Promoting student motivation and engagement in the curriculum

 “My goal for the next decade is to try to make it as easy to save the world in real life as it is to save the world in online games.” (Jane McGonigal author of the book Reality is Broken)  “As I confronted the game I was amazed. It was hard, long, and complex. I failed many times and had to engage in a virtual research project via the Internet to learn some of the things I needed to know.” (James Paul Gee “Good Video Game and Good Learning”)

1 Urgent Optimism (Extreme Self Motivation combined with a reasonable expectation of success) 2 Social Fabric (“it takes a lot of trust to play a game with someone”) 3 Blissful Productivity (happier working hard when playing a game then when we are laying around) 4 Epic Meaning (2 nd biggest Wiki in the world is the World of WarCraft wiki)

 SUPER EMPOWERED HOPEFUL INDIVIDUALS!  “People who believe they are individually capable of changing the world!”

 “The problem is they only believe they are capable of solving problems in the VIRTUAL world.”  “We have to start making the real world more like a game”  “So what happens next?”  Our goal is to grab the ball in an attempt to move it forward

 Jon Cassie EdD in Educational Leadership from UCLA  MA History from Ohio State University  BA/BA in History and Classics from UMass Amherst  Teaches at Milken Community High School in Los Angeles, CA (been teaching since 97)  $30,000 per year tuition based Jewish private school just outside of Beverly Hills (Approximately 95-99% Jewish students)

 Mike Irwin  BA from MSU: IDS: Social Science with minors in History and Psychology  1 st year teacher at Henry Ford Academy: School for Creative Studies  A public charter school in downtown Detroit  Approximately 70-80% Free and Reduced Lunch  99.2% African American, approximately 50/50 gender split

 Students are given a list of categories or trunks, each trunk contains a certain number of levels that must be completed (knowing vs. doing)  Last level for each trunk is the Boss Battle!  Students are NOT required to complete all trunks and therefore have some CHOICE in the curriculum that they are studying.  Therefore all content standards must be covered by all levels that students MUST complete  Questions?

 A way for students to keep their materials from the game in an organized way  Also represents its own teaching strategy or reminder to make sure that students are not just RECEIVING the information but that they are also INTERACTING with the information.  A great tool for continuous assessment of a student’s understanding of the material

 Within your small group discuss the game board and rules in front of you.  3 questions:  Likes?  Dislikes?  Questions or Clarifications?

1 Game was way too big! (Now 4x4 instead of 6x5) 2 Combined the “knowing” and the “doing” trunks (separate in real life?) 3 Management (check in every assignment vs. notebook checks) 4 Less structured (no more guided notes)

1 Observation (much more freedom to do so with this teaching structure) 2 Interactive Student Notebooks (ISNs) 3 Assignment(s) check ins 4 Testing at the end 5 Effort Rubric and Reflection Rubric

 In each of your groups you are going to be assigned a segment of the Michigan Social Studies Curriculum  Your group will be responsible for creating an entire category worth of activities (3 regular levels and a boss battle)  Try to incorporate tactics of the Interactive Student Notebooks (Right side receiving material, left side doing something with it)

 Extremely Low Res  Use your imagination (ideal situation)  Make it meaningful to you (subject matter)  About minutes  Be ready to present the general ideas you have for your category to the large group

 Questions?  Constructive Criticism?

 TED:  Jon Cassie’s blog:  My blog:  Interactive Student Notebook websites  Doug Sander’s: ml ml  Wikispace: notebooks.wikispaces.com/ notebooks.wikispaces.com/