Well, it's official. The first trimester of the academic year is over, and I'm going to count my foray into Minecraft: Education Edition as a success. It's remarkable to me how much work it was to design a fully gamified classroom experience. Not that the work didn't pay off - it absolutely did! Perhaps the greatest indicator of success is the fact that my students covered even more content than usual for this time of year, and achieved more in terms of their Social Studies grades. I believe in maintaining consistently high expectations for my students, for my kids in Honors and for my students in grade level or strategic classes. So imagine my surprise when I realized that most of my students earned A's for the trimester - seriously. Eight of my seventy-five students received anything less than an A, and all students passed the course.
Every. Single. One.
Was this massive boost in achievement due to my transition to quest-based learning in Social Studies? Was it due to the motivation they experienced in response to the gamified elements of the 3D Game Lab MLS I switched to for content delivery, or the epic meaning of the narrative adventure I wrote? Or, was it the introduction of Minecraft: Education Edition that made them so excited to come to class each day?
I don't know.
But, I am awfully happy to see my students so happy. At some point in public education, the system tends to kill the joy of learning. At a time when sixth graders generally start settling into the middle school shuffle, deciding to be a little too cool and to hide their smarts, my kiddos are still joyfully bounding into the room in the morning, twenty or thirty minutes before the bell, just so they can finish their Minecraft build, or knock out one more quest. I think that says a lot about student morale, and I can't tell you how much my heart has responded to their positive attitudes.
By far, the most labor intensive task I had this trimester was the intentional planning and structuring of Minecraft quests. Because I believe in the power of sharing, and because there might be another 6th or 7th grade Social Studies teacher out there wanting to dive in, but afraid of the waters... here is my entire Trimester 1 Unit Plan for Ancient Civilizations. If you use it, let me know. Maybe we can compare notes and strengthen any weaknesses. I'd love to collaborate!
Every. Single. One.
Was this massive boost in achievement due to my transition to quest-based learning in Social Studies? Was it due to the motivation they experienced in response to the gamified elements of the 3D Game Lab MLS I switched to for content delivery, or the epic meaning of the narrative adventure I wrote? Or, was it the introduction of Minecraft: Education Edition that made them so excited to come to class each day?
I don't know.
But, I am awfully happy to see my students so happy. At some point in public education, the system tends to kill the joy of learning. At a time when sixth graders generally start settling into the middle school shuffle, deciding to be a little too cool and to hide their smarts, my kiddos are still joyfully bounding into the room in the morning, twenty or thirty minutes before the bell, just so they can finish their Minecraft build, or knock out one more quest. I think that says a lot about student morale, and I can't tell you how much my heart has responded to their positive attitudes.
By far, the most labor intensive task I had this trimester was the intentional planning and structuring of Minecraft quests. Because I believe in the power of sharing, and because there might be another 6th or 7th grade Social Studies teacher out there wanting to dive in, but afraid of the waters... here is my entire Trimester 1 Unit Plan for Ancient Civilizations. If you use it, let me know. Maybe we can compare notes and strengthen any weaknesses. I'd love to collaborate!
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