TEACHERS` PRACTICES OF USING GAMES IN SCHOOLS: A

PATTERNS APPROACHTriinu JesminResearch Seminar20.04.2016

“SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS: USE OF GAMES REMAINS A DIY AFFAIR” A JOAN COONEY CENTER RESEARCH REPORT

A research done in March 2016 with 1099 teachers and out-of-school program officials

MOST IMPORTANT OUTCOME OF THE SURVEY “A new survey of teachers and after-school program instructors finds that most come to use digital games through their own initiative or because of a colleague who connects them to the game. The findings highlight the degree to which educators still lack training and resources for finding and using games in the classroom.”

“The degree to which use of digital tools remains a bottom-up affair. According to the respondents, more than a third of educators figured out how to incorporate games on their own, without formal training or support. The next most significant sources of inspiration were either the kids themselves or fellow teachers.”

“It speaks to the lack of a common source for those seeking best practices in using digital tools.”

“One of the common concerns of developers and teachers alike is how those who may want to use these games may find them or find information about them.”

So that`s where I come in!

WE KNOW THAT GAMES ARE GOOD FOR LEARNING

• We need to help teachers implement gamesin their classrooms. • We know that informal learning is importantfor teachers development.• We need to capture the best practices.• We need to enable teachers to create their ownexperiences, comment on others and share generalizable best practice instances.

PATTERNS ARE USED TO CAPTURE EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE Patterns are proven solutions to a reoccurring problem. They hold a powerful promise for recording, calibrating and collaboratively refining expert knowledge.

I used Critical Incident Technique to capture the best practices of teachers game use. CIT is an appropriate qualitative tool for examining events that are considered to be examples of success or failure.

15 interviews with Estonian active teachers were made. No limitation to students age or game type.

12 patterns were extracted through iterative qualitative analysis. The patterns were given a name, problem description, solution and example(s).

The patterns were validated twice: first with the initial sample and then with all Estonian teacher community through an online forum.

The feedback was positive – although no new patterns were added! Why?

TEACHERS GAME USE PATTERNS (FULL PATTERNS CAN BE FOUND HTTPS://GOO.GL/WLJW4W)Pattern ExampleRoleplaying in literature To make literature more interesting and help students memorize the

facts, it is very effective to use role playing in literature classAlternative activity Online Jeopardy like gamesEducational games portals

Learningapps.com

Programming Kodugamelab.comPracticing/drilling MathFights.com; 10Monkeys.com; Internetforclassrooms.comComputer made decisions

Tritpicloplus.com

Gamifying with Quiz QuizzesWhole class interactive activities

Kahoot.it

Combining activities with moving

Combining mathematics and relay race you enable the students to move while learning and drilling their memory

Sense of unity Morning circle – students gather in the morning to look each other in the eye

Lifelike situations Role playing dialogues in Language classesBoard games in class Apples to Apples

WHAT`S NEXT? My aim is to provide an online community for teachers to foster their game use practices by formulizing individual experience into a well adaptable social knowledge.

Online learning communities enable sharing of experiences and knowledge building with a clear focus on practice and collaboration. Informal online communities and networks offer teachers the possibility of voluntary engaging in shared learning, reflecting about teaching practice and receiving emotional and social support.

Basically, it takes individual unique and well refined experiences, formulates them into patterns and publishes them to the larger audience who will try to copy them or revise the patterns (adapt to their own context).

This will end up in refined patterns and helps other teachers to incorporate games in their studies more easily.

What I need to do next is to figure out and map the requirements for a platform that enables coevolution of cognitive (individual) and social (workplace/informal) systems.

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME Any supportive

questions?