Thursdays are long. We're all getting a pretty good sense of what it's going to be like to leave the house in the morning and get home at night without ever seeing the sun. Good times. Towards the end of last Thursday night, however, we were treated with a presentation by a Mr. Pete Pasque. There was one element of his presentation that really struck me and got me thinking about the future of education and where this idea of BADGES falls in line.
This photo was taken from a google images search of badges.
The idea behind badges intensely intrigues me; especially in a foreign language. I am imagining a certain badge for mastering the verb Aller, for example. I can also see awarding badges to a student who masters a certain tense or area of vocabulary. The possibilities, it seems, are endless with implementing badges to award student performance in a specific trade or concept. Soon after brainstorming all of these possibilities, it seemed that the badge was too 'undefinable' to be of any use. If anyone can create a badge, then why would it mean anything to a college or any institution that is trying to gauge academic performance, etc. It seems to me that the key to badges is in the process of listing the credentials that the badge is representative of.
While he was presenting, I began to think of how well badges would work in my placement. I have recently noticed a very competitive atmosphere between a number of students at the school. It seems that competition drives their motivation to perform and increase their skill. There's nothing wrong with a little friendly competition, right? Being someone who embraced this idea as a middle and high schooler, I was ready to jump on board as soon as Pete mentioned this idea. However, I wavered slightly because of something a friend told me reflecting back on a high school experience. This person did not enjoy the competition, the recognition, or to be given any accolades that would put (z)er on display. Strange for some of us to imagine, and maybe not so strange for others. I realize that striving for medals can inspire hard work and increase productivity, but I am not certain that it would have the same effect across the board with all students. I know it entices me, but I am not a reflection of the vast, diverse student population that is changing constantly and evolving each and every day. Nevertheless, I left Mr. Pasque's presentation curious about the idea of badges and if they really could replace the rigid standards that make up most of school's forms of assessments.
I still have all of the badges that I won while I was in girl...I mean boy scouts. My sash is so pretty....
ReplyDeleteI was also really intrigued with the idea of badges. For me, I was thrown back to the challenge that Rory put forth over the summer about creating a curriculum based off of video games. These badges could easily replace the idea of achievements on xbox live. As students reach certain levels, they are rewarded with a badge that they can choose to display on their wall, profile, or wherever they (being the badges) end up going. One of the questions that I still have, is do you make these badges public to the rest of the class? What happens when one student only has 5 badges at the end of the semester? I think creating a rewards based system can be a very tricky thing with students who are already prone to being self conscious. What do you think? As per usual, great post.
(Broda Not Yoda signed out.)
Monsieur Weelsohn!
ReplyDeleteI think you bring up some important points in the discussion for whether badges are worth a dime. For their meaning to be transferable as employer- and college-recognized evidence of learning, there would indeed have to be some standardization of what such badges symbolize.
I think that badges might have value, though, even at the classroom level. Normally, when students complete a unit or a particularly arduous assignment, the teacher grades it, they get it back with a number or letter at the top, and that's that. In the shuffle of time and five or six other classes, that unit is forgotten. There's no finality to it, no ritual, no recognition of completion or achievement. This is one place where the badge might come in handy. Did you earn a B or better on your analytical essay? Whatup, Analytical Essay Badge. Got an A average for your mini-unit on irregular verbs? Say hello to the Weirdo Conjugation Badge. Etc.
We could take classroom-level use of badges a step further by introducing a more benevolent extrinsic motivator: earning a sufficient number of badges (make this easy) will qualify folks to compete in the FRENCH LEAGUE GAMES (think: Pokemon league!) at the end of the term. Make these fun, ungraded games played by individual students and teams of students. Have different events. Have a ball with it. Gotta catch'em all, man. Don't front if you don't gotch'yer Boulder Badge.
au revoir,
Monsieur Lemoine