NYC School Uses Video Games To Teach Curriculum
Imagine you're back in the sixth grade and your teacher has handed you a very complex looking assignment. Panic sets in as you realize your entire grade may well rest on your ability to comprehend and complete the series. That's when your teacher tells you she will be measuring your competence within a math infused first person shooter and that fear melts into elation! This is typical of a semester at The Quest to Learn School, which opened last September in Manhattan, where throngs of sixth graders are learning a challenging curriculum through video games.
This class of 72 learn mainly through the use of collaborative group projects that come from five rotating daily classes. Math/English (Being/Space), Social Studies/English (Space), Math/Science (The Way Things Work), Game Design (Sports for the Mind), and Health/PE (Wellness) are the classes that fill each day. Each class utilizes several game programs to facilitate a complete New York State required curriculum. In math, students learning integers through a series of code breaking gaming exercises set within a Russian Spy motif. A science class encourages interaction between imaginary monsters to help the students discover how much force is necessary to move a variety of objects in real time. It does not appear as if the students are playing games non stop but just enough to elevate their level of interaction and learning engagement. The curriculum appears to instill a very scientific mindset and a love of complex systems. The importance of how things work on a grander scale seems paramount in the values of The Quest to Learn School.
This school is obviously still very much in the "testing" stage and the idea of game-play for education is still in question. Each student is expected to pass all standardized New York State tests for funding for the school to continue. The hopes of this study is for the class to utilize this group-game-formula to complete high school grade levels and achieve college admission.
ROCsteady
Posted to Video Games on 30 January 2010
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