A Little Knowledge of Game-Theory and Neurophysiology can Improve Learning Outcomes

            While attending the March 2014 NJ EDge Faculty Showcase of Best Practices, a session on Gaming and Curriculum Integration (Zieger & Farber) provided a framework for exploring the role of games as pedagogical instruments.  Implementing game theory to improve learning outcomes has become more popular in the literature so the session was met with anticipation.  When the presenters introduced themselves as "gamers" with a passion for "LARPing" I naturally rolled my eyes.  However, being a dedicated lifelong learner requires an open-mind!

            Clearly, understanding game theory will increase one’s awareness of how game theory can improve learning outcomes.  It is important to differentiate between utilizing game theory to improve learning compared to advocating for the playing of video games during school.  While the former has the potential to expand pedagogical thinking, planning, and intrinsic motivation, the latter too often utilizes time-consuming games in relation to extrinsic-based behavior management. 

            It is important to clarify the difference between game-based learning and gamification.  Gamification seeks to make a non-game into a game.  By contrast, game-based learning uses either actual digital video games or traditional non-electronic role-playing and board games as a classroom tool. 

            Too often game-based learning offers video games, digital apps, and adaptive software platforms. Veteran educators would recall that by 1999 the graphic artists took over many of the quality digital learning tools.  The market wanted designers to wow students and attract parents and teachers alike.  For the most part, the result was a loss in the endeavor of programmers to develop software that promoted anything more than lower order thinking skills (LOTS).  For the sake of more explosions, speed, colors, and noise, much of the learning potential become rote exercises.  Too often, at best, the learning component focused upon automaticity of basic math facts, phonemic awareness, or phonological skills.  Amidst the graphics were basic worksheets.

            Effective utilization of game theory encourages the reframing of traditional assignments into inquiry-based individual or group projects.  This requires the implementation of more mastery-based assessment strategy.  This increases project-based learning and planning for motivational benefits based on game structures. 

            All successful games have four basic elements.  They must be fun.  They must have structure.  They must have a goal.  They must have at least one player.  What might happen if every lesson was developed upon these four elements? 

               Increasing the complexity of the basic elements, there are ten structural elements for games.  These ten structural elements provide a foundation for teachers willing to integrate game theory into educational practice.  The ten structural elements include:

1. Purpose or intent of the game.
2. Results or pay-off.
3. Number of required players.
4. Roles of participants.
5. Rules governing action.
6. Abilities and Skills required for action.
7. Physical setting and environmental requirements.
8. Required equipment.
9. Procedures for action.
10. Interaction patterns.

            Neurophysiology grounds the principles for why consideration of game theory can effectively improve learning outcomes.  In Reality is Broken, McGonigal (2011) cites the work done by Stanford University’s Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Science Research, where researchers identified “Fiero” as an emotion that inspires the craving for challenges to be overcome, battles to be won, and dangers to be vanquished.  Fiero produces a neurochemical high involving diverse brain structures such as the mesocorticolimbic center, which typically associates the circuitry between reward and addiction. 

            In relation to game theory, fiero promotes the feeling of liberation from restrictions and constraints, thereby enabling the student to feel uninhibited, to play (learn) intrinsically.  In the classroom environment, fiero empowers students to be players in their own education.  Given the intrinsically motivating power of fiero, teachers planning for learning opportunities that implements game theory releases students into exciting learning adventures.  

            When structured learning is based on game theory, Shapiro (2014) suggests students intuitively understand the cumulative nature of learning.  As a result, intrinsic motivation increases the desire to master a sequence of skills.  Teachers interested in utilizing gamification can begin by planning a project-based learning project whereby completion of learning units or the demonstration of mastery allows the student to move on to the next step, progression, or level of learning.  Start with development of a basic project that utilizes game-theory and increase the complexity based on subsequent results.

References:

Hoeft, F. (2008) Gender differences in the mesocorticolimbic system during computer game-play.

