Methods Toolkit

Nolan Peralta
EDAE 620
Games
Examples of Use:
Games can be an integral part of the
education platform where students can
interact with their learning without even
knowing about it. If a student feels they are
playing a game, rather than learning, they
will enjoy the experience of the lesson while
taking in new knowledge. An example would
be to have students learn about the stock
market in an Economics class by having them
invest play money into various companies.
The success they achieve through the market
could play into their grade, motivating them
to succeed. This would be an interactive and
competitive way for the students to learn
about the stock market, while playing a
game. https://wilk.byu.edu/board-games
 Games

Application:
My whole profession revolves around the use of
a game in order to instill learning to my players.
I would use the game of football to teach
students about life. It is a little clich, but so
many life lessons are learned on the football
field that range from persevering through
adversity, to handling defeat. On any given
down, our players go through both positives and
negatives on the field. As a coach, it is my job to
correct mistakes that are made while also
celebrating the players successes. We as
coaches constantly use the game of football to
teach our players about the game of life, and
this is a perfect strategy to apply to our very
competitive adult education system.
https://dublinathletics.org/2017/09/19/football-and-
concussions-fact-or-sensationalism/
Games

Why is it Important?
According to Rebekah Stathakis, there are five
reasons why playing games is important in educating
students.
1) Students learn through the process of playing the
game
2) Games provide a context for engaging practice
3) Through games, students can learn a variety of
important skills. (ie. Life lessons)
4) Students can develop a variety of connections
with the content and can form positive memories of
learning
5) Games grab students attention and actively
engage them.

http://putnammellon.ss7.sharpschool.com/
 Games

Why is it Effective?
A student can take a game that they play and gain the
understanding of new concepts and ideas. It allows the
students to gain new perspectives that they may not
have been exposed to prior to the game, allowing them
to grow as a student and a person. The practice they
gain from engaging in an educational game helps
develop deep connections with the material that is long
lasting and significant. Various games have the ability
to teach students lessons that they can experience
rather than just being what is right or wrong. As
teachers we can hammer a subject down to our class,
but until they work with that topic and engage in a
game type setting, they will not make significant
connections to the information.

http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/sports/learning-lessons-about-football-life-at-
magna-vista/article_0e37fb7e-31d6-11e6-be20-1f196d339abc.html
Games

Can be used in conjunction with:

Technology
There are numerous games that can be
administered via the computer that can have
educational foundations. When students play a
game on the computer, they will be interacting with
the material in a fun way that allows them to make
mistakes and learn in a low stakes environment.
This is a fun and efficient learning tool that
teachers can administer to their students in order to
supplement their interaction with the material.

https://emotionatpeek.wordpress.com/2014/01/29/school-computer-
cafes-vs-instructional-computer-games/
Technology

Examples of Use
Technology has become such an integral piece of
the education system today that it is hard to
imagine teaching without using it. The most
apparent use of technology is the ability to go to
school online. The ability for a student to attend
a classroom gathering without having to be
physically present has revolutionized the
education system. This has paved the way for
students who may be working a job or have
children, to attend class and earn an education.
Another example would be the use of online test
taking, easing the grading process and creating a
much more efficient testing arena. With the use
of technology, the education system has become
much more efficient and effective in reaching a
greater number of students.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/439663982342827209/
Technology

Application
In order to educate our players, we utilize an
online film distribution system called XOS that
allows us as coaches to do a breakdown of
opponents film at an incredibly detailed level.
Success on the football field is just as much about
a teams quality of player as it is about mental
preparation. In order to prepare our players, we
provide them with access to the XOS system, and
encourage them to watch and analyze the game
film. This online film system has increased my
ability to coach my players by giving them visual
examples of the team they are preparing to face.
Technology is a huge factor in how we prepare our
athletes to play. https://www.linkedin.com/company-beta/242899/
Technology

Why is it Important?
According to JH Sandholtz, technology has become
a necessary tool in educating students. One reason
is that technology use prepares students for their
future careers. If students are able to be exposed
to technology during their learning careers, they
will be able to apply their knowledge to numerous
job environments that require the use of
technology on a daily basis. Also, Sandholtz makes
the point that students who have access to
technology have access to the most up to date and
accurate information available on a subject. With
so many advancements being made in our culture
day to day, it is necessary that students and
teachers alike have access to new relevant
information.
http://www.wisegeek.net/what-is-computer-assisted-teaching.htm
Technology

Why is it Effective?
Technology is effective now more than
ever as children are brought up with
numerous gadgets and computers. Since
an early age they are exposed to a digital
environment and are constantly
bombarded with information. It is a
benefit to the students to present
information in a way that matches the
technology they are accustomed to using.
As teachers, we have to continue to
adapt to the learning environment, and
provide our students with the learning
strategies that best suits their learning.
https://englishgoes.wordpress.com/2015/05/20/itca-cci-nec-technology-
standards/teacher-at-computer-room/
Technology

Can be used in conjunction with:

