Changes to the Quest Based Program for Quarter 3

My students have one week left in the second quarter, and then they immersed in midterms. I've been thinking about what changes I want to make to the Quest program for the third quarter. For starters, I want to make it completely self-paced. Up to this point, students have had to meet certain requirements every two weeks. They could choose which quests to complete on different days, but they had to complete those quests by the end of the two weeks.

Now that my students are used to the structure of the class and the different types of quests I typically assign, I'm ready to set them loose. What might this mean? One student might fly through a year's worth of grammar in a month, and then focus on vocab. Another might dabble in literature for a couple of weeks, then address vocab and grammar together.

I think I will conference with every student to set up goals every few weeks. This will allow me to give them individualized feedback, which will translate in progress grades. I am looking for mastery of material, which is going to look different for different students.

What I particularly like about this setup is the ability for students to truly "win" the class before the end of the year. I have several students who are ready to be set loose to fly. They don't want to be reigned in! If they reach the end early, I can supplement with enrichment material, which will be particularly helpful for those students who wish to transfer out of the Quest program, back to the regular classroom.

I imagine the biggest challenge will be getting students to work through those quests which are necessary but not appealing. I will have to work twice as hard to create quests that engage students in essay writing for the SATs in a meaningful, authentic way.

Game on!

Quest for Rivendell

My Basic Skills Quest 11th & 12th grade students just finished Book 1 of The Fellowship of the Ring, where Frodo makes it to Rivendell by the skin of his teeth (and some help from the elves!). To help my students understand how perilous this journey was, we jumped into Lord of the Rings Online for a class field trip.

We met together in Hobbiton to start the journey - I with my level 34 elf, Aelthren, and the rest of the class with their low level hobbits, men, and elves. The goal: reach Rivendell!

At first, the journey was much like a hobbit walking party. We followed the path the hobbits took through the back country, ending up at Farmer Maggot's. After a quick hello to Maggot's dogs, Grip and Fang, we were off again. I instructed the class to stay together, but regularly one would stray to take down a mosquito or a bobcat (and often required my assistance just to stay alive after their bravado proved insufficient to assist in some kills).

The problems really began when we hit the Old Forest through a gap in the hedge near Crick Hollow. Just as in the book, the Old Forest is disorienting and somewhat scary - especially for low level characters. I was constantly herding the class down safe avenues, one-shotting any enemies that popped up. You could see the difference in student heart rates between the journey through the Shire and the Old Forest. It was easy for my students to connect with the fear and frustration of the hobbits they read about.

After the Old Forest, we attempted a short jaunt through the Barrow Downs, but things quickly fell apart. A few students again thought that they could handle things themselves, but were proved wrong when they had to revive a fair distance away. Others were terrified when we dropped into a barrow and they saw the wights and severed hands. Yes!! Another connection with the terror Frodo felt.

We somehow emerged safely through the Barrow Downs into Bree. I took the students into the Prancing Pony where they met Strider for the first time. They were so excited to finally see a character from the book. Huzzah! We left the Prancing Pony through the back door, and took a cross-country jaunt through the Chetwood and the Midgewater Marshes.

Things again picked up at the Lone Lands. I instructed my students to stay close with me - we attempted a run for Weathertop. I told students to ignore all orcs and ravens... it was Weathertop or bust! Amazingly, we made it on the first try without losing too many students to foolish side adventures. However, my screen decided to freeze on the very top of Weathertop, and when it finally unfroze, I apparently had taken a fatal cliff dive which gave my students great joy.

After Weathertop, it was another sprint to the Last Bridge before the deadly Trollshaws. I lectured my students on staying with me - the Trollshaws are no place for a hobbit walking party. Unfortunately, I seem to have a pile of Pippins in my class. No sooner had we left the bridge then a few of them decided to test their metal against a forest creature. They... didn't make it three steps before they had to revive.

Flash forward to today: we are now attempting to regroup and make the final run for Rivendell. Instead of sticking together, I've turned over the strategizing to the students. Some of them want to make a solo attempt, others want me to continue acting as guide. We will see who is able to make it in the end. I know solo attempts are possible - I have made the chicken run myself from Michel Delving in the Shire to Rivendell as a Level 1 chicken.

I have loved this "field trip" so far, because it has helped my students understand the peril of the journey and the great distance Frodo and company had to travel. Later my students will transfer this learning into an essay where they compare Frodo's experiences as a literary hero with their own in-game and IRL (in real life) experiences. In the mean time, we will keep questing for Rivendell... and win the quest!

Module 1 Update

Tomorrow my basic skills students end the first module of the year. Together we have tackled setting up class blogs, editing sentences on iPads, writing personal code of conducts, and diving into the game worlds designated for each class. So far, I'm cautiously optimistic - the students enjoy what we are doing, and I'm seeing quality work without frustration.

One of the programs I am most excited about using is Membean. Membean teaches vocabulary using a multimodal approach. Students study a word on a page with context clues, images, videos, word maps, and root explanations. Then, they review words they have learned through fun mini-quizzes. An incorrect answer is not penalized - students are sent back to the learning page to review the word and try again.

 Membean very graciously offered to set up a classroom account for me to test with my students. After two weeks of usage, I'm a fan. Take for instance Rachel (name changed), who thinks visually and immediately connects the words to the background pictures. Or Tim, who watches the vocab videos and picks up the words quickly. These are students who would not excel with typical vocabulary workbook setups. I've observed student after student adopting new words with ease and coming to an understanding that "failure" leads to mastery of the words. If a review question is answered incorrectly, students are taken back to the vocab word page to restudy. I can see how over more time, these words will truly become ingrained in the students' everyday vocabulary. Bravo, Membean.

I am not a huge fan of the quizzes. I don't fully count the quizzes, but instead use them as a way to gauge student progress. I wish that the quizzes were more accommodating or at least modifiable. They involve 15 or so questions on one page, small print. I wish that the quizzes were given in the same format as the study questions - one per page, bright and bold. It was overwhelming for some of my students to process that much small text on one page.

Next module, we tackle pairing reading with the chosen MMOs. I know all of my students are eager to dive into the games and experience literacy in a fresh new way. 

Basic Skills QUEST

A typical day in Basic Skills QUEST:

• Navigate to class page on CCAQuest
• Follow the link to 3DGameLab
• Choose quests to complete... for example:
• Spend 10 minutes practicing vocabulary on Membean.com 
• Participate in a group discussion
• Practice grammar by editing sentences
• Jump into an MMO, complete in-game quests, then jump out and report about the experience on the class blog
• Practice literacy skills comparing/contrasting literature with the narrative of a game
• Forget what time it is until the bell rings

Such fun!

CCA Quest

Introducing... my latest project:

CCA Quest

I am taking over the 7-12 Basic Skills English program at my school and completely transforming the classroom experience for these students. Using 3D GameLab and three different MMOs, we will be exploring together literature, writing, vocabulary, and grammar.

Students will be using the games as the backdrop for their literature. We will be comparing/contrasting experiences in-game and in-book, practicing writing through crafting authentic game guides, and learning vocabulary using in an individualized student-paced method.


I will also be challenging myself to regularly blog through this experience, chronically the challenges and successes. Should be fun!