Tutorial Case Study

Crystal Bible

EDUC-332-01 Sue Talbot 04/25/12

I.

Introduction Research question: Will using interactive games increase the motivation and participation of students? Significance of Study: This study is important to find out whether or not interactive games really do or do not increase the motivation of the students. It is important to see what type of games work best, how they work and when they work best. If this proves to be true it is valuable information because it will allow you to reach those students who normally do not participate. They will be actively engaged in friendly competition and they will not even realize that what they are doing is educational; that they are learning. CSOs: RLA.O.8.1.6: determine and interpret the elements of literature to construct meaning and recognize authors purpose and/or readers purpose: theme, character, setting, internal conflict, rising and falling action, point of view, antagonist, protagonist, hero. RLA.O.8.3.5: perform a variety of roles in group discussions: collaboration, facilitation, persuasion.

II.

Review of Literature/Research According to an article written about Games Clickers and Study Habits: Increasing Students Motivation to Study and Participate (Robinson, 2007), students of the Net Generation have grown up entertained and educated by the fast passed media which can make lectures seem boring. It is determined that even the students who never study would be more likely to study for a game and all other students would want to participate if clickers where being involved. These students prefer hands-on and experimental activities that get them away from the boring old lecture. Robinson goes on the say in the article that learning games provide a more effective way to teach the Net Generation students because they create an interactive learning experience in which they know almost immediately how they are faring. The article also states that anonymity might all be a feature of the clicker system that helps to increase the participation. Almost 43% of women and 67% of men who never study admit that they would be somewhat motivated to study for a game, if there was one. This study found in the article listed above supports the findings of other educators that have successfully implemented learning games into their curriculum. This article directly affects my research because with my case study the students are taking part in hands on activities and games that involve technology as well. This study validates me research question about motivation and the direct link to participation. Another article called, The Effect of Instructional Media on Learner Motivation(Rodgers & Withrow-Thorton, 2005), states that the motivation level of

the students depends highly on the selected type of media by the educator. Motivation is an important part that is required for learning. Computed based instruction, when put up against lecture and video, has a higher motivation rate. The results of this study pointed to computer-based instruction for the highest motivation rating. Even though it shows an advantage of computer-based over lecture and video, it is very important to remember that this has to be linked to the information that is already in your mind. This has a direct correlation to my case study because the students will be using technology to facilitate learning though a jeopardy game. A third article called, Games, motivation and learning(Clark), states that its not that most people cant learn, but its that they dont want to learn. If we could captivate the magic dust of motivation then problems would be solved. However, it is computer games themselves that have had the biggest effect. Games are clearly motivating. The question isnt about whether or not games are good motivators, but its about how we can use this. The article also states that the individuals playing the games must feel as though they are the origin of their actions. This directly correlates to my case study because not only do we have the employment to computer based instruction, but we also have games in which students have automatic feedback. Students also are encouraged to make additions and suggestions to our games that were created. The question at hand here clearly isnt will it increase motivation but, will this cause an increase in motivation?

III. Methodology: The first step of this tutorial was to pre-test the student to see where his reading comprehension level is. After the reading comprehension test was given the next step was to ask the students to fill out our questionnaire forms. After we tested the students down stairs and then we went up to an eighth grade classroom. We collected our data through observation of the tutorial, questions and surreys. We observed the students as the actively participated in the learning games that we had created. As a result we found that the students learned well from modeling of proper techniques. It was also obvious that games where a motivator. Students came for the intent of playing the Hunger Games activities. Site and Participants: Elkins Middle School in Elkins, WV 26241. Elkins Middle school is for grades 6-8. There are several things that need to be addressed about the surrounding community. Randolph County can be found in the northeast section of West Virginia. It also lies among the Appalachian Mountain range. Randolph County covers 1,039.69 square miles and is home to 29,405 residents. There are approximately 28.3 people per square mile in Randolph County. Of the countys 29,405 residents 97.3% are Caucasian and 1.2% are African American. 88% of the population has also been living in the same household for at least one year. Only 1.9% of the population speaks a language other than English at home. 81.1% of the population of Randolph county are High School graduates and of that 81.1%, only 17.6% hold a Bachelors degree or higher. The average income per person is $18,472 and the median household income is $36,176. 17.1% of the countys population lives below the poverty level. According to the

Randolph County Schools website the largest employers in the county include wood technology, retailers, health care, education, and state and federal agencies. Coal mining and tourism are also strong contenders among the top jobs in the county. For these jobs that average commute time for workers is 20.2 minutes. The city of Elkins is located inside of Randolph County and only covers about 3.43 square miles. Elkins is home to 7,094 residents and there are approximately 2,070 people per square mile. Of the citys 7,094 residents 96.5% are Caucasian, 1.2% are African American, 1,2% are reporting two or more races and 1.1% are of Hispanic origin. 79.4% of the population has reported to have lived in the same household for at least one year and 5.3% of the citys population speaks a language other than English at home. 84.4% of the residents of Elkins are high school graduates and 26% hold a Bachelors degree or higher. The average income per person is $19,486 and the median household is $34,705. 21.1% of the citys residents live below the poverty line. The participants were Joey, Jessica, Erin, Dominique, three boys and three additional girls, the after school teacher, Sue Talbot and the EDUC-332 class. Another problem that we ran into is the fact that this program is not mandatory, but is a voluntary program that happens after school twice a week. The students who come here either need to wait for their parents to get off work or they are in need of extra help for a subject area. Also, so students may come just for a calm and peaceful place to read. Plan of Study: For this tutorial case study, we realized that there was a problem in the reading language arts area. We decided to do something about it. We decided that because the students we so into the Hunger Games that we would create Hunger Games themed literary games to help

