"One concern I have for future game play is the lack of participation by all students. The gameplay was conducted as a whole class activity utilizing one computer, a data projector and an interactive whiteboard. Five students who remained actively engaged throughout the semester tended to dominate gameplay. Although the remaining students were engaged, they remained more passive and rarely offered suggestions to the student game controller. These students may have been more involved if I had three groups of four students playing the game at different computers."
Reflection:
While reading "Civilization III and Whole Class Play in High School Social Studies Class", I wondered about student engagement during this activity. In my experience, I have found that there are usually a few students who take command in a project. I would be interested in who the project went with several smaller groups of students playing. Would there have been a completion to build the biggest and best civilization? I think it is important to make sure that all students have the opportunity to participate in the game. I like the idea of using a game like Civilization to reinforce learning in a Social Studies class.
Each week as I read the articles, I think "OH! This would be cool to do with an
I found this Prezi presentation about Civilization III being used in the classroom.
I was concerned about the full class participation as well. I usually only have 5 students at a time, but even then, I see some students that are less inclined to take action, or are ostracized from the rest of the class for varying reasons. I love the idea of using a computer application class to supplement core subjects - and I think teachers in those subjects would like that idea too. A virtual tour of the Globe Theater is a great idea.
ReplyDeleteYour reflection did a good job explaining what I was wondering while reading the article. I currently implementing cooperative learning with the class I am student teaching with. They are separated in “peer groups” (consisting of no more than 4 students) and I have noticed the quiet students starting to talk a little more. I’m sure the same would be true in smaller groups playing the games. There will still be some students who dominate but it is easier to monitor in smaller groups.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your quote and assessment that students would need to be grouped up well to ensure that a few engaged students do not dominate controls of a game. Your Prezi link was a good overview of the game and its use in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI think that having the smaller groups would have made the project and research better. All students would have to be engaged and hard-working to accomplish the group's goal. No student would be able to be passive/submissive to other group members, but would be actively involved in the decision-making.
ReplyDeleteAnita! You have such good ideas for tech integration! I hope you can find a way to collaborate with content area teachers to pull it off!
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