Gaming generativity and_happimess_society

Editor's Notes

1. 2009 PISA rank average Program for International Student Assessment
2. 2009 PISA rank average Program for International Student Assessment
3. In sports we emphasize outcomes and in a very public way (think sports section, or nightly news recaps of the HS footbal games). In academics we keep this private (honorrol once a year, may be published in local papers). Students do not have a transparent picture of how they stack up against others in their class, district wide, or even nationally. There is only once or twice a year that the school collects information on each student that the student can use to compare, this needs to be continuous to be effective. Games usually provide a sense of where one is in relation to compettors, whether it is on a score board, or they can look ahead or behind them in a race.I believe that schools have amputated a benficial motivator, natural competition. John Tauer is a psychology professor at the University of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minn., where he studies competition and coaches the men’s basketball team. “When I hear solutions that say let’s eliminate competition,” Mr. Tauer said, “that’s not realistic.”“Not everybody gets to be a doctor,” he added, by way of example. “You don’t get away from competition unless you go to a system where everybody gets to do what they want whenever they want.”In a series of studies over a five-year period, he looked at how children ages 9 to 14 performed shooting free throws in three situations: when one player was pitted against another (direct competition); when two players worked together to get the highest combined score (cooperation); and when two players joined forces to try to score more than another pair (cooperation combined with competition).The combination of cooperation and competition resulted in greater satisfaction and often in higher scores as well. “It’s as consistent of a finding as we’ve had,” Dr. Tauer said. “Kids prefer the combination of competition and cooperation. It’s a significant increase in enjoyment.” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/11/garden/the-role-of-competitiveness-in-raising-healthy-children.html?pagewanted=all
4. 2009 PISA rank average Program for International Student Assessment
5. The emphasis on competition, somewhat misses the point — even at the level of champions. The greatest players he has known and played against, he said, are problem solvers. When they play against other greats, they relish the challenge of solving a difficult problem. Winning or losing is simply a measure of whether or not they have solved the problem. Erik van Dillen beat mcEnroe at Wimbeldon
6. Gamin as problem solving.
7. Gamin as problem solving when used in a cooperative environment pitting groups of students against others leads to engaegment, enjoyment, and deeper udnertsandings.
8. IN WAR GAMES THE COMPUTER QUICKLY LEARNS THROUGH MULTIPLE SIMULATIONS THAT TIC-TAC-TOE IS A PERFECTLY BALANCED GAME.In the real world, students naturally select matched opponents, if you look at online gaming sites kids will find their competitive peers, where the game is challenging but possible to win. Sometimes the computers will match opponents based on skill level determined by scoring. This is perfectly times scaffolding.ZERO ASYMETRY at the START. Meaning equally talented players will always end in a tie.World politics is about balancing powers, creating level or sometimes unlevel playing fields and how people and groups of people operate within that framework. Simulations of various power structures will help students develop startegies for working in a variety of climates and to deal with change.
9. IN WAR GAMES THE COMPUTER QUICKLY LEARNS THROUGH MULTIPLE SIMULATIONS THAT TIC-TAC-TOE IS A PERFECTLY BALANCED GAME.In the real world, students naturally select matched opponents, if you look at online gaming sites kids will find their competitive peers, where the game is challenging but possible to win. Sometimes the ciomputers will match opponents based on skill level determined by scoring. This is pefectlytimed scaffolding.Microsoft in devloping HALO reengineered levels to improve playabiloty by providng contextual clues to help players more easily solve the levels and to teach and build skills needed later in the game.
10. Notice how the teachers had to change the rules to balance the game. This is the life lesson that I think they missed and an excellent opportunity to dicuss the inequities in the real world. How different systems affect human outcomes. These teachers are using cooperation and competition something that John Tauer determined was essential for development in his research.
11. I think the takeaway from most research is team based competition, utilizing various skill sets aimed at mastery and not so much winning.