Students use popular video game in the classroom
Students use educational version of popular Minecraft video game in the classroom
I
t’s not every day that
students run – literally – to
get to class. But Noelle Van Der
Meid’s students were so excited
for their lesson on Neolithic
civilizations, they couldn’t get to
the computer lab fast enough.
The sixth graders at Mount
Holly Middle School spent the
next hour and a half immersing
themselves in a stone-age world,
harvesting crops, catching chickens
and building treehouses using
MinecraftEdu, the educational
version of the popular video game.
By connecting the curriculum
to a game her students already
enjoy, Van Der Meid hopes to
more effectively engage them in
learning. And, the sight of children
running to class might become
more frequent at Mount Holly
Middle.
Van Der Meid and several other
teachers are leading an effort to use Minecraft in the classroom to not just
teach the subject matter, but also develop foundational learning skills.
“This is what they do for fun. By capitalizing on that, I’m able to make
much deeper connections to the curriculum,” Van Der Meid said.
Excitement in learning
The excitement in the computer lab is easy to see and hear. With the help
of Chris Goodson, instructional technology facilitator, Van Der Meid set up
the game with two teams competing against one another in a virtual Neolithic
world. Their goal is to survive, find food and shelter, and build the biggest
village. Students are focused on their screens, only looking away to talk
strategy with their classmates.
“They are having to collaborate, problem solve, engage in critical thinking
about how to survive, and all while practicing the content,” Van Der Meid said.
After a morning learning about the Neolithic era, Van Der Meid’s class
would spend the next day in a classroom discussion. This reflection process is
critical, she said.
Having “lived” as hunter-gatherers for the day, the students could answer
questions about how Neolithic peoples survived, why they domesticated
animals and grew crops. The players who were able to create stone tools
would be able to describe how this contributed to the civilization.
Beyond the curriculum content, Minecraft helps students learn how to
learn.
Goodson explained that Minecraft
frees students to experiment. In a
typical classroom setting, he said, “We
don’t allow a safe space for failure, but
that’s how the brain works.”
Minecraft, as with most video
games, gives students the opportunity
to fail in a safe space. If a character
“dies,” it will “re-spawn” and the
student can try again.
“In the classroom, you have one
shot, and if you fail, that’s your ‘F’.
But that’s not real life,” added Lisa
Montgomery, instructional technology
facilitator. “Sometimes you have to fail
to learn, and that’s ok.”
This lesson played out the day Van
Der Meid’s class went to the computer
lab.
While most of the class was
focused intently on the game, one
student sat in front of her computer
without touching the keyboard
or mouse. She had never played
Minecraft before and was discouraged by her first several attempts.
But Van Der Meid spent time coaching her through the basics and
encouraged her to just give it a shot. By the end of the class time, she was
smiling.
“What she’s learning is when something gets hard, you keep doing it,”
Van Der Meid said.
“That’s ultimately what we want her to do. To learn not to quit,”
Montgomery added.
Principal Jennifer Reep said this is why she’s supported her teachers’
Minecraft projects.
“It was really their enthusiasm to give the students another opportunity
to be engaged through technology that brought it onto our campus,” she
said.
Reep said she has seen the benefits, especially in class discussions.
“The students are figuring out how to problem-solve in the lab and then
to reflect and engage in the follow-up lessons, discussing what went well and
relating it back to the curriculum,” she said. “Those conversations would not
have happened if the students had not experienced it themselves through
Minecraft.”
Reep added: “The best thing it does for students is make them continue
thinking when they go home. If we can make those connections beyond the
classroom, isn’t that fantastic, and isn’t that our goal anyway?”
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Parent Teacher News• Jan/Feb 2016• 5