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]]>The 2024 ASU+GSV Summit was filled with conversations about innovations in technology, teaching, and education as a whole. David Wees, Discovery Education Senior Curriculum Designer, participated in a panel at ASU+GSV about game-based learning and assessment. Keep reading to hear his thoughts on using games in learning and the panel at ASU+GSV:
At the ASU+GSV summit this year, I spoke on a panel about the transformative nature of games in assessment. Assessment of learner performance is closely related to learning, so when we spoke on the panel, we often drifted between the two topics. Wikipedia defines the critical attributes of games as that which has goals, rules, challenge, and interactions.
Here are the top 7 points I wrote in preparation for this panel discussion.
1. Game-based assessment already exists!
Game-based assessment is nothing new. My son, a swim instructor, uses games in his assessment all the time in his lessons. Instead of asking his students to put their heads under water or blow bubbles, he plays “Find the Treasure” and can quickly assess whether his students have the skills he wants to assess. The game creates a context for why performing the skills is important. Using games as part of assessment and to drive learning is older than our species!
2. Games feature a gradual increase in difficulty.
Games like Super Mario Brothers let you make choices and slowly and gradually scaffold the gameplay so that it increases in challenge but in a special way. The last level of any world is the hardest, but the first levels are easier and usually easier than the previous levels in the last world. Also, students can and do go back to levels they have completed over and over again because sometimes doing something better than you know you can do is more fun than struggling over and over again to complete a level you can’t yet do.
Digital games work partly because the game’s challenge level varies between easier and harder concepts, ideally moving up and down in a cadence that captures the learner’s interest and engagement.
3. Games should be authentic.
We need to avoid game designs where students do some fun stuff, then pause and step out of the game to do some math problems, and then jump back into the game. This doesn’t lead to authentic learning and makes math a roadblock to having fun rather than part of the fun.
I designed a very simple graph game where students move a little stick man across a horizontal bar while trying to mimic a particular graph given on Cartesian coordinates. One axis is time, and the other is the distance the little stick person is away from their starting point. The game provides instant feedback that one has matched the graph by showing the position of the stick man in two places, one on the bar and one on the distance-time graph. It’s an extremely engaging and interesting little game, and it makes learning mathematics an integral part of the game rather than a side dish.
Not everything is a good fit for a game, but an awful lot of stuff we do is. We need to find ways to make the concepts we want students to learn authentically a part of the game and have a purpose for advancing the game. Often, these purposes can be drawn from our original invention of the concepts. When Descartes lay in bed watching the flies on the ceiling, he wanted a way to describe where the fly was on the ceiling, so he invented our modern coordinate system.
4. Depth of gameplay should be evaluated (and revised when necessary).
Really good games teach their creators, too. I once played a simple probability game where students placed ten tokens each on the numbers from 2 through 12. They take turns rolling the dice and taking off their tokens with the goal of removing all of their tokens before their opponent. After playing this for a couple of days, I built a simulation that allows students to place their ten tokens (or any arbitrary number) wherever they want and simulate playing this game 10,000 times. From this simulation, I learned that my intuition about the best distribution across the eleven numbers was wrong.
5. Digital games can enable connection.
We must not forget that digital games can and should enable connection between students rather than separating them all the time by screens while they work in their own environments. The best games are played with other people. Both of my sons always prefer to play their games with other people, often spending hours online playing Roblox or Minecraft. Collaborative learning is also known to be a very powerful learning experience. We should support this innate desire to connect with other humans.
6. Assessment should be invisible.
Assessment should be invisible to the learner, but we should also give them control of the results. Every child who plays Super Mario Brothers knows which levels and worlds they have completed successfully and which ones they still have left to do, but they never stop playing the game to “take an assessment” before moving on—the game is the assessment.
7. Games offer agency.
Learners should have agency. Education should be done with the learner, not to them. Games give their players choices, and these choices are part of what makes the game fun.
