For this assignment, the class was randomly sorted into groups. My group, recognized as Group Delta, consisted of all secondary education majors with focuses on English, social studies, math, and consumer and family science. We had all found interesting and educational games relating to our subjects. However because all of us had different concentrations, we were stuck wondering which game would be best for the assignment. Ultimately, we followed a process of elimination based on how informative the game was to students and general game players.
We had decided upon the Vocabulary Quiz game. Just as its name suggests, the game tests students knowledge of vocabulary within specific categories. Since the game allowed for different categories, students would be able to learn different and new terms of topics that they already find interesting. Players of the game must choose from four possible options to to find the word that best fills in the blank in the sentences. This method is helpful because students hear words all the time so they can apply what they know to the sentences. If the student does not know the answer, they can use deductive reasoning to find the answer based on the structure of the sentence.
Fisher and Frey (2014) state that, for students to find the meaning of unknown words, they need to understand words in the way that it is used in the text (p. 597). They also state that teachers must “[model] words solving” over the different content areas. As stated earlier, the Vocabulary Quiz game offers different categories which teachers can use for different words in different contexts to help their students understand. The game was difficult even for our classmates to complete, so the teacher can help students understand any words missed. As Rebecca Alber (2010) suggests, it is better for students to learn vocabulary words based on concepts as opposed to passively writing down definitions. As a teacher, I would not rely on this game as an official assessment. I would use the game for practice sessions and have students choose and complete a category they are less familiar with. The students can also work together in pairs to increase cooperative skills.
Creating a rubric for the Vocabulary Quiz game actually confused me. Later, I realized that I had a hard time understanding what to do because I was thinking like a student who had to follow directions when no specific directions were given. I had to remind myself that in a classroom, the teacher gives the directions. They determine which criteria to grade the students’ skills and abilities. Once I kept that thought in mind, it became easier to move on to creating the rubric. My group found a rubric online that we used as a template to follow.
Creating a rubric for the Vocabulary Quiz game actually confused me. Later, I realized that I had a hard time understanding what to do because I was thinking like a student who had to follow directions when no specific directions were given. I had to remind myself that in a classroom, the teacher gives the directions. They determine which criteria to grade the students’ skills and abilities. Once I kept that thought in mind, it became easier to move on to creating the rubric. My group found a rubric online that we used as a template to follow.
My group used wix to make the website for our presentation. I had never used the site before so designing the website for our presentation required a lot of tinkering and guesswork based on my prior knowledge of editing. The main downside to wix is that it tends to load slowly. Processing and saving any new changes took a while. I received messages from my group mates mentioning that their changes did not show or save either even when they selected that appropriate option. Overall, our website turned out well, but I personally will look into other presentation tools.
The most difficult part of this group project was the live presentation of the online educational game to the class. We worked with each other in creating the content for the website through google docs as well as coming up with our activity. Personally, I feel that my group could have done more to prepare for the presentation. I feel that we had fallen short and that we seemed quite unorganized. We relied mainly on emails and Whatsapp, the smartphone application, to communicate. I feel that this puts us at a disadvantage since it prevents us from broadening our knowledge of useful online tools that we can apply in the classroom for future students. We need to learn about more online educational tools because we as teachers will be setting an example for students. Teachers must teach students to also try new things because it is beneficial.
References
Alber, R. (2010, December17). Doing it differently: Tips for teaching vocabulary. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/vocabulary-instruction-teaching-tips-rebecca-alber
Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2014). Content Area Vocabulary Learning. Reading Teacher, 67(8), 594-599. doi:10.1002/trtr.1258
Hi:
ReplyDeleteNicely written
-j-