Technology can be combined with
numerous other teaching strategies, but
role playing could be used with programs
such as the Oregon Trail online game.
Students were required, using this
application, to put themselves in the old
west and struggle to survive. They learned
how to manage limited resources and
adapt to a changing environment both with
the use of technology and role playing.
This is a great example of how lessons can
be taught to students through the use of
technology and role playing. http://www.methodshop.com/2017/04/oregon-trail.shtml
Team Building

Examples of Use
It is important for students to gain a
sense of community in the classroom, and
to develop their own culture with their
peers. Team building activities such as
the use of Ice Breakers is a great way for
students to learn small facts about each
other that could lead to in depth
conversations about themselves. Having
the students ask each other something as
trivial as what is your favorite meal could
lead to a plethora of conversation topics
that could in turn create a connection
between them. If students feel that they
are a part of a group in their learning https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/handling-conversations-preparation-
environment, they will benefit from their difficult-muddaser-altaf/
overall education experience.
Team Building

Application
As both a coach and a player, the most successful
teams I have been a part of were the ones that
had an organic community and culture of
players. If the players care about each other,
they are willing to make sacrifices to benefit the
team as a whole. In order to encourage team
building, we schedule many team events where
players are able to interact outside of the sport
of football. We would have our players come
together on a Saturday morning during the
summer and help clean up a local park that had
been neglected. Working together towards a
common goal by cleaning up this park helped
build strong relationships between players while
also making our community better overall. Team
building is necessary to have a strong and
competitive team in the realm of sports.
https://www.eastcobbpark.org/event/rotary-club-of-marietta-metro-
east-cobb-park-and-stream-clean-up-day/
Team Building

Why is it Important?
According to Millis and Cottell in their book on
cooperative learning for higher education, team
building plays a significant role in the overall
success in the education of students. Millis and
Cottell list a series of 5 reasons for team building.
1. It helps improve communication.
2. It makes the overall classroom experience more
enjoyable.
3. It generates motivation for the class as a whole
to succeed.
4. It helps students get to know each other,
creating a sense of community.
5. It helps students generate goals for themselves,
and the class as a whole to succeed both
individually and collectively.
http://www.palmwoodsretreat.com/team_building.html
Team Building

Why is it Effective?
Team building is effective in the
classroom as it allows for students to
generate a passion for their own learning.
It is no longer a teacher trying to impart
education on the students individually,
but a collective thirst for knowledge
generated from the entire class. If
students have the ability to build a
positive culture in the classroom due to
team building activities, they will drive
their own learning forward and take over
the responsibility for their own education.
https://www.limkokwing.net/sierra_leone/news/article/team_building_
workshop_for_global_classroom_2013
Team Building

Can be used in conjunction with:

Team building can be used with a large
number of other strategies, but incorporating
games into a lesson plan can work effectively
for a class. If students are able to play a
game and compete against other teams of
students, they will build relationships with
each other that will carry on long past the
conclusion of the activity. Team building
lends itself to the incorporation of games in
the classroom, and it should be used to help
establish a culture in the classroom for the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvFturRMLIQ
students to be a part of.
Movement
Examples of Use
Movement in the classroom can correspond to
the act of doing a particular task that relates
to what is being taught. In a biology class, it is
one thing to learn about the anatomy of a
squid, but if students have the ability to
dissect the actual organism, they will have a
greater understanding of the required
material. Being able to hold the squid in their
hands and distinguish the difference between
the siphon and the beak of the animal creates
a greater atmosphere for learning than just
reviewing the corresponding images or
passages from a book. The ability to interact
physically with what is being taught allows for
a student to build real connections with the
material, more so than just reading about it in https://saintjamesschool.net/6th-grade-worm-dissection/
a text book
 Movement

Application
For my profession as a football coach, the use of
movement and incorporating what was taught in
the classroom and applying it out on the football
field with our players is the most significant part
of our coaching. Our whole sport revolves around
the movement and techniques that are taught
indoors and applied out on the field. Players are
tasked with learning a certain technique and then
applying it on the field in order to play within our
scheme. Movement and repetition helps engrain
the knowledge that we impart to our players to
the point where they no longer have to think
about the technique that we coached, but instead
react to a play with the specific movements they
were taught. http://www.stack.com/a/have-fun-get-fit-for-football
Movement
Why is it Important?
Movement in education helps on a much more
biological level than anything else. According
to Bradley Postle and his research on the brain,
the incorporation of movement removes
learners from a sedentary, low oxygen
consuming state, and increases the amount of
blood flow and oxygen to the brain. When
learners are able to move around and
physically interact when they are presented
with new material, the amount of information
storage greatly increases in the medial
temporal lobe where declarative and episodic
memories are stored. The incorporation of
movement in the classroom is not only a useful
and fun technique, it is also biologically proven
to increase a students intake and storage of
information. http://www.fotosearch.com/clip-art/brain.html
Movement