               Journal of Psychiatric Research 42 (4) 253-258. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2007.11.010

Huang, W. H. Y.;  Soman, D. (2013). Gamification of education. Research Report Series: Behavioural

               Economics in Action.

McGonigal, J. (2011) Reality is broken: Why games make us better and how they can change the world.

               NYC: Penguin Press

van de Pavoordt, P. (2006) Gamification of education. Retrieved from:

               http://www.few.vu.nl/~eliens/sg/local/essay/12/17.pdf

To Cite:

Anderson, C.J. (July 7, 2014) A little knowledge of game-theory and neurophysiology

               can improve learning outcomes  [Web log post]Retrieved from

               http://www.ucan-cja.blogspot.com/

Effective Communication Requires a Fertile Mindset

Systemically, educational consultants provide a great resource toward achieving the mission of learning for all.  Optimally, the educational consultant is an effective communicator promoting empowerment and collaboration.  However, a key to being an optimal resource is effective utilization of communication skills. 

While key communication skills include listening skills, feedback skills, and presentation skills, it is essential to recognize the role of one’s mindset in the communication process.  One’s mindset is the greatest influence upon whether communication skills will be optimized.  Based on one’s mindset, communication efforts become either “effective” or “ineffective.” 

If one approaches any relationship with the mindset of willingly advancing collaboration and empowerment, the subsequent communication can elevate the tenets of peace, joy, and love.  By contrast, whenever someone approaches any relationship with the mindset of control, the subsequent communication typically escalates fear, anxiety, and frustration.  Therefore, it becomes essential to calibrate one’s mindset to effectively utilize communication skills that promote optimal learning. 

When learning a new way of thinking, better results occur when acting our way into right thinking rather than merely trying to think ourselves into right action.  Yet, when learning to truly embrace and promote empowered collaborations, it is helpful to reflect upon which mindset will be utilized prior to engagement.  With practice, a mindset elevating the tenets of peace, joy, and love become evident in ALL your relationships. 

Currently, do you seek to advance collaboration and empowerment through communication that elevates the tenets of peace, joy, and love in ALL relationships?  Or, do you rely upon the desire to retain control?  In the latter, you may not yet realize you are thereby establishing communication that escalates fear, anxiety, and frustration!  Therefore, when honest self-awareness fails, another question is, are the people in your life happy, joyous, and free from their relationship with you or do far too many exhibit misery, irritability, or discontentment from their interactions with you? 

To summarize, before we can esteem to being effective consultants, we need to want to willingly empower and collaborate with others.  Prior to willingly empowering and collaborating, we need effective communication.  A prerequisite to effective communication is a mindset seeking to invite others to positively grow through the relationship.  Such invitations require communication grounded in peace, joy, and love.  Given this, does it matter whether the relationship is with a colleague, family member, significant other, parent, child, or student?  

Once our mindset is right, we can use learned communication skills to better effect.  A mindset seeking to elevate the tenets of peace, joy, and love, provides a fertile place for subsequent growth.  Perhaps the following parable now has more meaning:

"A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.  Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.  But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.  Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop…” (NIV, Matthew, 13: 4-8). 

To Cite:

Anderson, C.J. (February 7, 2014) Effective communication requires a fertile mindset [Web log post]

Retrieved from http://www.ucan-cja.blogspot.com/

 

Does Behavioral Theory Belong in Classroom Management?

      In theory, operant conditioning  (Skinner, 1953) is a learning process that involves an increase or decrease in the likelihood of a targeted behavior resulting from provided consequences.  Consequences can be either reinforcements or punishments.  While child-centered classroom management advocates such as Noddings (2001) and Kohn (2006), hold behavioral theories in disrepute, there is still a place for basic elements of behavioral theory when striving to develop a classroom culture of mutual respect, high expectations, and civility.  Few would argue that these tenets lay the foundation whereby constructivist, child-centered principles can then take hold to build nurturing learning communities aimed at helping students independently make good choices and develop self-management.    

