Pave the Path to better Memory in the Classroom!

      Working memory is essential for productive classroom learning. Students and teachers alike would benefit from educational games that work their “memory muscles” to make sure they are in the best shape for optimal classroom learning. Path Memory is a memory game that can be used in classrooms ranging from second grade all the way up to the college level because it is simple enough for young children to understand and it is engaging enough for a whole range of intelligent beings to enjoy. In a Social Studies classroom in particular, Path Memory can be used to promote working memory before teaching about important historical events. There is so much information to be memorized in History and Geography related subjects and Path Memory can be used to promote healthy working memory.

A rubric is a great, generalized tool that allows individuals to judge a whole slew of things depending on what each rubric is geared toward. The most challenging aspect of developing a rubric is making it specific enough to the subject matter being judged but also keep it general enough as not to constrain judges to options they would not want to use. When creating the rubric for Path Memory, wording each category proved to be the most challenging. We chose a scale with only 3 components: poor, fair, and outstanding. We felt that constraining our scale to these three components kept our rubric simple enough to judge our game and website but specific enough to get a good sense of the game and site without even seeing it. Our categories were simple and straightforward so that those using the rubric and reading the rubric would be able to understand it with ease.

Our rubric was definitely far from perfect and would need to be changed before being used in the classroom. Some categories were a bit redundant and could have been grouped together because of their similarity. After consolidating similar categories, I would add categories specific to NETST standards such as: Game “enabled all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress” (International Society for Technology in Education [ISTE], 2008). Path Memory is efficient in meeting this standard because the game allows players to go as fast or as slow as they need to in remembering the path set out for them. 

     Path Memory is also efficient in meeting this standard because it prominently displays players' progress at every step in the game. This is important for players to assess their own progress and to either log or simply put to memory how far they get through the game each time they play it. This game is so versatile it can be used in a range of classrooms for students and individuals in a range of grades and ages. Memory is important for everyone!

Works Cited

International Society for Technology in Education [ISTE] (2008). NETS●T [PDF document].

                Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers.aspx

Rubric: Path Memory on Play Kids Games

Group B: Irene, Krystal, Andrealline, Elizabeth

Imagination and Creativity are Key

                According to Jennifer Nelson, “[t]he ASSURE model is an (Instructional Systems Design) process that is designed to integrate technology and media into the teaching and learning environment. […] The ASSURE model is a six step planning framework used to plan lessons and promote effective pedagogical practice” (Nelson, 2009). Using the ASSURE model for this lesson plan demystified my clueless predisposition to creating lesson plans because the framework is so clear and concise that it made creating a clear lesson plan extremely easy.

                NETS●S Standard 2a states, “Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity” (International Society for Technology in Education [ISTE], 2008). This lesson plan takes students’ prior knowledge of data tables and gives them a new technological tool to create and format digital data tables that can be shared with not only the rest of the class but also their parents and other organizations when the need arises. By giving students the simple task of finding and organizing data into a digital spreadsheet, teachers set the foundation for numerous uses of digital spreadsheets including, but not limited to, scientific research and exploration results, student organization data, and fundraising monetary spreadsheets.

                The simplicity of the ASSURE lesson plan model allows for imaginative and creative expansions for this simple Cereal Nutrition lesson plan. From the start, I imagined complicating the lesson a bit to have my students use ten or more different cereals, organize the sugar, fat, and salt content into a digital spreadsheet and then use the software’s ability to create different charts and graphs to interpret the data in a number of different ways. Charts and graphs will allow students to visualize the different sugar, fat, and salt content of each cereal and compare all nutritional value of each cereal. Even further than comparing the sugar, fat, and salt content of the cereals, students will be able to compare each cereal against the suggested daily intake values of sugar, fat, and salt and come to a conclusion of which cereal is the best in terms of the suggested daily intake of sugar, fat, and salt. This would also challenge students to recognize serving sizes by tapping into their prior knowledge of both the Metric and U.S. measuring systems. I loved the adaptability of this lesson plan and the numerous possibilities I imagined for it.

                Since this was my first experience creating a lesson plan, it was difficult for me to get started because I had to break though my personal barriers and hesitations with respect to planning lessons. The fact that my lesson plans are the foundation for what my students will learn when I finally step into my classroom weighs heavily on my mind because the responsibility for shaping young minds is so huge and I would hate to be the teacher that “drops the ball”. Even though this lesson plan is hypothetical, I still felt the importance of making it thorough and clear so that it can be easily executed. Once I was able to get passed my personal barrier to start the lesson plan, I reached another one when thinking about how this lesson plan would have to change in order to accommodate students with disabilities. The first thing I had to realize is that each and every one of my students can walk into my classroom with a plethora of disabilities that I would have to accommodate for. Realizing this made me aware of having to be able to think on my feet in addition to planning for a number of scenarios that can come up in the classroom. Specifically for this lesson plan, if I have an autistic individual in my class that is high-functioning but reacts negatively when working in a group and presenting alone to the whole class, I can modify the lesson plan so that he or she can work with one partner so they can work and present their findings together.

                I am glad that my first lesson plan followed the ASSURE lesson plan model. Having a clear frame to work with lessened my anxiety in preparing the lesson and allowed my imagination to run with the simple plan and think of all the possibilities to expand it.

Reference List

International Society for Technology in Education [ISTE] (2008). NETS●T [PDF document].

                Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers.aspx

Nelson, Jennifer (September 14, 2009). Lesson Plan Models: ASSURE Model. Retrieved

                from http://clifmims.wetpaint.com/page/Lesson+Plan+Models