It is easy to be inspired to learn at the South Orangetown Central School District. For instance, I was recently inspired to learn more about puzzles and games as a means to encourage student learning after reading a blog post written by our very own Ms. Patricia Eyer, Library Media Specialist at William O. Schaefer Elementary School. She recently wrote about Ms. Zatarga’s second-grade students solving “KenKen” Math Puzzles. Teachers have used puzzles, and more broadly games, as an instructional “technology” for many years to empower learners and to accelerate and personalize learning (I put quotation marks around the word “technology” since many folks think that in order to qualify as such, there should be evidence of a device with a power cable sticking out of the back end). It is important to note that these technologies can be either electronic or non-electronic.
Educator and thought-leader, George Couros writes in his book, The Innovator’s Mindset (2015), that learning comes before technology. He adds, “technology invites us to move from engaged to empowered. It provides opportunities to go deeper into our learning by giving us the ability to consume, and, more importantly, to create (Couros, 2015).” Students are empowered through math puzzle activities since they can generate a variety of solutions thereby fostering creativity. When students combine this with digital technology, by adding light, color, and sound, this can be a form of artistic expression (this is what turns STEM into STEAM and possibly a job at Pixar). Games and puzzles are instructional technologies that permit students to control learning outcomes and to become empowered to learn more.
Educational games (used as an instructional technology) gives students “the power to accelerate, amplify, and even recreate learning (Couros, 2015).” Here’s a great example from the world of biomedical research: To better understand the genetic coding of breast tumor samples, cancer researchers in the U.K. developed a computer game called “Play to Cure: Genes in Space.” In this computer game, players attempt to decode genetic material from tumor samples (here, the genetic material is disguised in the form of space asteroids hurtling towards Earth). The object of the game, for the players, is to zap asteroids by decoding massive strands of information. The human brain and eyes are better suited to the task of sorting this type of data than a computer. The gamers are emulating what a scientist would do to understand how cancer cells grow – except that computer gamers (flying a simulated, video-game spacecraft) can analyze cancer genomes approximately 15% more accurately than scientists using traditional lab techniques (Passary, 2014). Do I think that the person who will someday cure cancer (or any other deadly disease) is sitting in one of our classrooms at SOCSD? I absolutely do – with every fiber of my being.
Lastly, George Couros states that “technology should personalize, not standardize (2015).” For the past few years, I have been observing teachers (particularly, middle school math teachers) using the online computer game, Minecraft, as a means to personalize learning for students. Once, I observed a very powerful lesson where students used Minecraft to express the Quadratic Equation using a graphing calculator that was programmed into the gameplay – wow! I was blown away. This type of game personalizes the experience for each learner since each activity is a unique expression of human logic.
Classroom games where students set up a program or a series of processes (think of the old Rube Goldberg-style board game “Mousetrap”) develop a stochastic understanding of how decisions yield expected (or unexpected) outcomes. Students test theories using games of “what happens next?” The ability to develop a working hypothesis and construct a model to test a theory becomes an integral component of scientific research (p.s. You knew that the 3-D printed rocket launches at Cottage Lane Elementary School, weren’t just for fun, right?).
I wish to thank Ms. Eyer and Ms. Zatarga for inspiring me to learn more about learning and for the continued amazing work that they – and others like them – do for our kids in SOCSD every day!
To learn more about “Play to Cure: Genes in Space” and to download the app, go to: Play to Cure: Genes in Space
References
Couros, G. (2015). The Innovator’s Mindset. San Diego, CA. Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc.
Passary, A. (2014). “Can video game find cure for cancer? Doctors say yes.” Tech Times. 2/7/2014.