allows you to practice patterns and permutations of patterns
what if LOTR
was a textbook?
Revelation #2:
Revelation #1:
"How do I get somebody to learn something that is long and difficult and takes a lot of commitment, but get them to learn it well?"
Technology is making "content" irrelevant. It's what you're able to do with the content that's important.
We've been trying all sorts of untested strategies to improve algebra outcomes for decades, with little or no forward progress.
Maria H. Andersen
Question that game designers ask themselves ...
- Dr. James Gee
Muskegon Community College
teachingcollegemath.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/twid/410697715/
Revelation #3:
My students, some of whom can't seem to learn algebra, CAN seem to learn complex video games that require logic, memorization, and teamwork, and strategy.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrjoro/89187454
FUN
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobfoldsfive/2596985632/
Sorry bobfoldsfive, I am using this image without permission because I can't seem to log in to Yahoo to ask for permission. Please don't be mad!
-Rath Koster, A Theory of Fun
AHA!
is the brain having fun
Revelation #4:
the act of mastering a problem mentally
I can still play the video games I played when I was a child.
Munchman
Tombstone City
http://www.flickr.com/photos/table4five/2055458712
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kkseema/2042946052
they
try
over
and
over
and
over
How DO
children
learn?
they
give
it a
try
why did
you go in to teaching?
they push at boundaries
http://www.flickr.com/photos/seandreilinger/959010447
they seek patterns
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/3039389897
GAME
Waker
Flower Power
http://gambit.mit.edu/loadgame/waker.php
a simulation or a formal system where choices and rules are important
Factortris
Line Gem
http://funbasedlearning.com
"The brain is made to fill in blanks."
- Raph Koster, A Theory of Fun
We tend to LIKE something if we are able to "see" the patterns in it
1
and some games get it just right
NLVM Circle Game
2
6
games are exercises
for the brain
When this happens, we begin to "groove" in the patterns ... to seek them out and to expect them.
as we learn the patterns,
we seek novelty and difficulty
some games are more like puzzles
3
5
"Fun from games arises out of mastery. It arises out of comprehension. It is the act of solving puzzles that makes games fun. In other words, with games, learning is the drug."
4
- Raph Koster, A Theory of Fun
Math Baseball
Catch the Fly
Problem:
Learning is not Linear.
Math Textbooks Are.
Multiplication "Game"
boring
http://www.softschools.com
http://xkcd.com/657
Problem:
some games just make games lame
"Boredom is the brain casting about for new information. It is the feeling you get when there are no new patterns to absorb."
We give away the
"cheat codes" for the game (algebra) up front.
- Raph Koster, A Theory of Fun
5
12
2
Problem:
28
[Video games] tend to encourage players to achieve total mastery of one level, only to challenge and undo that mastery in the next, forcing kids to adapt and evolve.
Think like a Babylonian
Inquiry-based learning is great,
in theory,
but time-consuming in reality.
- Dr. James Gee, University of Wisconsin
Wired Magazine, 2003
Babylonian
"Cheat Codes"
35
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dinah/239650274/
http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/numbers/babylon/index.htm
the brain functions on three levels of thinking
Designing and using activities where students learn new concepts by actively doing and reflecting on what they have done. The guiding principle is that instructors try not to talk in depth about a concept until students have had an opportunity to think about it first (Hastings, 2006).
Inquiry-based Learning
conscious thought
See if you can figure out Babylonian without the "cheat codes"
75
[ !?*!? ]
autopilot
mathematical
assigning values
making lists
recalling facts
61
59
sorting and packaging
60
Problem:
reflexes
running "scripts"
integrative
associative
intuitive
"common sense"
"the best instruction hovers at the boundary of a student's competence"
On linear learning paths,
students often get stuck
because of one concept.
where do we want our students brains' to be?
multiplication and division of integers
- Andy diSessa, Cognitive Scientist
solving
one-step equations
x+3=6
simplifying like terms
3x+4+2x-7
a game is a delicate balance between
boredom
and frustration
addition & subtraction of integers
finding points that
fit x+y=5
absolute value
e.g. |-8|
graph an inequality on a number line