Experience POints (XP) in STEM 7/8
First, let's think about most video games you play (I said most, not all). Usually video games have a "reward system" of some sort where you gain XP, level up, move along, unlock things or something of that sort. Maybe you gain new skills and abilities the further along you progress. But most games have a system where the longer you play the more XP you earn. From Plants Vs. Zombies to Madden and from Skyrim to Clash Royale, Experience Points (XP) comes into play.
Well, GAMIFICATION incorporates some of those same concepts about XP into the classroom. Ultimately, because rules are rules I have to give you a grade by the end of the trimester. But HOW we come up with that grade is going to be a bit different. So let's explain what XP will look like in this classroom and how it should change the way you think about learning. |
The "Old Way" of gradingOK. You get your assignment. You work hard at it, and then the teacher collects it to grade. When it comes back, you wait to see what grade you get. And is usually some fraction like 18/20 or 23/30. You then ask the teacher, "What grade is this?" because you don't want to do the math yourself.
Next, in your head you think about that grade you got and what it means for your overall grade. If you "had a B" in the course and the assignment you just got back is a B, you are happy because your grade did not change. It didn't go up, but it also did not go down either. So you are right where you want to be. So you keep going on like this over and over. Every assignment you worry about earning just enough points to "keep your grade" right where you want it to be. Every assignment, quiz and test comes and goes, and all you care about is that grade that comes in as a fraction. As long as it doesn't "affect my grade too much" you are content to let it be what it is. But the problem with this is it makes you do only enough not to get in trouble. Not to get yelled at. And not to force yourself to do better. It leads to accepting that the "bare minimum" is OK. |
The "Gamified way" of earning XPSo now let's take a look at the GAMIFICATION method of earning XP by first taking a look at video games in general. For the most part, when you play a game with XP you are rewarded based on what you do right, not what you did wrong. It's not like you say to yourself, "Man, that fight was worth 500 XP and I got only 350. That is a C. That sucks." And you also know that in video games, things that are harder usually give more XP because they take more time, more energy and more things done right. Well, doesn't that sound like a good idea to use in the classroom?
So let's take a look at how all assignments, classwork, quizzes, tests and everything will be graded in this classroom. Let's say you are doing a HW assignment. I, as the teacher, have made the assignment worth a possible 50 XP. You do the work, turn it in and I grade it. I look at what you did "right" and the things you did well on the assignment and assign you XP for those things. So I might give you 42 XP. I DID NOT give you a 42/50 on the test. I said that you earned 42 XP, which means you add that to your XP total for the class. I know, I know, you are thinking right now, "Isn't that the same thing? Getting 42 XP when I could have gotten 50 means I got a B." Well...... not really. Gamification and XP focuses on what you earned for doing "right" and not on what you missed because it was "wrong." Gamification says you earn points for what you did right, and those points continue to add up. And now let's think about video games - do you ever "lose levels?" If you lose a game in Clash Royale, do you lose XP and go down in levels? If you die in PvZ 2: Garden Warfare, do you lose levels on your plant? If you lose a football game, does your player in Madden lose levels? In probably every game, if something goes wrong like you die, you lose or you fail at it, do you lose your XP and all that work you put into it up to that point? |
Think about it..... This is the way the "Real World" is now....
What does this mean about learning....Focus in STEM should be on what you do RIGHT, not what you MISSED or did WRONG. STEM learning is a process, not necessarily an outcome. You should make mistakes. You should miss things along the way. But you should be able to have a chance to use those failures and mistakes to improve upon future learning. You should not be "punished" for what you did "wrong," because sometimes wrong answers lead to "right" answers in the future. Things about where we would be if inventors from the past stopped trying because their first couple of attempts failed.
.... and what does it mean about grading.....?And now for the bombshell. Ready for this......
Everyone in this class will start with 0 XP. Yes, zero. And that means that everyone in this class will start with an F. BUT, every time you do an assignment, every time you complete something you will earn XP. This XP will add to your total, and you will slowly earn more and more XP. And the more you earn, the more you level. The more you level, the higher your grade goes. And ....... you will NEVER lose XP. This means that your grade will NEVER go down! You heard that right. Your grade, once you earn it, will NEVER go down. Not even once. It can't. It won't. |