AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT

For this activity I have decided to look at learning experience 1 (learning about the Ancient Egyptians in primary History lessons) and how this could look if gamification were applied to the topic.

The project

The idea behind this as a complex learning project would be to turn the learning into an adventure based game. In this game learners would assume the role of an explorer who is on the hunt for Egyptian treasures. They would enter the catacombs and move from room to room, looking for artifacts. Each room being themed around different aspects of Egyptian history - art, Gods, geography, etc. As they find these objects, they would be provided with brief information to read through/engage with before being given a quiz, challenge or puzzle to solve. They would have to answer correctly to win the artifact. As they move they could also come across key figures from Egyptian history who set them some of the challenges, such as Tutankhamen.

Levels of difficulty could increase with each floor of the tombs being explored, and learners could be provided with an option to be given hints, which will provide a slight deduction in points if used. There is also the option to include some mummies around the tombs who attempt to throw the learner off track of take one of their collected artifacts, if the learner loses a battle they set. The final challenge could be a confrontation with the Sphinx where higher level thinking skills would need to be applied to escape the tombs (with the treasure) and complete the game.

To increase social aspects the learners could complete the game in pairs, and all final scores would be added to a leaderboard, to increase motivation to continue.

The learning would be assessed by completion of the mini-challenges and quizzes throughout, providing formative learning. With one larger final challenge then providing the summative assessment, and combining knowledge gained throughout. By passing a level, this would open up the next level, each of which increases in difficulty. The overall leaderboard provides an element of competition and motivation also.

"Experiences that do not encourage the children to make meaning from their

learning will quickly be forgotten." (Pearce, 2016)

Student-centered learning

This project is student-centered in the following ways:

Learners are free to explore at their own pace
Hints and tips are available to lower-level learners
They should work in teams to help each other solidify knowledge and learn skills from each other
The use of collecting treasure (and therefore points) provides a rewards mechanism
It addresses their learning in a fun way
The game uses a range of skills - interpersonal, academic and technology based
They would receive a certificate of completion as evidence
It gives them the opportunity to extend their learning by signposting out from the game
It allows the learners to test their knowledge and skills in a safe, risk-free environment without the pressure of exams and tests.

How is this authentic learning?

This project shows gamification through the use of gaming activities to structure and guide the learner whilst using gaming tactics such as levels, rewards, challenges and leaderboards to test knowledge and progress. The learners are free to explore, discuss their ideas and knowledge in their teams or pairs and apply their learning in a context that is associated with the topic. The use of this context also allows them to further recognise visual aspects of the history (symbols, key figures, architecture, etc) more successfully than just through descriptions and text based activities. The challenges are relevant to the learner as it is a topic they have to learn for the national curriculum as part of their school progression. The learners should ultimately link the learning that takes place in this game, to that which they have learnt in their lessons to gain a deeper understanding of the topic and personal skills.

"In education, authentic learning is an instructional approach that allows

students to explore, discuss, and meaningfully construct concepts and

relationships in contexts that involve real-world problems and projects that

are relevant to the learner" (Authentic learning, 2018)

The learning taking place also develops skills other than topic knowledge such as problem solving, communication, analysis and co-ordination. These are important skills that can be appied to other areas of their lives.

"...learning experiences should mirror the complexities and ambiguities

of real life." (Pearce, 2016)

Connections to learning theory

I think that the learning theories this project most links to are constructivism and behaviourism.

Constructivism can be seen in the following ways:

The learners are active participants in their learning. They are exploring the game scenario mostly independently and having to apply the knowledge that they have learnt in the curriculum. This game would provide exploration and problem solving in the challenges set and questioning on the learners part as to the best approach to follow.
Success in the game would rely on making connections between the different topics within Ancient Egyptians and being able to apply that knowledge.
The nature of completing the game in pairs or groups allows the learners to be paired up by the teacher so that weaker learners can work with the stronger learners
The learners are encouraged to seek assistance both from each other and from the hints and tips in the game. With the option to also seek assistance from their teacher or other teams. With this game used as an assessment method it encourages the learners to develop their independence and develop from the teacher led activities already taught.
Finally, the game would make the most of interaction with their peers, through working together and also competing against each other.

There are links to other theories evident too. For example, the nature of rewards and points is a behaviourist approach which rewards the learner for taking the correct action, so that this will be repeated. This reflects the nature of gaming which is full of stimulus and response based actions and a significant amount of trial and error. The rewards, points and leaderboard provide positive reinforcement, and the loss of points for using hints or making a mistake are negative reinforcements. As I mentioned on my behaviourism page, Skinner referred to this as Operant Conditioning.

" In operant conditioning, the organism behaves in order to elicit a reward

(reinforcement) or stops behaving to avoid a punishment"

(Gsi.berkeley.edu, 2018).

There are only a couple of links that I have found to cognitivist theory which I why I dismissed this as being signficant. One being that the game will rely somewhat on memory, and more so on attention. Learners will have to remain engaged in the game in order to progress and make links between the challenges required. It is also interesting to think about how cognition can change if the format in which the knowledge is delivered changes. As this is a different approach to the way in which the majority of lessons will be taught, it should be a novelty to the learners and stimulate some engagement and motivation, and more interaction with a topic they may not have previously been very interested in.

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Authentic learning. (2018). Retrieved July 11, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authentic_learning

Gsi.berkeley.edu. (2018). Behaviorism | GSI Teaching & Resource Center. [online] Available at: http://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/learning-theory-research/behaviorism/#teaching [Accessed 14 Jun. 2018].

Pearce, S. (2016, April). Authentic learning: What, why and how? [Editorial]. ACEL. Retrieved July 11, 2018, from http://www.acel.org.au/acel/ACEL_docs/Publications/e-Teaching/2016/e-Teaching_2016_10.pdf