Sharing your ideas by Sam Paterson

I find a very common game in classrooms is Jeopardy for review, as it makes the students way more invested in the review, especially when it includes a point system. You just have to very intentionally set it up so that everyone is participating and getting feedback while maintaining motivation.

2024-11-11 17:30:14 UTC

Punch cards for goals

2024-11-11 21:08:24 UTC

I started using individual punch cards I purchased off Amazon to help students set and reach goals. Goals range from getting to class on time to achieving mastery on assessments. Students pre-select what their full card reward is. So far they have worked like a charm.

2024-11-12 21:25:54 UTC

Gamified simulation olympics!

Our students will often compete in groups, handling complex high fidelity simulation scenarios. They gain points for the amount of issues addressed, the order they are addressed and the timeliness in which they are addressed. It really increases engagement

2024-11-14 04:03:34 UTC

Managing attendance of vital lectures in higher education can be a tough task. One solution is to simply have students check-in upon entry to the lecture theater with their student ID. No attendance patterns need to be analyzed, nor are there any rewards or punishments. The mere act of tracking elicits a behaviour change, in this case - increased attendance! A behaviourist explanation would likely be that the perceived chance of punishment isn't worth missing an important lecture for.

Duncan Hamilton

I am not a singer but . . .

2024-11-15 01:53:18 UTC

In my JK classroom, I use short songs and rhymes that praise students for making appropriate choices as a fun and effective way to promote positive behaviours. These songs are rooted in the principles of behaviorism, using positive reinforcement to shape and encourage desirable actions.

Why It Works

• Positive Reinforcement: The song becomes a reward, reinforcing the idea that good choices are noticed and appreciated.

• Peer Motivation: Singing together fosters a sense of community, and students are often motivated by seeing their peers being praised through the song. They will also then adjust their own behaviours so that their name can be included in the song.

• Memory and Retention: Repetition through music helps students internalize the behaviours we want to encourage, making it easier for them to repeat these actions in the future.

Denise

Image created using Gemini

Survivor

2024-11-21 09:35:46 UTC

A colleague from a previous school I worked at implemented a full-blown Science Survivor in her high school classroom (based on the reality TV competition). Students would earn XP rewards for their tribe by completing "challenges," such as answering questions in their workbook with certain % completion, completion of notes, finding or making videos about concepts, finding evidence of concepts in real life, finding or making memes about concepts, attendance (with an XP multiplier for consecutive weeks!), etc. The students had an absolute BLAST and the competition between and collaboration within tribes made it so fun and motivating! Students loved seeing the leaderboard change. I can’t quite remember, but she did some sort of final fun challenge at the end of the semester. I had quizzed her lots about it years ago as I was going to attempt to implement this, but then the pandemic hit… so I don’t remember all of the details or logistics, but she went all out and it was phenomenally successful. (Cassidy)