The story of Room 3 and Mrs Sprague’s journey into Minecraft Education.
Crawling out from under my rock and embracing Minecraft Education as a learning tool has been a brave step for this teacher. The engagement and passion for Minecraft is apparent within the classroom. Check out this persuasive writing, written by a member of Room 3, in support of Minecraft in the classroom.
As a teacher my main concern was: How do I manage and support learning in an area I know very little about?
In mathematics, Room 3 students had been learning to calculate area and perimeter on 1cm2 grid paper. I made the connection between the squares on the grid paper to the “square and blocky” world I had seen on Minecraft. I saw an opportunity to create a purposeful and fun learning task for students to prove their ability to calculate the area and perimeter of squares and rectangles. After sharing my idea with an expert - (thank you Mrs Graham) I had the confidence to develop my learning task.
Minecraft Learning Task
Learning Task Reflection. What went well?
Genuine opportunities for students to be experts. Tane, Grayson, and Aria W were able to teach others how to make signs to show the area and perimeter of the paddocks and barn. We also had expert support from two Year 6 students from Room 8 - thanks Zayn and Lucas.
It was great to be able to work with a buddy.
When we had completed the things we had to do on the task we were able to work on the interior of our barn.
Working out area and perimeter actually make us practice our times tables and addition.
I hadn’t played Minecraft so I got to do the task with a buddy.
What could be improved?
Some students definitely got distracted by what they normally do on Minecraft and needed reminding to stick to the task. Tokawera stickers were given to students whose Minecraft farm matched their plan and had created signs showing the area and perimeter.
We were not able to take a screenshot of our Minecraft World to prove we have followed our plan but Mrs Sprague was able to take a photo of our screens to prove it.
There were lots of things we had to do for the task and I did not get time to make my signs.
I would like a task that involved more of us working together in a world. We could only work with one buddy.
Next Steps
Students are sharing ideas with me for our next Minecraft Education task so watch this space. Having Room 3 students teach this task to another class with another Minecraft rookie teacher could also be another opportunity.
Every child deserves a classroom where they feel valued and well liked by their teacher. This is a goal of mine as it makes a safe place for students to learn and grow. While I enjoy all areas of teaching and learning, mathematics is a particular passion. Supporting students to make connections between mathematical ideas and identify patterns and rules in our number system gets me very excited.
In my classroom students are encouraged to be brave, cooperative, and open to learning. It is a safe place to take a risk. Reflection is important, along with the celebration of student success.
When not at school, time spent mountain biking and exercising my energetic dog keeps me fit for a busy classroom. Helping students learn and develop is at the centre of everything I do and I am happy to continue this journey at Wairakei Primary School.
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