Select Strategies: As mentioned in the analyze learner phase, my student population has different learning styles. To accommodate for this, I have chosen to incorporate a range of models, rather than just one specific model. To begin the lesson, I will start with whole group instruction. During this time, I will review with students what we have been learning and give a brief overview of what we will be doing in the lesson. Then, I will give a brief PowerPoint presentation that discusses the essential terms and concepts needed for the lesson, such as multiplication, repeated addition, equal grouping, factors, and products. This is an example of direct instruction and would help my concrete sequential learners. Once students have a general understanding, they will be broken into small groups. In the small groups, students will work on two mathematical problems where they have to use the repeated addition and equal grouping strategies to solve the two single-digit multiplication problems (i.e.: collaborative learning). The class will come back together whole group and share their responses and their thinking. Then, I will explain the educational game that will be used in the lesson: Prodigy. I will quickly review with students the purpose of the game, how the game is played, and where to find their login information. I will then allow students an allotted time for gameplay. This model is known as independent learning, and would appeal to my concrete random learners. While playing the game, students will have a worksheet entitled “Challenges I Faced,” and whenever they come across a mathematical problem that they find challenging, they will record it on their sheet. It is important to note that I have assigned a twenty-five-question assignment on Prodigy that is aligned with the chosen standard and objectives. The questions require students to use the equal grouping and repeated addition strategies to form a multiplication equation. Once the allotted game time is complete, students will come back together whole group and will share their challenging problems. I will then lead the students in a discussion about different strategies employed to solve similar problems and a Game Debrief.
Select Resources: For the teacher, the lesson requires the use of a projector to present the brief PowerPoint presentation. For the students, the lesson requires the use of a desktop computer (or any computer) with access to the internet to locate Prodigy’s website. The web-based version of Prodigy is supported by Windows Browsers (Chrome, Firefox, & Microsoft Edge), Mac Browsers (Safari, Chrome, Firefox,) and Chrome OS Browsers. The following guidelines helped me assess the appropriateness of my technology and media selections.
Alignment with standards, outcomes, and objectives. The interactive technology enables the teacher to align the questions asked and the content provided during gameplay to the chosen standard, outcomes, and objectives addressed in the lesson.
Accurate and current information. The content presented through the interactive technology during gameplay on the web-based educational app is accurate and current.
Age-appropriate language. The language used in the interactive technology is clear and concise. The language is developmentally appropriate for my third-grade students and fits their Lexile range.
Interest level and engagement. The interactive technology is a form of content gamification. The game provides adventure through quests for students to complete, and excitement during the mathematical battles. The interactive technology also enables students to communicate and play with each other, create their own avatar, and level up, which heightens engagement and interest levels.
Learner participation. The interactive technology requires each learner to participate and interact with the game’s interface and selected mathematical content in order to move through the game or level-up.
Technical quality. The technical quality of the web-based educational game is compatible with the desktop computers students will use during the lesson.
Evidence of its effectiveness. Two reports have been created to support the web-based game’s effectiveness in the classroom and on student learning. These articles provide great justification for the inclusion of the web-based educational game in the classroom. The reports are entitled:
“Can Game-Based Learning Increase Standardized Test Scores: A statistical Analysis of Prodigy in Kawartha Pine Ridge DSB”
Ease of use. The interactive technology requires no additional downloads or software updates. Teachers have to make an account and a digital classroom. Students have to create accounts as well with usernames and passwords. The game requires initial training to become accustomed with navigational features and different interfaces to easily and effectively use them.
Bias free. The interactive technology is free from bias and advertisements during gameplay. No pop-ups occur.
User guide and directions. The online help feature in the game is a guide named Noot. There is also a tutorial portion of the game that students must complete when logging in for the first time. There is a hint button available that can be accessed by selecting the lightbulb on the left side of the screen when answering questions. There is also the option to use virtual manipulatives or have questions read-aloud during battles.
Rationale for Game with Evidence: The web-based educational game that I have decided to use is called Prodigy. Prodigy is a free online mathematical game that transports players into a fictional realm. Students create avatars to navigate the new world and battle with other players. To win battles, students must correctly answer mathematical questions. The teacher’s interface enables them to select a certain standard that questions will be based on. To level-up and earn more rewards, artifacts, and power, students must win battles and successfully complete different quests. The game tailors the complexity levels of questions students receive based on their prior performance; in other words, the game differentiates the content for the teacher. Teachers can also monitor students’ progress on their account and see each student’s strengths and weaknesses. Parental figures can also monitor their learner’s progress by creating their own account and linking it to the students
I chose this game because of the engagement it brings to math, which is a subject that many students now find boring. Zichermann would suggest that the game employs his three “F’s” model of feedback, friends, and fun. Karl Kapp would support this and define the game as content gamification because it enables the students to be transported to a new world. The students then are motivated to engage in problem-solving and become active learners. Lee and Hammer would support the use of this game because in the new fantasy context students can “try on new identities and roles” to explore new sides of themselves (Hammer & Lee, 2011, p.4). This causes students to become enraptured in the tasks they are assigned to do and achieve the immediate, short-term, and long-terms goals housed within the game. Csikszentmihalyi would argue that Prodigy has a sense of flow theory because it provides the players with a “sense of discovery, a creative feeling of transporting” them into a new reality and it pushes them “to higher levels of performance that leads to previously undreamed-of states of consciousness” (Csikszentmihalyi, p.74). Additionally, the game meets all four of Ellis’ main game dynamics. Overall, I believe most, if not all, of the authors and researchers introduced to us in this course would support the use of Prodigy in the classroom.
Select Materials: This lesson includes a brief teacher-produced PowerPoint presentation to review essential terms and concepts with students prior to gameplay. A guided notes sheet for student use accompanies the presentation. The lesson also includes a guided practice sheet with two mathematical problems that students are to complete with a small group. Additionally, there is a teacher-produced sheet entitled “Challenges I Faced” that the learners complete during gameplay. Lastly, an exit slip and observational checklist were produced to assess if students achieved the objective. I was unable to use any already available materials or modify existing materials because each item was unique to the lesson and tailored to the specific needs, prior knowledge, and learning styles of my students.
Zichermann, G. (2014, February 25). The future of creativity and innovation is gamification: Gabe Zichermann at TEDxVilnius. Retrieved September 27, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZvRw71Slew&t=6s