The Biogen Idec Foundation aims to provide students with innovative ways of exploring science literacy and hopes to introduce children to the prospect of one day entering into a career in science.  Their grant specifically allows teachers in the Durham Public School system the opportunity to use the Taiga Water Quality unit. In this unit, students interact with virtual park rangers, loggers, fishermen, and indigenous people, uncovering the multiple perspectives surrounding the issue of the fish population declining in a river in a virtual national park. The students take water samples at three points along the virtual river, run these samples in a virtual lab (which scaffolds the learning of pH, turbidity, eutrophication, etc.), and use the resulting data to uncover where the problems in the water exist. Finally, they create a scientific report detailing a plan to bring life back to the river and ecosystem while balancing the needs of all the local peoples. 

As students explore the situation, they are making important discoveries about how disciplinary learning can be a powerful tool for making meaningful changes in the world.  Students are not only learning about the scientific water quality terms and processes; they are developing an understanding that science is actually a powerful tool they can use to solve problems and make a difference in the world, and the students themselves realize that this acquiring this knowledge is precisely what empowers them to solve these problems.

As I reflect on the current state of education in our country, I can’t help but wonder what would happen if more companies like Biogen Idec or its Foundation helped to empower children is such a way. What if more companies focused not just on company profits, but also choose to invest in their communities, in the children and in the future, to help students to care about disciplinary knowledge?  What if we could help our students realize that understanding and enlisting academic content is one way to truly solve problems in the world?  Just imagine how differently our students might approach their school day, and how their attitude towards education may change in the process, especially if they knew that profitable companies, not just their parents and school teachers, valued their contributions and chose to invest in their future.  What a world of difference this kind of partnership could make for our students and for our schools. 

Making a difference in the world through the use of science…Through their commitment to their patients, their employees and their support of education in their community, the Biogen Idec Foundation seems to be able to teach us all this very important lesson very well.

The theme park in Taiga provides both content and game support to teachers.

Well, now you can!   We’ve recently introduced our PD theme parks, areas in Teacherville to help teachers experience an abridged version of the Unit while learning how to best support their students’ use of the curriculum.  Each theme park will allow teachers to try out a special Mission based on the Unit where they can learn about the narrative, the most consequential student moments, as well as gain insights into how to best support students in their understanding of the material.  Teachers can try the Unit on for size, literally, as they put on a  Native American outfit in Mesa Verde or try on the campaign hat in the statistics Unit.  How fun would it be to join your students in the 3D space wearing a Native American outfit as a teaser?  Seeing your teacher wearing a news reporter hat or a squash blossom necklace might be just the ticket to generating a little more excitement about an upcoming QA Unit.

Teachers can submit exemplary Quests to share with others

More importantly, teachers get a full understanding of the Unit in a VERY short time!   These new PD missions take only 20-30 minutes to experience, but are chock full of teacher tidbits, videos and content.  In the theme park itself, we’ve even added additional supports, such as teacher forums where teachers can share insights from their use of the curriculum, examples of exemplary Quests and other background materials to fully prepare you for teaching the Unit.  We encourage teachers to post on the forums or submit these example Quests — either Quests that were wonderful from the start, or Quests that became wonderful after feedback.  This is one way teachers can share their successes with others in the QA community, as well as develop an idea of what kind of work can result from these Units.

A short immersive experience…additional resources…community support…the price of this ticket could be extravagant, but you’ll be admitted for free upon entering Teacherville!  These theme parks are always open, and after jumping a board to take the ride, teachers may find themselves better prepared to support their students in their exploration of the curriculum. 

Cotton candy is optional.

Dr. Melissa Gresalfi and I were brainstorming earlier this week about some new professional development Missions we’re creating aimed at helping teachers get a handle on some of our most popular curricular units.  As we were discussing ways to draw teachers into the Missions, Melissa recalled a favorite scene in a favorite movie…Mary Poppins.  The scene is where Mary Poppins takes the Banks children to meet Bert, who is drawing a beautiful chalk scene on the sidewalk.  Suddenly, with a knowing grin and a wink, the adults take the children by the hand, and all together, they jump into the drawing, totally immersing themselves, just for a while, in a colorful, whimsical experience.

The image has stuck and has me thinking about how teachers can really transform the learning experience.  Much like Mary Poppins, part of our role is to embrace that play experience. A new article recently published in Educational Leadership entitled Why Educators Should Care About Video Games talks about some ways this can be done when leveraging the use of video games in the classroom, but one of the most important seems to be that leap into the game.  When teachers take on the role of a game character when reviewing Quests or when they support not only the big ideas and concepts, but also, bring the narrative into their classroom, they become important characters in the game.  Magically, that sense of play really does seem to color the learning experience and truly transforms both motivation and outcomes for our students.

So, next time you are wondering how to motivate your students, look for a way to bring some magic and an element of fun into your classroom, take your students by the hand and jump! When you and your students are having fun together, the job of teaching and learning seems to feel more like a game indeed!