Learning with Quest Atlantis in Singapore

Doreen Ang & Steve Zuiker

Learning Sciences Lab

a research project funded

by the NIE office of educational research

Monday, 7 September 2009

Creating new classrooms dynamics with new media tools:

Learning with Quest Atlantis in Singapore

why am i here

share my ideas about teaching and learning

share related research in Singapore

discuss your questions and feedback

Learning Sciences Lab (LSL) – Background and Mission

Foster deep learning with technology- enabled, pedagogical practices for cultivating 21st century knowledge and skills through learning sciences research in Singapore schools

Established in 2005Researching technology-enabled pedagogical practicesResearching ICT-enhanced transformation in schoolsProtyping emerging concepts and approachesStrengthening MOE’s research capacityProfessional development of school leaders and teachers

quest atlantis is a web-based conceptual play space

questatlantis.org

quest atlantis is a community

quest atlantis is a global community with 15,000+ users worldwide

• Australia, Canada, China, Croatia, Denmark, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Uganda, United States (Indiana, Boston, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, California, Florida),

Online Teacher Connection Meetings Teacher Connections are restarting on the first Thursday of each month. That means our next Teacher Connection will be September 3rd at the times belowWe use QA and skype (http://www.skype.com <http://www.skype.com/> )for these meetings held in 3 sessions travelling about the globe.

Official Quest Atlantis BlogWe will be inviting teachers to be guest bloggers and tell your QA stories to the world. If you are a blogger and you want to us to link your blog to our blogroll please let us know.

Plague ResearchToward better understanding an international research and design project will assemble, as a sub-community, to implement a common QA unit (Plague Unit) over the second half of the 2009 calendar year.

FacebookIt is a private group so only QA teachers can join (no students). If you have thought about Facebook but never ventured there this might your reason. There you can meet up with QA teachers from about the globe, see their faces, global associations and ideas about teaching with QA.

Quest Writing WorkshopsGot ideas for new quests? Then the next online workshop for Quest Writing might interest you in October. Watch out for these to appear on our schedule. http://atlantis.crlt.indiana.edu/public/pdInfo.pl

Quest Atlantis Teaching WikiWe have a wiki for teachers to share content and ideas.


http://www.skype.com/

http://www.skype.com/

http://atlantis.crlt.indiana.edu/public/pdInfo.pl

Quest Atlantis on TwitterLots of QA teachers are already tweeting and following each other to keep up with the news, share resources and teaching ideas.

Online Facilitator TrainingFacilitator training will take place online in September. Facilitators are able to train and support teachers in the schools and districts.

Student Congress Development We are about to put together a proposal with a small group of teachers to take a disused world and re-purpose it as a student congress with several dedicated areas for such as Quester presentations, inworld machinima development, and Quester showcases.

Pre-service VisibilityWe have just opened a pre-service visibility in QA where the next generation of teachers will be able to meet with colleagues from about the globe to learn about teaching and learning in virtual worlds and games. Those of you working in teacher education will be interested in learning how your student teachers can become engaged.

Teacher BuildingDon’t forget that we have a world for teachers to build in and some great teams have formed already to meet and build, share war stories and further envision learning in a virtual world. Visit the notice board in Free4All (accessed via Teacherville and Qville) to see what lots are vacant or teams you could join.


Teachers

BuoysDesignersResearchers

Facilitators


21st century learning involves more than curriculum change

Teaching and learning with new media entails more than just adoption of technological innovations. It often requires a shift in classroom dynamics

challenging and/or disconcerting shift for teachers to make.

BUT, classroom dynamics creates opportunities for social interaction = more student centred learning.

