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.
I have been teaching since 2004. I started teaching at Wairakei Primary School in 2011. I am married to Steve and we have two children – Myles and Amelia. Myles and Amelia both enjoyed their primary school years here at Wairakei Primary School. I am really proud to be part of this school and appreciate all the amazing opportunities that are given to our children.
I like working with children and teaching. I love the fun that can be had and the feeling of being a part of a child’s growth and development. My favourite subject is maths. I appreciate the patterns and connections that can be found in numbers and I enjoy problem-solving. I have trained as a Math Specialist Teacher (MST).
My family and I love living in the Taupō area. When I’m not teaching I enjoy spending time with my family, walking my dog and mountain biking - which is a particular family passion.
Comments
No one has commented on this post yet.