V IDEO G AMES AND E DUCATION What Homework’s Biggest Enemy Has to Teach Us About Teaching George and Dylan Woodbury

G RADING S YSTEM

G RADING S YSTEM ( OLD WAY ) Start at perfect score; take away Motivates by punishment/fear

G RADING S YSTEM ( GAMING IDEAL ) Start at zero, reward from there Motivating by reward/accomplishment Players want to grow and get better

G RADING S YSTEM ( GAMING IDEAL ) Points important – make performance in game better Player is not reminded of missed points

G RADING S YSTEM ( NEW WAY ) Start grades at zero, award points for homework, tests, etc. Points important in class – knock points off final Students indirectly motivated to do homework, study, and LEARN

M ETHOD OF L EARNING

M ETHOD OF L EARNING ( OLD WAY ) Use of lecture and reading to teach Students are taught to solve problems before trying If fail to master material… must move on

M ETHOD OF L EARNING ( GAMING IDEAL ) Players use scientific method to tackle problems Form strategy/predict solution based on prior knowledge Try solving problem FAIL, repeat until success

M ETHOD OF L EARNING ( GAMING IDEAL ) Failure is essential to learning; not punishing failure allows students to freely try things Game waits for mastery before progression

M ETHOD OF L EARNING ( NEW WAY ) Online homework does not punish failure Quizzes can be retaken Tests can be retaken for some points if failed

E NCOURAGING P OSITIVE B EHAVIOR

E NCOURAGING P OSITIVE B EHAVIOR ( OLD WAY ) Not really a worry Curves and planned extra credit Actually DEMOTIVATE students to try their best

E NCOURAGING P OSITIVE B EHAVIOR ( GAMING IDEAL ) Unique ways of solving problems are rewarded with bonuses Exploration is rewarded with secret worlds and items Doing well (epic wins) rewarded with bonuses and powerups

E NCOURAGING P OSITIVE B EHAVIOR ( NEW WAY ) Give rewards to promote good behaviors Rewards turned in for benefits Need balance of expected and unexpected rewards

M Y G RADING S YSTEM I wanted to create a grading system that was not just a translation of the standard grading scale.

T EST G RADES Tests are graded pass (70% or above) or fail. Pass = 1 Point, Fail = 0 Points Homework and quizzes do not directly count towards a student’s grade, but instead can be used to “level up”.

L EVELING U P Students who have satisfactory online homework scores (90% on each assignment) and online quiz scores (70% on each quiz) level up and have a chance to earn bonuses.

B ONUS E ARNED 70-79% on test: 2 points (instead of 1) % on test: 3 points (instead of 1)

I give my students a gold coin if they earn 3 points on a test.

M ASTERY L EARNING Leveled up, but failed test: Students can retest the following week for 1 point

P OINTS A VAILABLE 25 points available before final 6 tests (up to 3 points each) 1 test is doubled 4 points for final review quiz/homework assignment 100 points from final exam

G RADES A: 100 points B: 88 points C: 76 points

R ESULTS Only 1 drop from 47 students (98% retention) 3 students did not take the final A: 15 B: 8 C: 5 D: 4 F: 14 33% A’s, 61% Success

C OMMON F INAL R ESULTS 43 of my students took a common final exam, along with 101 students from different classes/instructors.

C OMMON F INAL R ESULTS 65% scored 60 or higher (control: 37%) 35% scored 80 or higher (control 7%) Mean: 12.5 higher Median: 14 higher (Median was greater than Q3 for control)

S EMESTER 2 Intermediate Algebra Mean score increased by 6.4 points Median score increased by 11 points Elementary Algebra Mean: 77.2 Median: 81.5 Q1: 75

C HANGES O N T HE W AY I am increasing the required points for A, B, & C by 4 points.

C HANGES O N T HE W AY I am adding a second point category to accommodate +/- grades.

T HIS S EMESTER – T HROUGH 4 E XAMS Typical Exam: 24 leveled up, 15 did not Leveled Up: 87/96 passed the chapter exam (91%) Did Not Level Up: 37/59 passed the chapter exam (62%) Retest: 5/9 passed the retest

P OTENTIAL P ROBLEMS A student could over rely on the online learning aids or have assistance from a tutor/classmate to level up.

P OTENTIAL P ROBLEMS This grading system is so different from what students are used to that I have to constantly remind my students at the beginning of the semester.

W HY D OES T HIS W ORK ? “Your students are working hard because they have no idea how they are graded.”

W HY D OES T HIS W ORK ? Students are doing their homework the right way, for the right reason.

C ONTACT I NFORMATION Web Site: georgewoodbury.com Blog: georgewoodbury.blogspot.com