Today I am linking up with Sweet Sweet Primary for our book study of Michael Matera's book Explore Like a Pirate. Join us each Tuesday as we share our takeaways from this book that is all about engaging your students. If you missed my previous posts you can find them here:
This chapter is titled: New World, Old World, and is essentially a comparison to the old ways of learning with the new ways of learning. Michael Matera says that his passion for gamification stems from his belief that "we must continually discover methods to move away from the unbending, monolithic structures of education." What our grandparents' generation needed in school is not what the students of today need.
Games Make Kids Want to Learn
As educators we must inspire our students to be self motivated learners. The author says the focus of standards, while important, is not what touches the soul of our students. He reminds us that we are not teaching standards, we are teaching students.
Inspire the Extraordinary
Matera uses several mantras with his class. One of these mantras is: " Strive to do the extraordinary" He says that we live in extraordinary times, so why would you strive to be simply ordinary?
He also tells them: "Life is about choices, so choose wisely." He encourages them to spend time doing things that will stretch their skills, and push them to try new things. I think this is great advice for everyone, not just our students!
Since using gamification in his classroom, Matera says that he has seen an upsurge in the extraordinary within his students. I am excited to continue reading along to see the ways he puts this in practice!
If you would like to join us on this gamification journey there is still time to link up. And just a helpful FYI, it's FREE on Kindle Unlimited right now!
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I love your graphics! I, too, really had a connection with the mantra "Life is about choices, so choose wisely." I can certainly apply that to my own life!
ReplyDeleteGreat quotes from the book! There are so many good points in this chapter. And your graphic is super cute! Thanks for linking up.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a great idea to use the mantras. He's right - We live in extraordinary times, so why would you strive to be simply ordinary? This hits home as a teacher.. Why should we strive to be ordinary, when we could do something extraordinary with these game elements in our classrooms? Can't wait to read the rest of this book!
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