      Educators should use reinforcements only when the expectation is to increase or minimally maintain the desired behavior.  By contrast, use a punishment only when the desire is to remove or mitigate an undesired behavior.  Anything else is fraught with possible unintended consequences.

      For positive reinforcement, the reinforcer should be seen as important, desirable, or relevant to those exhibiting the desired behavior.  Reformists such as Noddings (2001) and Kohn criticize behavioral theory for classroom management on this point because they don’t believe in reinforcing good behavior and punishing students for poor behavior, advocating that students should have more choices and opinions.  Yet even Kohn acknowledges structures and restrictions are acceptable if “they protect students, provide for flexibility, are developmentally appropriate, and lead to student involvement” (Arends, 2012, p. 206). 

      In this regard, using praise to promote understanding of high expectations, mutual respect, and civility is an important classroom management approach, especially for younger students needing to learn socially from those more cognitively or socially advanced (Vygotsky, 1978). Raising self-awareness, self-management, and social awareness are important tools for the child-centered approach.  Yet, is it possible to completely divorce classroom management from strategies grounded in behavioral theory?

      “Let’s see who else will quietly raise their hand to answer the next question.  Thank you for sitting so quietly and raising your hand.”  This simple strategy, grounded in behavioral theory, will quickly help develop a desired classroom culture based on high expectations, mutual respect, and civility.

      So how did behavioral theory get such a bad reputation?  Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?  Any theory aligned with training or “conditioning” animals is going to be problematic with parents.  Who wants to think their school is “training” children? 

     The concern with teachers using behavioral theory as the core of their classroom management is the likelihood a certain behavior will increase due to the presentation of something pleasant after the behavior.  The misuse of “punishment” based on the perception that yelling, humiliating, or embarrassing students initially works too often results in the increase in yelling, humiliating, or embarrassing students.  Good people can easily become bullies rather than teachers. 

      For this reason, anyone seeking to implement elements of behavioral theory into his or her classroom management should avoid punishment.  It is also very important to avoid confusing negative reinforcement and punishment.  They are different.  Negative reinforcement involves an increase in a behavior.  By contrast, punishment involves a decrease in a behavior (Amabile, 1985).  Because of the unintended consequences often resulting from the misuse of negative reinforcement, avoid this strategy too! 

      As an example, if a young mother closes the door when her child tantrums and experiences peace and quiet thereafter, she would be inclined to repeat the door closing strategy to thereby experience more peace and quiet.  Therefore, this is an example of negative reinforcement.  Notice that while the mother realizes increased peace and quiet, the increase in door closing whenever her child tantrums holds the possibility of unintended consequences related to the child's behavior.  Is there any effort to identify the cause of the child's behavior?

      How does this appear in the school?  If a teacher closes the door when a neighbor's noisy students are returning from recess and thereafter experiences quiet in her class, she would be inclined to repeat the door closing strategy to experience quiet whenever a neighbor's noisy students are returning from recess.  Therefore, this is an example of negative reinforcement.  Notice that while the teacher closing the door increases quiet in her classroom, the increase in door closing whenever her neighbor's noisy students are returning from recess holds the possibility of unintended consequences related to the neighbor's noisy students behavior.  Is there any effort to mitigate the behaviors exhibited by the neighbor's noisy students? 

      Too often, the result of negative reinforcement is the offending stimuli ends up shaping your behavior.  Educators should reflect upon how negative reinforcement can reinforce bad habits.  As a social constructivist (Vygotsky, 1978), the educator should recognize the ability to shape the offending behavior/stimuli to ensure high expectations, mutual respect, and civility within the class room and school.

References

Amabile, T. M. (1985). Motivation and creativity: Effects of motivational orientation on 
       creative writers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 393-399.

Arends, R.I (2012). Learning to Teach, 9/e. McGraw Hill. ISBN: 978-0-07-802432-0