As I started this week, I knew very little about Minecraft, that knowledge hasn’t increased much, but I have learned a few basic skills for survival for at least a couple minutes. I have always known about Minecraft and that students enjoyed it, but until this week when I mentioned it, I never knew as to what extent. While learning this morning with eight junior high kids around me all telling me what to do, I realized that this could really be a valuable learning tool in the classroom if students were given clear directions as well as knew the rules and consequences. Not only it is something that students love, it also allows for differentiated instruction in the classroom in a way that is not time consuming to the teacher.
As students grow up, it is important to encourage them to excel because of the intrinsic reward and not the extrinsic. Rewards are good, but it’s not necessarily getting to the finished product and getting a grade, it’s about the process they take to get the final result. It is difficult to express this to some students in an effective way. One way that can help accomplish this task is through the use of gaming in the classroom. I started researching gaming in the classroom and then narrowed my search specifically to Minecraft.
“The popularity of video games is not the enemy of education, but rather a model for best teaching strategies” (Willis, J., 2011a). Students want to keep working on the video game to get to the next step and if we are using gaming correctly in the classroom, they are learning the skills and concepts of what they are learning in various subjects. Also, using games in the classroom is an activity that most students enjoy and because of this it can make learning meaningful while challenging. “Challenge is a powerful motivator when students take on tasks they find meaningful and, through their efforts and perseverance, succeed” (Willis, J., 2011b).
Moving specifically to Minecraft, “because Minecraft has such open possibilities and potential, the teacher can choose how he or she wants to use it. Just as the student has the ability to be creative, the teacher has the same” (Miller, A., 2012). I began looking at different websites with games that were Minecraft oriented and related to math since that is my main field of teaching. As I began to look, I realized there are several different worlds created to help students learn different concepts such as coordinate graphs, practicing all mathematical operations, graphing, etc. (Teaching with Minecraftedu). Realizing that all I have to do is mention the word Minecraft and my seventh grade math class goes crazy, I started realizing how many different world incorporated what we are learning and decided that it would only make sense to combine something they all love with math (something not all of them love) and to see what happens.
In order to incorporate Minecraft into the classroom I need to know a couple things about the game in order to be successful. As the teacher, I need to know my tools, my goals, what instructions I’ll give, how I want to group my students, allow my students to become the teachers and teach me a thing or two, look how other educators are using it, and at least attempt to create my own world (Teaching with Minecraftedu). This is a list that takes more than a day to achieve, but I have started learning the game at this point with the help of my students and it gets them excited that we are going to be using it in the future.
To effectively use Minecraft in the classroom, students need to be aware that there will be constant check-ins, they are not allowed to do whatever they want within the game, they need to remain on task fulfilling their quests related to the class (Davies, R., 2013). We need to make sure that students have been given clear directions and know the consequences of not following them appropriately. I think if these two things are put into place that students could really benefit from using Minecraft in the classroom. As I think of differentiation, I often think of reaching students on their level, gaming meets students on their levels, it allows the player to progress quickly through earlier levels if they already have the skill sets. Gaming also allows students to consistently work at their own level while challenging themselves, without consuming all of the teacher’s time (Willis, J., 2011a).
If we are aware of the resources available to us as educators and use them efficiently, we can develop units that fit with different Minecraft worlds that have already been created. We don’t always have the skills or tools in our “teacher toolbox” to reach all kids (McCarthy, J., 2014) and it would, at this day in age, be irresponsible to say that the world of gaming could not help our students be successful. I think a goal for most teachers is to teach their students in authentic ways, and by using Minecraft in class we can engage our students in a way the understand and that is on their level to have them apply their knowledge in an authentic way (Davies, R., 2013).
Davies, R. (2013). Using minecraft to engage and challenge your class. https://www.fractuslearning.com/2013/06/13/minecraft-in-class/
McCarthy, J. (2014). Students matter: 3 steps for effective differentiated instruction. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/3-steps-effective-differentiated-instruction-john-mccarthy.
