Don't get me wrong, students have fun in school, but this probably happens most often in their extracurricular activities. Sure, there are many classrooms in which engaging activities take place led by dynamic, caring teachers. I'm sure students enjoy these classes and take away a lot of valuable information and learning from these experiences. However, the system used most often doesn't support the idea of fun. Maybe academicians equate "fun" with "frivolous" and that doesn't fit their views of the seriousness and importance of learning.
However, most humans are naturally curious and want to learn new things. They enjoy the experience and the knowledge and skills they gain. However, humans also learn when they feel the need and are motivated to do so. This doesn't work for schools. We have limited time and a lot of information to plow through, so the topics are chosen and the time to learn them are regulated. We've chosen this system as a matter or practicality and measurability; the efficacy of this approach is secondary and this is both unfortunate and unnecessary. Learning is often the casualty of an educational system structured for assembly-line production.
In 2010, a young man named Seth Priebatsch presented at one of the TED Talks gatherings. His talk was titled, The Game Layer on Top of the World and is available as a video at this link:
In his talk, Priebatsch describes how he hopes more of the world can capitalize on the intrinsic motivation of humans. He points out several activities which many humans do regularly mainly because they enjoy the experience and receive something they value—even if what they gain can easily be dismissed as not having "real" value.
He addresses schools directly and I love the quote of, "School...is a game; it's just not a terribly well-designed game." He asks why grading systems can't be configured to GAIN points and status instead of losing them. In most schools, students' grades can easily fluctuate and most of us have experienced dropping from a good grade (an A for example) to a lower grade. This is discouraging and demotivating. Priebatsch suggests we simply change the recording system so students "level up" when they gain experience and do work. It's on them to make this happen and when they can produce evidence of their learning, they get to advance.
People may ask how this is different from what we do today. It's different largely in perception, but perception can have a HUGE impact on motivation. The game layer system asks students to work and produce and when they do they will be rewarded (level up, advance, get a cool new avatar, etc.) and if they don't then they simply remain where they are. In the traditional system we ask students to work and produce and when they do they remain where they are ("Everyone starts with an A!") and when they don't they are penalized, demoted and feel they're going backward. Some people probably think this is just doing the same thing but using different words. Exactly! It's changing the way we view things, but the substance remains the same. It doesn't require overhauling the system, it simply requires repackaging. Motivational speaker and author, Wayne Dyer, has said, “Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.” Perception is our reality and is often more important than "truth".
Several of our teachers recently visited a school in California and were impressed by a tool they saw being used for assessment and grading. It's called ActiveGrade and uses a system similar to what Priebatsch is suggesting. Here's a link to what seems to be a very inexpensive, but very cool product:
The goal in ActiveGrade is for students to gain competence or mastery in a subject area. The school (or teacher) defines what counts as mastery (content and skills standards) and teachers define what assignments and activities can be used to demonstrate understanding and mastery of these standards. As students complete these tasks and activities they "level up" until they reach (or exceed) what is required for credit.
On their Website, the folks at ActiveGrade state,
This summer will be the time for us to explore how we make this part of our educational program. School should be fun. Learning is. Most of us naturally want to learn, and schools, for some strange reason, and have not capitalized on this as one of their best motivational advantages. It's time to change that. It's time to reclaim the fun of learning and again make education irresistible.
On their Website, the folks at ActiveGrade state,
"If the purpose of school is learning, simply telling a student they earned a 'C' at the end of the semester is hardly an accurate reflection of what a student has learned. ActiveGrade uses grades as feedback to reflect a students progress in the key skills and concepts required in a class."ActiveGrade is probably not as "fun" as Priebatsch might desire, but the concept is solid and it could easily be used as one of the tools employed to measure growth in whatever "fun" system a teacher or team of teachers is willing to create. I love what I've seen of ActiveGrade and the team of teachers I work with is going to use it next year.
This summer will be the time for us to explore how we make this part of our educational program. School should be fun. Learning is. Most of us naturally want to learn, and schools, for some strange reason, and have not capitalized on this as one of their best motivational advantages. It's time to change that. It's time to reclaim the fun of learning and again make education irresistible.
