Building Formative Assessment into Game-Based Learning

Summary

In this educational video, students engage in the game 'Galactic Mappers' to enhance their geographical knowledge. Teams collaborate to create complex maps, incorporating physical geography and cartography skills. The game challenges students to apply their knowledge to an imaginative task, fostering critical thinking and teamwork. Teachers use embedded assessments to evaluate students' progress and understanding during the game.

Takeaways

• 📝 Playing games like Galactic Mappers in school can significantly enhance learning compared to traditional methods.
• 📝🏾 Students engage in a collaborative art project to create a detailed map of a world, working in teams to build sections of the map.
• 📝 The complexity of the continent students can create is directly related to their performance, encouraging continuous learning and improvement.
• 📝🏿 The game becomes more challenging as students earn more points, motivating them to seek additional information to develop their continent fully.
• 📝 Teachers use embedded assessments to evaluate students' knowledge during the learning process, rather than through traditional end-of-unit tests.
• 📝🏿 Students are encouraged to be positive and work well within their groups, which is factored into their grades.
• 📝 The rubric for grading includes map skills, content knowledge, application of knowledge, systems thinking, and design thinking.
• 📝🏿 The teacher listens to students' discussions to assess their depth of knowledge and understanding of map techniques and geography.
• 📝 Students are required to apply their knowledge of maps and physical geography to design a map from scratch, fostering creativity and critical thinking.
• 📝🏿 Galactic Mappers promotes collaborative thinking and encourages students to imagine the possibilities of a spot on Earth, making learning more engaging and imaginative.

Q & A

What does the student find beneficial about playing games in school?

The student finds playing games in school helps them learn better than they have in any other subject or school.

What color are the students looking for in the script?

The students are looking for more green.

What is the significance of the key mentioned by the student?

The key is likely a part of the game they are playing, but its specific significance is not detailed in the script.

What does the teacher mean by 'good continent'?

The teacher is referring to a geographical feature on the map that students are creating as part of the game.

What is an 'isthmus' in the context of the game?

An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger areas, and in the game, it's something students can earn to add complexity to their continent.

How does the complexity of the game increase as students perform better?

As students perform better, they earn more points, which allows them to create more complex continents with additional geographical features.

What is the purpose of the embedded assessment mentioned by the teacher?

The embedded assessment is used to evaluate students' knowledge while they are engaged in the learning process, rather than at the end of a unit.

What qualities will the students' groups be graded on according to the rubric?

The students' groups will be graded on map skills, demonstrating clear knowledge of the category, and physical geography while playing the game.

How does being positive in the group affect the students' grades?

Being positive in the group can earn them up to ten points.

What is the teacher's method for assessing the students' knowledge during the game?

The teacher assesses the students by listening to their discussions and observing their application of content knowledge, systems thinking, and design thinking.

What is the significance of the 'Sunny Bacon' continent mentioned by a student?

Sunny Bacon is a fictional continent created by the students, named humorously after breakfast and featuring aliens that eat a lot.

How does Galactic Mappers challenge students to apply their knowledge of maps?

Galactic Mappers challenges students to design a map from the ground up, incorporating physical geography and cartography skills.

What does the discussion phase of Galactic Mappers encourage students to think about?

The discussion phase encourages students to think collaboratively about the components of a planet and the possibilities of inhabiting it.