What Do Games Have To Do With Standards-based Math Practices?

What do Ga meS Have To Do With Standards-Based o Math Practices? HERE'S THE SITUATION.. 1,000 Students were asked if they'd rather eat broccoli or do math problems. Most chose broccoli. MATH MULTI-STEP SO... PROBLEM SOLVING How do we get students PERSEVERANCE to choose math? ABSTRACT REASONING AND... How do we get them to go deeper in their learning and develop the kind of mathematical practices described in state standards? ARGUMENTATION ANALYZE MAKE PREDICTIONS LEVERAGE THEIR LOVE OF DIGITAL GAMES Both bo and girls! of 2-17 91% year olds play video games Nearly 2/3 of young Americans play games while interacting with friends and family. They're communicating and working collectively (A.K.A. constructing viable arguments and critiquing the work of others!) How did you do that? I did it this way. Like this. How about you? 74% of K-8 teachers use digital games in instruction BUT ARE STUDENTS REALLY LEARNING? If designed well, game-based learning can harness students' intrinsic motivation and love for play and lead them toward complex problem solving. HOW? GAMES MAKE BRAINS GROW A study using FMRI technology showed three areas of brain growth after two months of playing digital games. PREFRONTAL CORTEX - abstract thinking - analyzing - making choices - making predictions HIPPOCAMPUS - memory - spatial navigation - learning CEREBELLUM - movement GAMES TEACH PRODUCTIVE STRUGGLE If you think about it, most of game playing is failing, so why don't players give up? It's because students expect to fail as part of mastering a game. It doesn't make them feel bad. They know that struggle and failure are just part of the process toward success. Giving our kids ample opportunity to fail will turn them not into abject failures but into gritty, impassioned, self-reliant learners." - Greg Toppo The Game Believes in You: How Digital Play Can Make Our Kids Smarter Nearly 3/4 of digital game-using teachers report that games have been effective in improving students' mathematics learning. Teachers who use games more often report greater improvement in students' core and supplemental skills. However, most teachers need help finding curriculum-aligned games that lend themselves to deep exploration and complex problem solving. WHAT KIND OF GAMES HELP DEVELOP STRONG MATHEMATICAL PRACTICES? GAMES THAT Create a compelling world of problem-solving Allow self-directed exploration Deliver scaffolded, mastery-based learning Provide data for players to monitor their own progress Offer real feedback to help players adjust their solution path To find out more about game-based learning and the standards for mathematical practice, visit www.mindresearch.org.