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