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Student Toolkit to Gamify Research (2+ hours)
KEY TERMS FOR STUDENTS
KEY TERMS FOR STUDENTS
inquiry simulation counter-argument supporting-argument lateral reading source reliability
Research serves a purpose. In this module, students will construct Research Simulations for their peers to try using the design template provided. Their resulting simulations may vary in complexity. This will depend on the breadth and depth of research students completed, and the degree to which they gained understanding of their topic.
This will be an iterative process for students: there will be many unexpected problems to solve and decisions to make as they create their simulations. It is strongly recommended to build your own first so that you can anticipate potential challenges students may face.
OPENING DISCUSSION: SAMPLE QUESTIONS
OPENING DISCUSSION: SAMPLE QUESTIONS
What do we do with the information that we have gathered during the research process?
How can we engage our audience in understanding the
How can we emphasize all sides of an inquiry question and take a stance based on this information?
WHAT TO DO
WHAT TO DO
After students have explored Modules 1 to 3, having conducted their own research in Module 3, talk to students about ways they can showcase their research to engage their reader in taking an informed stance on the inquiry question.
Remind students of the research simulation about J. K. Rowling in Module 2 - this is a model for the simulation they will create, here, in Module 4 as an alternative to the traditional research essay or power point presentations.
Distribute and/or project the Project Outline (google doc) and discuss with students the objectives of the project, steps they will need to take and the assessment criteria. This can be done individually, in pairs, or in small groups.
Have students open and make a copy of the Research Simulation Template google slides. Students can follow the template to build their own simulations, adding links to diverging articles, tweets, and videos that support and counter their inquiry question .
As they troubleshoot game construction challenges through testing and refining, encourage students to collaborate in their problem-solving.
As part of the construction, students will create a discussion forum using Padlet (or you might prefer a video-based forum, such as Flipgrid) for their peers to reflect in after exploring their simulation.
Upon completion, instead of a presentation day, you can hold a Games Day, during which students get to try out others’ Research Simulations and offer feedback and reflection on the experience in the Padlet forums students will have created. They will also have a chance to peer evaluate based on a common set of criteria (see assessment below).
Following this, guide students to read the feedback they received in their Padlets and complete a final reflection on what they gained from using the research process and applying it to a purpose and audience.
The Perforance Profile Wheels below can be a visual way to communicate your feedback to students and help them reflect on their progress throughout the research project unit.
Assessment
Assessment
Teachers can use the following standards-based rubrics for to assess students' gamified research projects. Students can also engage in peer assessment and reflection using the same rubrics. They are based on the BC English Language Arts 8 & Social Studies 8 Curricular Competencies.
Social Studies 8
Social Studies 8
Inquiry
Use Social Studies inquiry processes and skills to ask questions; gather, interpret, and analyze ideas; and communicate findings and decisions
Select a relevant problem or issue for inquiry
Use comparison, classification, inference, imagination, verification, and analogy to clarify and define a problem or issue.
Select an appropriate graphic form of communication for a specific purpose (e.g., a timeline to show a sequence of events, a map to show location).
Represent information fairly and cite sources consistently.
Select appropriate forms of presentation suitable for purpose and audience
Evidence
Assess the credibility of multiple sources and the adequacy of evidence used to justify conclusions
Distinguish between primary and secondary sources.
Assess the accuracy of sources
Identify biases that influence; identify authors’ motives and describe how that could affect their reliability as a source; determine whether sources reflect single or multiple points of view
Locate, evaluate, and use relevant data
English language arts 8
English language arts 8
Ideas, Insights & Understanding
Apply appropriate strategies to comprehend written, oral, and visual texts, guide inquiry, and extend thinking
Synthesize ideas from a variety of sources to build understanding
Inquiry & Evidence
Access information and ideas for diverse purposes and from a variety of sources and evaluate their relevance, accuracy, and reliability
Explanations & Conclusions
Think critically, creatively, and reflectively to explore ideas within, between, and beyond texts
Recognize and identify the role of personal, social, and cultural contexts, values, and perspectives in texts
Respond to text in personal, creative, and critical ways
Designing & Developing
Use writing and design processes to plan, develop, and create engaging and meaningful literary and informational texts for a variety of purposes and audiences
VISUAL FEEDBACK FOR STUDENT REFLECTION
While grid rubrics are effective for teachers to use, feedback needs to be effective for students to use.
Performance Profile Wheel
Performance Profile Wheel
While grid rubrics are effective for teachers to use, feedback needs to be effective for students to use.
This tool is adapted from the world of sports, used by coaches and athletes to pinpoint areas that need more training (and created using a google slides template made by John Meehan - check out his blog - Edrenalin Rush). Using this visual to show students progress over time can clarify strengths and areas for development, provide students with information to aid in rich reflection, and aid teachers in communicating their feedback with students and ensuring they understand it.
Assessment of Learning
Assessment of Learning
Each target standard is a point on the circle, and as students practice skills through assignments (just as an athlete would train) they can track their skill development on the chart.
When students receive their scored assignments back, they use that information to chart their performance on their Performance Profile Wheel. After similar assessments, and continued charting, students will start to see how their performance is or is not growing and/or shifting over time. The end result will be a visual representation of their strengths and weaknesses and growth over time.
Assessment for Learning
Assessment for Learning
To use Assessment for Learning and teach students to use their feedback to fuel growth, ask students to reflect on and answer metacognitive questions to kickstart the next stages of their practice (training):
Which skill did you dominate? Why?
Which skill caused you the greatest challenge? Why?
What work do we still need to do to improve your performance on the toughest obstacle?
Downloadable resources
Downloadable resources
Click on and make a copy of the following resources to use in your classrooms
(file>make a copy):
Project Outline (google doc)
Project Template (google slides)
Social Studies Gamified Research Rubric (google doc)
English Language Arts 8 Gamified Research Rubric (google doc)
ELA8 Visual Feedback Performance Profile Wheel (google slides)
Gamify your Research ProjectPage updated
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