In today’s digital age, it’s no surprise that students are often more engaged with technology than with traditional classroom methods. As educators, it’s our job to find ways to make learning more interactive for our students. One way to increase student engagement is to complete a classroom transformation–more specifically, the Video Game Classroom Transformation! In this blog post, we will explore 5 reasons why you should try a Video Game Classroom Transformation. From improved engagement to catering to different learning styles, this transformation can benefit your classroom long after the day is over.
1: VIDEO GAMES INCREASE ENGAGEMENT
The Video Game Classroom Transformation comes with 10 math or reading challenges that are all video game themed. These challenges review academic skills and can be used on test review days or any day of the week! The goal is to make learning more fun and interactive for students, while also helping them improve their problem-solving skills. While students don’t actually play video games in this transformation, they get the same enjoyment from being transported out of a regular classroom and into the exciting world of a video game. They often don’t even realize they’re completing a rigorous academic review.
Using this video game day room transformation can be an effective way to engage your students with the content. A change from the normal pace of a school day can make all the difference in a student’s attitude toward learning. Your class will be motivated to work, use their problem-solving skills, and engage with the content even after the transformation ends. Student engagement is the best part about classroom transformations. The Video Game Transformation is one your students will talk about for days!
2: VIDEO GAME DAY IMPROVES CRITICAL THINKING
Critical thinking is a vital skill for success in today’s fast-paced and ever-changing world. You can never teach it to your students too early, and a classroom transformation is a perfect way to start. With the Video Game Classroom Transformation, elements of video games are used in the academic challenges. By solving these video game day challenges, students are provided with opportunities to improve their critical thinking skills in a fun and interactive way. These challenges often have some sort of real-world example that students can identify. This helps them make real-world connections and apply what they have learned.
Video games are often a fun way to test your problem-solving skills as you navigate through the game. Students can do the same with this classroom transformation, testing the limits of their minds while learning to think logically. It might seem unrealistic to think that incorporating video games into your curriculum could benefit your classroom so much. But it’s true! A little fun can go a long way in learning.
3: COLLABORATION AND TEAMWORK
In any job or field, you’re going to be working with others. The Video Game Classroom Transformation is a great way to teach students how to collaborate with a team. This can be useful long down the road. This room transformation includes 10 academic challenges that can be solved in partners or groups. This helps students learn how to work with others, communicate effectively, and share ideas. By working in teams, students are able to share their strengths and compensate for each other’s weaknesses. This leads to better problem-solving and decision-making. All the while, your class is reviewing important math and reading skills!
Another element of the Video Game Classroom Transformation is the “Chance Card” activity. After finishing a video game day challenge, students reach into the chance card bag and pull out a card. The chance card can tell them to do various challenges. For example, there’s a “mini-game” where they solve a few math problems or “Level Up” where they can skip a challenge of the teacher’s choice. One of the chance cards is “Team Battle”. This is where the student gets to work with a friend on the next challenge. It’s a great way to encourage teamwork and collaboration among students. They get to bond with their peers during the school day. My students have made fast friends during this transformation. They are often much better at working with others after the day is over!
4: DIFFERENT LEARNING STYLES
Every student has a unique learning style, which can sometimes be difficult to cater to when you have a large class. However, the Video Game Classroom takes that into account and incorporates as many different types of challenges as it can! For example, some of the challenges are pure equations. These are great for students who prefer a more analytical approach to learning. Other challenges have word problems, which help students who prefer a more verbal approach to learning. And some challenges include pictures and graphs, which cater to students who prefer a more visual approach to learning.
This diverse set of challenges often helps students to thrive in their comfort zone and then explore in a fun way. For example, a student who prefers a more visual approach to learning may find the video game day challenges with pictures more engaging, while a student who prefers a more verbal approach may find the word problems more engaging. However, each of these students gets to try the other types of learning and broaden their skill set! By using video game day challenges, students will be more inclined to engage with the material, even when it seems unfamiliar.
5: VIDEO GAME DAY FOSTERS CREATIVITY
One of the most significant benefits of a Video Game Classroom Transformation is that it can foster creativity in students. Creativity is the ability to think outside the box and come up with unique ideas–a skill that’s essential for problem-solving, innovation, and success in today’s world. Even though the students aren’t playing actual video games in this transformation, these elements still remain present. From start to finish, students are whisked away on a magical 8-bit journey in which they can lose themselves in (and forget they’re learning!). This allows them to think creatively as they come up with new solutions to problems.
With your entire classroom transformed into a video game, students are also allowed to imagine themselves somewhere totally new and exciting. A place where they feel capable enough to complete rigorous challenges using their own learning styles. Having this kind of creative freedom allows kids to think freely in an environment where they’re not afraid of failure because it’s not a typical day at school. They’re in a video game! They know they can try again and again until they beat the “final boss,” or rather a tricky math or reading problem. Creativity is key.
CONCLUSION:
To sum everything up, there are many reasons why you should try a Video Game Classroom Transformation in your classroom. One of the main reasons is that it increases student engagement, which leads to more effective learning. Additionally, it improves critical thinking skills, inspires teamwork and collaboration, caters to many different learning styles, and fosters creativity. And the most important reason you should try video game day? It’s FREE when you join my Facebook Group: Classroom Transformations with The Lifetime Learner!
By incorporating elements of video games into the classroom, educators can increase motivation to learn, which leads to more engaged students who are better equipped to succeed in the world. Using a Video Game Classroom Transformation to make learning more fun is definitely worth a try!
Grab this classroom transformation for FREE for math or reading skills when you join my Facebook Group: Classroom Transformations with The Lifetime Learner! Find it in the files section of the group.
Click HERE to learn more about how to implement the Video Game Day Classroom Transformation!
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