How I turned my classroom into a ‘living video game’–and saw achievement soar

The notion that struggling and failing is important to learning runs counter to traditional approaches to U.S. education. In fact, failure and its accompanying "F" grade stigmatizes a student as unprepared or "challenged" and is usually seen as a predictor of failure in future grades.

In the world of gaming, however, the very elements of struggle, challenge, and failure that discourage kids in the classroom become the primary drivers of engagement and achievement.

In 2011, after 14 years of teaching, I decided to transform my second grade classroom into a living video game. The inspiration for this was the book, Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World by Jane McGonigal. McGonigal’s message is that the monotony of classroom routines can be deadening to kids, that individuals are wired to need brain stimulation, and that even the most straightforward games can provide that.

By Joli Barker

Full Story: http://www.eschoolnews.com/2013/03/12/how-i-turned-my-classroom-into-a-living-video-game-and-saw-achievement-soar/?ps=207479-0013000000j13I7-0033000000qi9AL