them learn in a not so conventional way. We brainstormed as a class and decided to create two different games and use an online game that we have found. We creates a game we called District to District (apples to apples), Battle of the Districts (supported literary elements) and Jeopardy. Tutorial Log: The first day that we executed our plan of action, we played the District to District (apples to apples) game with them about making connection to the text. We played with them to help model what exactly it was they were supposed to do. At first they didnt seem to understand what they were supposed to do, but by the end of the tutoring time, they were becoming very good at it. The second day that we executed games with them we played the card game which required us ourselves to have a cheat sheet. They students who do not necessarily like to participate were rather eager and looking forward to playing the District to District game with us. We played the card game for a while, but it was proving to be a little bit too difficult for Jessica and Erin. We asked them if they wanted to play and different game and sure enough they want to play district to district. It was a slow start, but they quickly re-caught on. They do not even realize that they are actually learning as they play. The last day that we executed games with them we played jeopardy: hunger games style. This time we had only the students in the room play the game. It seemed to be a motivation getter, but was almost too easy for a few but yet too difficult for a few. We had planned on the students taking over the games and being able to play on their own, but they still need some help every now and again. Model the desired response for the students seemed to be a very big help during this tutorial.

IV. Data: We do not have any concrete data for the students who we implemented the games with. I do have data from Joey. Joey is a seventh grader whom I tested on the fifth grade level. He was at benchmark for everything except listening comprehension and oral language/world knowledge. The only data that I have to rely on for this tutorial case study is purely from observation. My observations of the students before the implication of the games were that they were bored, un-motived and reluctant to do work. The students did seem to be more interested in the games than they were in the other work that they needed to be doing. The students seemed to be more motivated to engage in learning about elements of literature when it was presented in a game format. I asked one student if she would rather play a game or read a book/do a worksheet/write a short paper and she responded that she would most defiantly rather play the game because it was fun. They also enjoyed that it was friendly competition. Restatement of the question and discussion of results: Will using interactive games increase the motivation and participation of students? Using interactive games does seem to increase the motivation and participation of students. After the first day that we were at the middle school, when we returned we had more students and students who were eager to play because they did not realize that it was educational and beneficial to them. These are the students of the Net Generation and according to Robinson, Rodgers & Withrow-Thorton and Clark it is the hands on approach, technology approach, instant feedback and anonymity that really motivate the students in our public schools today.

V. Conclusion: In concluding I fell its safe to say based off of the interaction that we had with the children at the Elkins Middle School and also based off of the articles written by Robinson, Rodgers & Withrow-Thorton, and Clark that using interactive games will increase the motivation and participation of your students. Implications: This is valuable information because it will allow you to reach those students who normally do not participate. They will be actively engaged in friendly competition and they will not even realize that what they are doing is educational; that they are learning. You can use this in any classroom, any subject and any age level. Make learning fun with educational games like jeopardy, around the world, etc I personally find the research conducted and the articles that I found to support my case study very interesting and useful. I am going to keep all of the findings in mind when I teach in the future. I will be a secondary history teacher and I know that most students do not find it easy to be motivated in history class, but if they have games that are educational, they might find it interesting and learn from being motivated. Strengths and limitations: While it is true that using interactive games will increase the motivation and participation of students, this does not mean that you are going to be able to reach everyone. You will be able to engage more than you would on a normal day, but you will still have your few students who just arent going to participate no matter what. The strengths of this study are that we were able to test a research question and come out with valuable information to carry with us into our own classrooms someday. There were a few limitation of this study. We were only with the students twice a week for an hour and a half each time. We could not control

whether or not the same students came every day. We also did not have enough time to conduct proper pre-tests and post-test to evaluate how this study actually affected the students motivation and learning. Concluding Statement: Motivation is an important part that is required for learning; lets keep our students motivated and learning an interactive way.

VI. Materials: District to District was one of the games that we created and it is a similar concept to apples to apples. In District to District the students are given five connections words that they must match with a quote from the book and then explain why they made that connection. Battle of the Districts was a literary elements game that used a normal deck of cards. Each student would take a turn drawing a card off the top of the deck. Each suite relate to a literary element such as theme or characters. Then what even numerical number that card was determined how many of each element the student had to provide. Jeopardy was an online game that was found to be used. It works just like the real game show jeopardy except the students just take turns going in a circle answering the statements in the form of a question.

VII. References: Clark, D. (2007). Games, Motivation & Learning. Caspian Learning. www.Caspainlearning.co.uk. (04/2012). Robinson, S. (2007, Winter). Games, Clickers and Study Habits: Increasing Students Motivation to Study and Participate. An International Journal, 2(2), 98-111. Rodgers, D. & Withrow-Thorton B.J. (2005). The Effect of Instrucational Media On Learner Motivation. International Journal of Intstuctional Media, 32(4), 333-342.