Taking risks in Education
Taking risks in order to achieve success sounds so idealistic and distant at times. It is something on a poster in our rooms that we glance at, but rarely practice in our lives. I don't want to make too many assumptions about the general population, but I don't think it's too far of a stretch to say that most of our daily lives consist of following routines and schedules. Obviously some of us take more risks than others, but what I want to discuss is the potential risks in education. In many ways, education has morphed into that stagnant cycle that produces drones instead of innovators. A risk in education would involve taking a chance to break the standard mold in an effort to produce engagement, creativity, and motivation through an idea that goes against the norm. Our Ed Tech class has got me thinking about the potential rewards that could result from such a daring move. These are some questions I have floating around as I imagine what it would feel like to have an innovative idea that you wanted to test for the first time:
Is there a reason that this has never been tried before?
Is it sustainable over a long period of time?
Would kids lose the focus of what I intended to teach by the nature of my "experiment"?
What if I try it out and see it is not working at an early stage? Do I scrap the idea and start from scratch or do I try to push through and finish the year?
Among others...
The idea of making teaching like a video game is an interesting and intriguing concept, in my opinion. Because a gross number of adolescents seem to gravitate towards the virtual world of video games, it seems logical to integrate that into the classroom. However, many of these games involve violence, gore, and inappropriate behavior, which we obviously do not want to condone or encourage. But what if we cut out a few positive components of video games on a broad scale and used that to drive the motivation of the students? For example, if you created a scenario where all the students created a gamer profile that accrues points (hw, quizzes, etc.), it might give them a real sense of ownership over their work and push them to put effort into their work in fear of missing out on points if they don't. The obvious drawback to this idea is that for people who could care less about games and points, they would probably tune out and fall behind. On the other hand, if you gave incentives to tag along with this idea, it may bring the entire class motivation up a notch. The idea of leveling up, which is common in many games, can be implemented in a variety of ways in the classroom. Bonus rounds and multipliers can be integrated into special activities and group work. The biggest idea behind this concept is to get the students to learn while having fun. Clearly learning is not going to be a blast all the time, but using gaming in the classroom might just be enough to make a difference. That's what we're all trying to accomplish, right?
Going for a par 5 in two is often associated with many risks. There are lakes, trees, bunkers, and obstacles that strike fear into the hearts of the conservative folks who aren't willing to let themselves fail every once and a while. In schools, these obstacles represent the structured curriculum and standardized tests that are expected to be followed. Taking the safe route may not get you in trouble, but I feel that it diminishes the opportunity for something much more satisfying and rewarding. Take out the 3 wood and give it a whack.
If I take out a 3 wood on a par 5, I'm more likely to end up on the next fairway or in the pond 100 yards to the right, but I go for it anyway (at the risk of every other golfer on the course). I think we had some similar ideas for how a classroom might be able to be like a video game. In my mind, I never really thought about it as taking a "risk" until reading your blog and thinking about some of the things that Rory shared on mine. Why is it that innovation is so widely appreciated in our culture yet so rarely encouraged in our classrooms? Our classrooms are, almost exclusively, the driving range for our society. If we don't practice and encourage risk-taking in our classrooms how can we expect people to do so when they reach the "real world"? Maybe it's because we are worried about the embarrassment that might come from landing in the next fairway and having to stop other people's play down that hole to go hit our ball. Let me tell you though, as someone who has had to do that exact thing more times than I care to admit, it's not as bad as one might think.
ReplyDeleteTaking risks in education is a great way to frame the idea of innovative instruction in the classroom. The questions that you pose provide ways to address the possible pitfalls of experimenting new ideas. If we want to try new approaches in the classroom, it will require some experimentation and going against the norm which is not easy to do, as you pointed out. Right now, I can say that I’m all for trying new ideas in the classroom to expand effective practices, but when I’m actually a teacher, I can imagine how that’s easier said than done. I’d feel nervous experimenting new methods with students because you are ultimately responsible for their learning. If my new method proves to be ineffective, then I will have robbed students of the quality education they deserve. How can we experiment without endangering our students' learning? I'm still wondering that too! Thanks for a thought-provoking post!
ReplyDeleteIt seems like many people are answering Rory's challenge by realizing that adopting parts of video game structures would be best.
ReplyDeleteYou give a great example of identifying a component from video games and stating the reason why:
"For example, if you created a scenario where all the students created a gamer profile that accrues points (hw, quizzes, etc.), it might give them a real sense of ownership over their work and push them to put effort into their work in fear of missing out on points if they don't"
Giving kids ownership over their work is probably like hitting the motherlode in gold (sorry for the clunky idiom, but hopefully you get my meaning). I think game points are a more concrete way for kids to understand the value of their work, so I would definitely consider using your idea in my classroom! I would just be cautious to minimize unhealthy competition or too much extrinsic motivation.