EM Games – according to the predefined analysis procedure, and (3) both identify weaknesses and suggest improvements. Today’s Learners in this Age of New Digital Media Students are living and learning in an age of new media – where they give constant attention to the latest scoop on TV, the hottest music for their iPods, newest games for their game systems, instantaneous updates in their online communities and social networks, and they have mobile apps that manage all of these interests simultaneously. Students are constantly (an average of 7.5 hours a day!) interacting with media – more than ANY other activity besides (maybe) sleeping – according to a popular report, compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation (Rideout, 2010). Consequently, this age of new media implies an implication to teaching and learning. Traditional methods of teaching may not be engaging today’s learners who are used to these dynamic and interactive platforms. Since these new media forms have altered how youth socialize and learn, how are we altering how we teach? Must we develop and implement an entirely new curriculum to reach our learners? To react to this age of new media, the commercial industry has capitalized by providing a tremendous variety of technological approaches to teaching and learning. One attempt to pique the interest of all types and ages of learners is through educational games. Everyday Mathematics Curriculum Everyday Mathematics (EM) is one of many standards-based mathematics curricula funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that stresses the use of games for learning. On its website, , EM is introduced as: “a comprehensive Pre-K through 6th grade mathematics curriculum developed by the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project” that “is
games that aim to make basic skills practice fun. The games are available both online and on CD-Rom. EM games are organized by grade-level. The directions are available to be read on the screen, but there are also in-game audio instructions. EM markets that the games “add a little friendly competition to help motivate learning.” On the website , several of the games from EM are available as demos. I selected a demo game from the lowest level, early childhood, and a game from the highest level, Grade 6. I decided to select a third game the middle level, Grade 3. The games I selected were: Monster Squeeze, Angle Race, and Factor Captor. Monster Squeeze is played on a number line with a monster at each end, one at zero and one at ten. There is a mystery number that the player is prompted to guess. If the guess is too high, the monster on the right moves toward the left to cover up the student’s guess and all of the other numbers that are also too high. If the guess is too small, the monster on the left will move toward the right to cover up all of the numbers that are equal to or smaller than the guessed number. The player continues to guess until he or she is able to correctly guess identify the mystery number. The computer keeps track of how many guesses it takes each time. There are two levels of the game: one that includes the numbers zero to ten, and another that goes from ten to twenty. There are also two player versions. Angle Race is a race to 360 degrees and played on a circular gameboard. The player and the computer take turns drawing cards from a deck. Each card has an angle measure on it, and the player is expected to move the ray to the resulting angle on the board after adding the measure on the chosen card. The board is designed in increments of 15 degrees. The player to get to exactly 360 degrees first wins the round. This may mean that near the end of the round, the
Below you will see the chart that I filled in for each of the three games. I used a different color for each, but where all three had the same response, it remains black. In the instructional analysis, I arranged the positive feedback in the left column and negative feedback on the right. ___________________________________________________________________ Preliminary Analysis – CCSS Name of Game: Monster Squeeze for Early Childhood Standard: Kindergarten / Counting and Cardinality Name of Game: Angle Race / Grade 3 Standard: Grade 4 / Measurement and Data Name of Game: Factor Captor / Grades 5 and 6 Standard: Grade 4 / Operations and Algebraic Thinking Content Analysis SUBSTANCE: Does the activity address the specific substance of the standard? Note: If only a “topic” match to the standard is present, the activity is not included in the list. Yes, see the specific standards listed below. SOPHISTICATION: Does the activity reflect the level of sophistication of the standard? Note: If research and best practice indicate that the activity is below or above the intended grade level, the activity is not included in the list. Yes, exactly matches up. Yes, although intended for Grade 3 in EM, satisfies Grade 4 of CCSS. Yes, although intended for Grades 5 and 6 in EM, satisfies Grade 4 CCSS. PART OR WHOLE: Which part or parts of the standard are addressed? Part: Compare two numbers between 1 and 10 as written numerals. Part (s): (1) Recognize angles as geometric shapes that are formed wherever two rays share a common endpoint, and understand concepts of angle measurement: An angle is measured with reference to a circle with its center at the common endpoint of the rays, by considering the fraction of the circular
seems it would be manageable. RESPRESENTING IDEAS: Does the material include appropriate and accurate representations of mathematical ideas? Yes. Although the ideas seem to be mostly accurate, they are lacking. No, it would be more appropriate to make the mathematics explicit to the students. For example: Show the inequalities on the screen using the symbols correctly. Show the addition of the angles and the resulting sum. PRACTICE: Does the material present tasks and questions for students to practice skills or use knowledge in various situations? Yes, it seems that the main focus is to practice a particular math skill. No, there are not accompanying activity sheets or even suggestions questions for students in the teachers’ manuals. Cluster 5: Promoting student reflection PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS TO EXPRESS IDEAS: Does the material routinely include suggestions for students to express, clarify, justify, and represent their ideas? Are suggestions made for when and how students will get feedback from peers and the teacher? No, the only feedback provided is “Great job,” “Try again,” or an explanation of when a wrong move is made. GUIDING STUDENT INTERPRETATION AND REASONING: Does the material include tasks and question sequences to guide student interpretation and reasoning about activities and readings? No. Again, even in the teachers’ manuals, there are nothing more than descriptions and directions for the games. PROMOTING REFLECTION AND Does the material help, or include suggestions on how to help, students know when to use knowledge and skills in new situations? Does the material suggest ways to Yes, students that use the online games are able to monitor their progress by accessing their past scores. No, there are not suggestions of how students can extend their ideas or reflect on how their ideas