"Video games are a legitimate medium of expression. They recruit important digital literacy practices. Perhaps best of all, because they are an area of passionate interest for many young men, they are one place where you can see what they are truly capable of."
Reflection:
As educators, our focus should be on ways to engage all of our students. This becomes challenging when you are dealing with a mixed classroom of different interests and motivators. When we see that a particular group is uninterested in an assignment, we should try to modify that assignment to their interests instead of forcing them into a "box". Had Julio's assignments been focused toward his interest, perhaps his attitudes toward school would have been better and he would have had some success in his classes. With students having a wide variety of interests, how do we accommodate and reach every student?
I found this TED video about using video games to re-engage boys. I found it very interesting. Additionally, I read a few articles about gender specific education. I find the concept of separating classes by gender to be interesting. I plan to read more about this. I can only imagine the backlash that a plan like that would have in my area.
Source:
Steinkuehler, C. (2010). Video games and digital literacies. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 54(1), 61-63. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.fairmontstate.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/750429343?accountid=10797
Love the video. I actually used the same one week one. It reaally made me think twice before I "roll my eye" at the gamer boys. It made me adapt:).
ReplyDeleteYour first comment is absolutely true; we should do our best to engage our students. It is also true that with some many different personalities it is difficult to reach all our students. I wish it was easy to adapt assignments because I’d love to be able to engage my students in every assignment but it just doesn’t happen. I too found the video you posted very interesting. I don’t really know that much about separating classes by gender, I have not done any research. I can see how it could cause a major uproar.
ReplyDeleteI believe that academic needs to adapt to your ideas and those of your sources. Shakespeare and West Side Story are not what todays students want to read. They have some historical significance but are lacking in the vocabulary that students are using in other areas of study.
ReplyDeleteI find the idea of separating classes by gender appealing. The research is pretty strong that as kids reach puberty they tend perform better academically in single gender classrooms. It might be an old fashioned idea worth exploring.
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