept a bulletin board which I updated weekly with scores. I would also hand out level up rewards like the ones below. In addition to these rewards each student would get a new power card (shown below) when every student on their team had leveled up.This helped create a positive climate where students wanted to do more to earn more points. Learners developed self-direction by wanting to better their own score and collaborative skills by wanting to help friends or teammates do better. There was always the chance I might award teamwork points, or other points for just being a good classroom citizen. With a variety of activities I was able emphasize creativity, higher-order thinking skills and processes, and mental habits of mind throughout the use of projects, games, and classwork.
Goal 6: Educators create and manage a stimulating, inclusive and safe learning community in which learners take intellectual risks and work independently and collaboratively.
SOE Goals
a. investigate and use a variety of techniques to establish and maintain a responsive environment for all learners (K,S)
b. establish and maintain a positive climate in which learners develop self-direction and collaborative skills. (S)
c. commit to ensuring learner well being and development of self-regulation and group interaction skills. (D)
ISTE Standards (NETS-C)
2d. Coach teachers in and model design and implementation of technology-enhanced learning experiences emphasizing creativity, higher-order thinking skills and processes, and mental habits of mind (e.g., critical thinking, meta-cognition, and self-regulation)
3a. Model effective classroom management and collaborative learning strategies to maximize teacher and student use of digital tools and resources and access to technology-rich learning environments
SOE Goals
a. investigate and use a variety of techniques to establish and maintain a responsive environment for all learners (K,S)
b. establish and maintain a positive climate in which learners develop self-direction and collaborative skills. (S)
c. commit to ensuring learner well being and development of self-regulation and group interaction skills. (D)
ISTE Standards (NETS-C)
2d. Coach teachers in and model design and implementation of technology-enhanced learning experiences emphasizing creativity, higher-order thinking skills and processes, and mental habits of mind (e.g., critical thinking, meta-cognition, and self-regulation)
3a. Model effective classroom management and collaborative learning strategies to maximize teacher and student use of digital tools and resources and access to technology-rich learning environments