Dr. Daniel Harrold of Baldwin High School prepares his British Literature course by monitoring his 3D Game Lab (c) software.
The Age of Enlightenment is a phrase that doesn’t just depict a period of English Literature, it’s also a description of the pedagogy utilized in Dr. Daniel Harrold’s British Literature class. Harrold, a Baldwin High School English teacher, redesigned his course for seniors into one that uses gaming principles to engage and challenge his students. Through this gamification, his class now illuminates the best aspects of contemporary practices in teaching and learning including digital learning, the flipped classroom, and project based learning.
As his students enter the room, they log into their 3D Game Lab accounts and begin to check their daily assignments, accrued points, and their progress toward meeting the latest QUEST. The gaming program serves as a youth-compelling learning management system that, in this class, engages teens in 18th Century topics in a manner not thought possible. Through each of the tasks in the “QUEST”, an acronym for a five component process of working through Questions, Understanding, Exploring, Synthesis, and Testing, students systematically complete assignments and earn points along a path of learning that includes readings, videos, projects, and writing that build upon each other to help them towards their progression to mastery. The students are motivated to earn points to reach higher and higher levels, being awarded badges for their efforts. By earning these awards, students can redeem their points for a variety of rewards.
Dr. Harrold’s classroom display of badges that students can earn include poetry, narrative, and blogging.
Dr. Harrold’s classroom also encompasses other aspects of contemporary technology. In fact, he has gone paperless, having students complete assignments using Google Docs for submission and feedback. He also employs different types of social media like Youtube and Twitter to keep his ever-curious students engaged in learning. The work has paid off. Dr. Harrold’s feedback from students has shown that they feel more respected and confident in their achievements through his cutting-edge methods of instruction. Considered in total, his classroom represents a new “Age of Enlightenment” for the 21st Century classroom!
Dr. Harrold will be a featured speaker at the Center for Creativity’s celebration of Digital Learning Day on March 13, 2015 at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit. Join us for the chance to learn more about Dr. Harrold’s successful approach to digital learning and register HERE.
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