Day 24: Learning Trends @teachthought #reflectiveteaching #reflectiveteacher

Day 24

Which learning trend captures your attention the most, and why? (Mobile learning, project-based learning, game-based learning, etc.)

The trend that I really want to get into is Badges. I haven’t done it yet, but I have had a plan to turn my classroom into a game-based environment where students earn “levels” since I started teaching.

I was an avid RPG gamer long before computer games tapped into the idea of “leveling up.” I envisioned a classroom where students would be allowed to progress indefinitely at their own pace… moving up “levels” and earning badges along the way.

I think this would be a terrific way to run a classroom, especially with self-motivated students. Why read one story together in an English classroom if I have a student who can and wants to read ten stories? Why read one novel when a student might want to read several?

I remember this SRA series we had in elementary school ($300 wow!). I would avidly take my free time to move up levels. It was awesome because it was self-paced learning and I felt rewarded each time I read and understood a new story. Maybe I was a “different” kind of kid, but that learning really tripped my trigger.

I started out the year writing up skill sets that I expected my Oral Communication students to master. I just don’t know how to test and badge them. My goal is to try to get my Creative Writing and Oral Communication classes up and running with a badge system next year. I am not sure if I can do this with my core class because I teach on a team… I also don’t know what Humanities badges would look like.