Why are students so busy learning things at home? They are huge into video games, basketball, clothing and so many other things. They are what Sheryl Nuessbam-Beach calls passion based learning. I've always wondered how a student can remember the millionth level of ___________ name the most recent video game. They can map every twist and turn of how to get to the "nth" level and they will know everything they need to have in order to magically open the door.
So why can't students remember their math facts?
There's a huge gap between what I want them to learn and what they want to learn. Duh.
One of my biggest ah-ha's of thinking about gaming is that it keeps kids constantly challenged with rewards they've picked that are just out of reach. They need to learn something in order to gain that reward. I know part of it is choice...they picked the reward not me.
So that's a big question with which I need to wrestle. How to use this idea of passion-based learning and what I think I sort of know about gaming....and merge them into designing units and lessons which gives students ownership and choice...and pushes them to more rigorous places of learning. So they'll know the "nth level" of earthquakes and density and convection currents.
Check out how Constance Steinkuher talks about the pedagogy of gaming. It's amazing. I loved the way she thinks that "teaching should be more like community organizing". Right on.