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| orchids again |
I really enjoyed Susan Boyle's workshop at LILAC on using games creatively. Susan made the point that pedagogy should be focused on arousing students' imagination and engagement. Games are a great motivator and give participants a sense of accomplishment and confidence and I was surprised at how some very simple games can be used to bring a group together. It's all about "EDUtainment", surprising folks and making workshops memorable. Susan used this
"do the big rocks first" video to illustrate her point - a very simple demonstration of time management which certainly sticks in your mind!
Even IL lends itself to games - we discussed games which help students with off campus access, evaluation, citation, database choice, search techniques and more. I'm certainly inspired to try using some.
Susan's tips: games should be fun, quick, simple, easy to play, designed around a specific objective, followed up with correct play.
Comment from Kevin Ballard - not sure why it didn't appear directly in the blog:
ReplyDelete"It's all about "EDUtainment", surprising folks and making workshops memorable."
I remember teaching a class at a local university several years ago where the academic affairs manager brought a newly-hired adjunct faculty member to observe the first hour of a four-hour class. After the observation, the new faculty member commented to the manager that what he witnessed was "Edutainment" rather than teaching. The manager facilited a discussion by reviewing the rubric used to evaluate faculty during a classroom observation. By examining the rubric in light of what the new faculty member observed in my class, this person quickly realized that my teaching strategies engaged, informed, and challenged students.
Adults have a need to play. In my teaching, I refer to it as "creative playing around." Since faculty plan and facilitate learning experiences, they should remember to utilize games that support the learning objectives.