David Wees
David designs interactive mathematics lessons and works on assessment and adaptivity for DreamBox Math at Discovery Education. During his career as a teacher, he taught mathematics and science in NYC, London, Bangkok, and Vancouver. He has led professional development and coached teachers for ten years. He is the co-author of a textbook designed for the International Baccalaureate program. He has his Bachelor of Science (Mathematics), Bachelor of Education (Secondary Mathematics), and Master of Educational Technology, all from the University of British Columbia.
He has been published in the Bangkok Post, Dialogue Online, Educational Technology Solutions, Leading and Learning, Software Developer’s Journal, and Edutopia. He has also been consulted for stories in the Globe and Mail, the CBC, the Vancouver Sun, and The Tyee. He has been a guest on CBC’s On the Coast and CKNW’s The Bill Good show. He has presented on Technology in Mathematics, Computer-Based Math, Social Media, Change in Education, and other topics related to the use of technology in education. He blogs regularly at http://davidwees.com and can be found on Twitter at @davidwees.
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]]>The Discovery Education team recently attended the Council of the Great City Schools’ 68th Annual Fall Conference in Dallas, Texas. Hosted by Dallas ISD, the event joined educators from large urban schools under the inspiring theme "Leading Innovation & Transformation, We Do Urban Education." The conference featured a series of compelling sessions where education professionals shared concrete ideas and strategies to solve their biggest challenges together. We listened carefully to what district leaders had to say, and were excited at how closely their priorities align to key findings in our new Education Insights Report. Read on to learn more.
High-Quality Instructional Materials: Content Matters Because "Skills are Boring"
A popular session was “Big Things Happen Here: Using High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) to Drive Achievement in Urban Schools.” Among the highlights were Charissa Govan and NaTonya Huff from Dallas ISD reaffirming that “content matters because skills are boring.” This simple, yet profound statement captures the heart of effective teaching—specifically that engaging, meaningful content is the right vessel to deliver skills mastery and standards mastery.
Embedding foundational skills into engaging content makes them more accessible, relevant, and exciting to learn. But don’t forget to lead with the standard(s) being taught so that the critical connection can be made as students are engaged with their learning.
Making the Connection
A key finding from The Education Insights Report shows ~90% of students are motivated to learn new things, while nearly half of teachers (46%) report student engagement has declined compared to 2019. This means the desire to learn is there, yet it’s not being realized. Researchers believe that by focusing on what makes their students curious, teachers will see greater student motivation and engagement. The report offers several ways to accomplish this.
Open All Lines of Communication to Align Goals
The Discovery team also attended the session, “How the Harvard Accelerating Board Capacity Summer Institute is Strengthening Urban School Board Members.” Presented by individuals from districts like Cleveland and Boston along with Harvard, this insightful conversation focused on how school board decisions do not always align to a district’s goals. This can lead to purchasing programs that don’t move the needle for student achievement. If school boards take an academically centered ROI approach to programs, with invaluable input of their educators, they can move the needle in the right direction.
Making the Connection
Another key insight from the report found that only 25% of teachers say the district provides support to make teaching engaging. Yet, 86% of superintendents say they do provide those necessary supports. This disconnect aligns with that between the district and the school board. Collaboration is key to solving these challenges, as leaders and educators agree, so let’s open the lines of communication with all stakeholders.
Focus on Targeted Professional Development
Equally enlightening was the “Jolly Ranchers: Developing Urban School Leaders Through Principal Pipelines” session. Presented by Jefferson County Public Schools and Philadelphia Schools, the discussion focused on leadership pathways and the critical importance of supporting stable and qualified teachers and principals.
Making the Connection
According to the report, teachers’ top four PD interests focus on student engagement, meeting individual student needs, new trends in education, and stress reduction. These also align with teachers’ top reported challenges. By focusing on these areas, school and district leads can ensure they are supporting a stable, qualified, and happy workforce.
Overall, the conference provided the Discovery Education team with rich insights to bolster urban education initiatives. Participation in thought-provoking sessions and exchanges with fellow educators reinforced our commitment to fostering transformative educational experiences. We left Dallas energized and equipped to continue driving excellence in urban education.
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