Reflecting on our teaching practice is essential to further our pedagogies and to also ensure that we are continually trying to improve. Findlay, (2008) states that "this often involves examining assumptions of everyday practice." (p.1)
For this reflection entry, I have decided to use Rolfe's Model of Reflection (Otago Polytechnic n.d., 2001).
These three questions may seem simplistic, however they invite you to really reflect more in depth than I first thought.
Step 1: (What - Description): Describe something that has happened during your Inquiry so far.
My inquiry is to what extent does gamification increase motivation, engagement and student achievement within a classroom setting.
I decided on using the Classcraft online platform. This platform has a game element to it which involves children working together to gain powers, points and quests. I decided to establish groups that were a mix of abilities, gender and not necessarily 'friendships'. I wanted to see if Classcraft would build new relationships and get children to collaborate more. Once the groups had been set up, children had to decide on which members should take on particular powers and which members would be in charge of the group.
Straight away I came to the realisation that this platform was going to be very exciting and a popular platform. Children were excited to choose their avatars and who should have the particular powers. Positive collaboration was instant! All children were involved and once the groups were up and running, points were highly sought after for on task behaviours, completion of work and collaborating positively with each other. An interesting observation was when I had to take away some health (points) off a person, other members in the group quickly said they would give their character some health so that they wouldn't die.
One challenge I faced was that I needed to always be on this platform to give students points or to decrease their health. This challenge has been both time consuming, but also exciting to watch how students deal with these situations.
Step 2: (So what - Theory and Knowledge): Analyse its impacts on taking actions in relation to supporting literature.
Within the first few weeks I noticed a definite shift in their motivation and engagement to complete tasks/quests and the positive relationships that had now become established. Whanaungatanga definitely improved through this game. (Asil, 2017). This tells me that having this platform has definitely made a difference in the classroom with children getting along with each other and collaborating together to complete a task.
As we got more involved with the platform, children were more engaged and asking to do more 'quests'. This word had replaced 'tasks'. Children became more excited and motivated to complete class tasks in order for their groups to level up and gain more points. This impact was heart warming for my target students who often struggled to complete work. I observed the rest of their group now wanting to help them (Tuakana teina) (Asil, 2017), making them more engaged and motivated.
One challenge was due to its popularity, students wanted me to purchase and upgrade the platform to release more features. This was part of my action plan (Integrating Kaupapa Maori Principles) of Kia piki aki i nga raruraru o te kainga where I would provide equal access and opportunities. I was unable to upgrade due to the personal cost of me providing the funding. This made some students disappointed that they couldn't gain extra features and therefore they lost some engagement in the programme.
Student agency also increased in the classroom (Edtalks, 2012). Children took more of a collaborative role in completing the quests with more problem solving, operating and using the strengths of their group.
Step 3: (Now what - Action): How can it contribute to your future practice?
With Classcraft now embedded into my daily teaching practice, I need to continually add in quests for the children to complete. This is becoming a little challenging as the time factor on top of planning is becoming restrained. To continue its positive effect on my students I will probably need to upgrade to unlock further benefits of the programme. I can not see this as a problem for 2020 as I have met with my Team Leader and he has said it could come out of the classroom budget.
I will need to ensure that all children have access to a school device if they haven't purchased their own as this will mean all students have access when ever they desire. It has been a challenge to have all students with their own devices this term.
I have certainly noticed that motivation and engagement has increased in the classroom, which has been wonderful to observe.
For myself, I still need to further my learning with 'gaming' and gamification. Being a 'non-gamer' has meant I have had to get my head around the 'gaming' language, how online gaming works and how children work together online to complete various quests. I need to continue to develop exciting quests for children and work towards having a classroom environment whereby all students look forward to using gamification to enhance their learning.
References:
Asil, M. (2017). A School-Based Measure of Culturally Responsive Practices. Frontiers in Education 2(17), 1-7. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2017.00017
Edtalks.(2012, September 23). A culturally responsive pedagogy of relations. [video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49992994
Finlay, Lynda Jan 10, 2008 - Reflecting on 'Reflective practice. PBPL paper 52.
Otago Polytechnic. (n.d.). Reflective Writing. Retrieved from https://www.op.ac.nz/assets/LearningAdvice/Reflective-writing.pdf
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