Teaching with MinecraftEdu (n. d.). http://services.minecraftedu.com/wiki/Teaching_with_MinecraftEdu
Willis, J. (2011a). A neurologist makes the case for the video game model as a learning tool. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/neurologist-makes-case-video-game-model-learning-tool
Willis, J. (2011b). How to plan instruction using the video game model. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/how-to-plan-instruction-video-game-model-judy-willis-md
Miller, A. (2012). Ideas for using minecraft in the classroom. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/minecraft-in-classroom-andrew-miller
As students grow up, it is important to encourage them to excel because of the intrinsic reward and not the extrinsic. Rewards are good, but it’s not necessarily getting to the finished product and getting a grade, it’s about the process they take to get the final result. It is difficult to express this to some students in an effective way. One way that can help accomplish this task is through the use of gaming in the classroom. I started researching gaming in the classroom and then narrowed my search specifically to Minecraft.
“The popularity of video games is not the enemy of education, but rather a model for best teaching strategies” (Willis, J., 2011a). Students want to keep working on the video game to get to the next step and if we are using gaming correctly in the classroom, they are learning the skills and concepts of what they are learning in various subjects. Also, using games in the classroom is an activity that most students enjoy and because of this it can make learning meaningful while challenging. “Challenge is a powerful motivator when students take on tasks they find meaningful and, through their efforts and perseverance, succeed” (Willis, J., 2011b).
Moving specifically to Minecraft, “because Minecraft has such open possibilities and potential, the teacher can choose how he or she wants to use it. Just as the student has the ability to be creative, the teacher has the same” (Miller, A., 2012). I began looking at different websites with games that were Minecraft oriented and related to math since that is my main field of teaching. As I began to look, I realized there are several different worlds created to help students learn different concepts such as coordinate graphs, practicing all mathematical operations, graphing, etc. (Teaching with Minecraftedu). Realizing that all I have to do is mention the word Minecraft and my seventh grade math class goes crazy, I started realizing how many different world incorporated what we are learning and decided that it would only make sense to combine something they all love with math (something not all of them love) and to see what happens.
In order to incorporate Minecraft into the classroom I need to know a couple things about the game in order to be successful. As the teacher, I need to know my tools, my goals, what instructions I’ll give, how I want to group my students, allow my students to become the teachers and teach me a thing or two, look how other educators are using it, and at least attempt to create my own world (Teaching with Minecraftedu). This is a list that takes more than a day to achieve, but I have started learning the game at this point with the help of my students and it gets them excited that we are going to be using it in the future.
To effectively use Minecraft in the classroom, students need to be aware that there will be constant check-ins, they are not allowed to do whatever they want within the game, they need to remain on task fulfilling their quests related to the class (Davies, R., 2013). We need to make sure that students have been given clear directions and know the consequences of not following them appropriately. I think if these two things are put into place that students could really benefit from using Minecraft in the classroom. As I think of differentiation, I often think of reaching students on their level, gaming meets students on their levels, it allows the player to progress quickly through earlier levels if they already have the skill sets. Gaming also allows students to consistently work at their own level while challenging themselves, without consuming all of the teacher’s time (Willis, J., 2011a).
If we are aware of the resources available to us as educators and use them efficiently, we can develop units that fit with different Minecraft worlds that have already been created. We don’t always have the skills or tools in our “teacher toolbox” to reach all kids (McCarthy, J., 2014) and it would, at this day in age, be irresponsible to say that the world of gaming could not help our students be successful. I think a goal for most teachers is to teach their students in authentic ways, and by using Minecraft in class we can engage our students in a way the understand and that is on their level to have them apply their knowledge in an authentic way (Davies, R., 2013).
Davies, R. (2013). Using minecraft to engage and challenge your class. https://www.fractuslearning.com/2013/06/13/minecraft-in-class/
McCarthy, J. (2014). Students matter: 3 steps for effective differentiated instruction. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/3-steps-effective-differentiated-instruction-john-mccarthy.
Teaching with MinecraftEdu (n. d.). http://services.minecraftedu.com/wiki/Teaching_with_MinecraftEdu
Willis, J. (2011a). A neurologist makes the case for the video game model as a learning tool. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/neurologist-makes-case-video-game-model-learning-tool
Willis, J. (2011b). How to plan instruction using the video game model. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/how-to-plan-instruction-video-game-model-judy-willis-md
Miller, A. (2012). Ideas for using minecraft in the classroom. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/minecraft-in-classroom-andrew-miller