Why is it Effective?
The incorporation of movement in the classroom
can be an effective tool from a biological
standpoint, benefitting students who physically
interact with what they are learning. It can also
be an effective tool for instructors who are
looking to see which students actually have a firm
grasp on the material. Rather than asking a
question to the class and having a few students
raise their hands to answer, a teacher can ask a
student to show what they actually know. This
is a great evaluation tool that teachers can use in
the classroom as it would call upon a students https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7n0R7_hOD8
motor memories that they stored away when
learning the material initially.
Movement

Can be used in conjunction with:

Movement can easily be paired with the learning
technique of using games for education. For
example, in a history class students could be
given sets of questions that corresponded to
certain decades. They would work together to
solve the questions and have to seek out the area
of the classroom that represented that particular
era. Once they arrived at that part of the class,
they would be given another set of questions and
clues that related to a different era in history.
They would then work around the class until they
had completed every set of questions and
corresponding eras. This would be a great game
that involved movement in order to drive their http://www.abcmusic.cz/pages/picture.php3?image=sem12.jpg&title=The%20ac
learning. tor%92s%20body%20used%20as%20an%20instrument,%20Dance%20and%20moveme
nt%20games&width=550&height=413
Case Studies
Examples of Use
An example of a case study in an Anatomy
class would be to offer certain symptoms
from an imaginary patient, and have the
student diagnose what is wrong with the
individual. This real world application of
what they are learning in the class is a great
learning tool for the students. They are
forced to think about the parts of the body
and their specific functions, but also how the
dysfunction of a body part could lead to
symptoms of a patient. Once they generate a
diagnosis for their patient, they would then
have to create a treatment plan in order to
relieve the individual of their symptoms
relating to their illness or injury. This is a http://admissions.med.miami.edu/
great method for teaching medical students
how to diagnose injuries and illnesses.
Case Studies

Application
As a coach, we take the approach of evaluating
an opposing team as a case study. We research
the other teams tendencies as far as what
defenses they prefer to run during various
situations throughout the game. A team may
play more zone coverage in first and second
down situations, but when it gets into third
downs, a team may like to play more man to
man coverage. We take a look at their scheme
but also their personnel groupings in order to
find the best way to attack their weaknesses.
The concept of case studies are applied to
coaching every single week as teams show great
variation in how they will approach trying to http://www.ncsasports.org/blog/2014/10/27/game-plan-basketball-
stop us on offense. We then take this recruiting/
information and present it to our players so that
they can learn about the opponent and apply
the knowledge to the field of play.
Case Studies
Why is it Important?
According to Kevin Bonney, the use of case studies have
become an increasingly common strategy for teaching in
the world of science education. The implementation of a
case study has shown to increase the understanding of
learning objectives more effectively than simply reading a
text book or discussing the topic in a biology setting. A
particular study on the methods to improve student
performance has found that case studies, regardless of the
source, are significantly more effective than other methods
of content delivery at increasing performance on
examination questions (Bonney, 2015). So much of our
education system is testing a students ability to take in
information and answer questions in a testing format. The
use of case studies helps target the learning goals that are https://carleton.ca/biology/
required in order to succeed in the classroom.
Case Studies

Why is it Effective?
Case studies are effective because they place
the student in a real world scenario where
they have to use their own knowledge to solve
a problem. They are not simply being asked to
answer a multiple choice question, but are
required to think critically in order to come up
with a solution to the task at hand. This is
incredibly beneficial to the medical field
where students can place themselves in the
operating room and make decisions on a
patients health, without actually having to
make a life or death decision. They are making
decisions in a low stakes environment that will
prepare them for their future profession. https://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-images-group-students-
working-together-classroom-image29221899
 Case Studies

Can be used in conjunction with:

Case studies pair well with students working in groups to
solve complex problems. When presented with a case
study, the open discussion that occurs within a group of
students is the ideal way to come up with a solution to the
task at hand. Gaining different perspectives on a topic
that causes students to think beyond what they have been
taught is one of the greatest benefits of using case studies
in the classroom. Students who work together in a group
on a case study are able to challenge each other by asking
leading questions, and formulate an answer that includes
all of their collective knowledge and opinions. This is vital
for students to push their minds beyond what they https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-2365595-stock-
normally would have if they worked on an assignment on footage-smiling-students-working-together-with-a-laptop-
in-a-bright-room.html
their own.
 References

Bonney, K. M. (2015). Case study teaching method improves student performance and perceptions of
learning gains. Journal of microbiology & biology education, 16(1), 21.

Millis, B. J., & Cottell Jr, P. G. (1997). Cooperative Learning for Higher Education Faculty.
Series on Higher Education. Oryx Press, PO Box 33889, Phoenix, AZ 85067-3889.

Postle, B. R. (2006). Working memory as an emergent property of the mind and brain. Neuroscience,
139(1), 23-38.

Stathakis, R. (2013). A Good Start: 147 Warm-Up Activities for Spanish Class. Routledge.

Sandholtz, J. H. (1997). Teaching with technology: Creating student-centered classrooms. Teachers

College Press, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1234 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY
10027.