21st Century Learning

games & play

Quest Atlantis•brings together the power of videogames, academics, and participation in socially-meaningful activities•participation in this game is designed to enhance the lives of children while helping them grow into knowledgeable, responsible, and empathetic adults

our goals include:•rewriting the narrative of videogames as something pro-social and about things that have significance in the real world

•rewriting the narrative of academic content such that students appreciate its real-world value

•rewriting the narrative of schooling as something that involves content and stories that are personally engaging

•rewriting the narrative about what it means to be a person in the world, providing students with pro-social identities and trajectories of participation

games & play

Subject matter versus discipline

DisciplineDiscipliness

Way of thinking about or “seeing” the world

Observe, create, define, revise

(professionals and students are not the same)

(Gardner, 2006)

DisciplineDiscipliness

Way of thinking about or “seeing” the world

Observe, create, define, revise

(professionals and students are not the same)

(Gardner, 2006)

quest atlantis features learning-by-doing

“Tell me and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand”

Confucious (450 B.C.E.)

“we learn by doing only after reflecting on what we have done”John Dewey (1929 C.E.)

“learning comes from and with the doing”James Gee (2008 C.E.)


• an active dynamic process rather than a passive product of experiences

• motivated intrinsically rather than extrinsically

• experienced within meaningful, relevant contexts

• building on existing knowledge

How People Learn (2000)

learning is more powerful when it is...

Multiple levels of feedback

Real

ContextPurpose/

Goals

quest atlantis curricula

aligned to MOE syllabi2-3 weeks in durationrequires use of computer lab10-20 minutes pre & post assessmentsaction research projects can be incorporated



examples of interactions

with characters and tools


examples of

student work

teacher toolkits organize teacher work

fgsgquest atlantis features learning-by-doing

Ingolstadt: The Plague Unit

(focuses on persuasive writing)

*WANTED*Investigative reporter

•Find out about the mysterious plague that is causing havoc in the village

•help the citizens of Ingolstadt to help them make an important decisionMultiple levels of

feedback

Purpose/Goals

Real

Context

Learners explore immersive worlds in order to identify and solve problems



Real Context

Purpose/Goals

• mayor• policeman• reporter• town folks

In the quest for the truth, students gain accreditation and affirmation

Virtual character discovers heritage which parallels students’ actual discovery of issues related to medical ethics and contends with concepts of “the ends justifying the means”

Purpose/Goals

Real

Context


For teachers: Scaffolded learning

For teachers: What does it mean to teach the discipline?

t(35)=6.4, p=0.000t(37)=5.3, p=0.000

learning with taiga in secondary schools

pre-post assessment of learning(5-item multiple choice test)


*lower=better

subject area common assessment

“As a teacher teaching all 3 classess, I thought that perhaps the experience at QA might have increased their interest/ability in Geography. We would expect the Class A and Class B to perform better than Class C. However, for the Common Test, C had outdone A and B. The period that they did the Common Test was just after the QA experience. That is the basis of my belief. However, the results re-aligned back to what it was supposed to be for the MYE.”


subject area common assessment

t(35)=6.4, p=0.000


pre-post assessment of learning(18-point performance assessment)

glocal=local & global

•capacity to bridge scales

•potential to overcome bounded little box thinking

opportunities & challenges for Singapore secondary schools

pursuing effective yet efficient learning

striving for transformative & sustainable curricula

Concernsinternet bandwidth lag in MOE schools

concerns about videogames such as violence and addiction

conclusion

share my ideas about teaching and learning

o shifting classroom dynamics

Transformational Play

o Plague

report related research in Singapore

o Significant gains in Taiga

Questions and Answer

Question and Answer

acknowledgements

thank you to the teachers and students who partnered to implement and refine the unit over the past four years and to Sasha Barab for guiding the collaborative effort involved in both designing the curriculum and purusing the research. my fellow collaborators include Kate Anderson, Anna Arici Barab, Enkar, Jo Gilbertson, Conant Heislet, Susan Herring, Dan Hickey, Adam Ingram-Goble, Asmalina Saleh, Craig Jackson, Ellen Jameson, Eun Ju Kwon, Ina Kouper, Troy Sadler, Briana Scott, Rebecca Smith, Sharon Stoegler, Bronwyn Stuckey, and Scott Warren.

this research was supported by the National Science Foundation grant REC-0092831 to Indiana University and by the Learning Sciences Lab grant R8019.735.LE10 to Steve Zuiker. the views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of the National Science Foundation, Indiana University, or the National Institute of Education-Singapore.

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