Using Gaming to Engage

Recently, gaming has become part of the classroom environment as a way to engage students in hands-on simulations. Not only can video games motivate students, but they can also provide visual representations not traditionally accessible in a brick and mortar school. Moreover, educators can use students’ work within video games to formatively and summatively assess student understanding.

I used Minecraft to create a hands-on assessment for Algebra 1 students. Students use a 3D structure to explore the area and volume of building structures and model both these using quadratic and cubic functions. This is a great way to connect dimensions to the power (exponent) of the x value in functions. Please view my screencast to see how I thought to utilize games to assess math students in the world of Minecraft and provide a hands-on learning opportunity.

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