Chapter #3

• “Memory is the residue of thought…To teach well, you should pay careful attention to what an assignment will actually make students think about (not what you hope they will think about), because that is what they will remember.”

I think this is important to consider especially for Pre K/K students because we are most likely to only be able to capture their attention for that very moment and lost it in the next. So, it is going to be important for our game design be structured in a way that allows the learning goal to be connected to succeeding in the game as well. I think it’s also going to be important to not unintentionally create any distractions that could pull them away from the target of the game. I think we have implemented this well by using a path design that will help them stay on track and focused.

• “The human mind seems exquisitely tuned to understand and remember stories— so much so that psychologists sometimes refer to stories as ‘psychologically privileged,’ meaning that they are treated differently in memory than other types of material.  I’m am going to suggest that organizing a lesson plan like a story is an effective way to help students comprehend and remember.”  (p. 71)

While our game is not specifically a story-based design, our game uses a similar strategy through the students having to follow a path and along the path are stations they have to stop at. They have to do the correct tasks in order to advance down the path and if they don’t, they cannot advance and have to start from the beginning. This forces them to use their memory in order to remember the tasks they got correct which allowed them to advance, but also what they did wrong that made them go back to the start.

• “Discovery learning has much to recommend it, when it comes to memory.  If students have a strong voice in deciding which problems they want to work on, they will likely be engaged in the problems they select, and will likely think deeply about the material, with attention benefits.  An important downside, however, is that what students will think about is less predictable.”  (p.87)

I think our game will force the young students to think about the necessary task at hand because our design creates a challenge but also fun concepts. Our design allows for students to have some freedom but not all. By being on a one-way path to the finish line and not being able to advance unless they succeed, allows them to stay focused and think deeply about how they can reach that finish line. Creating an appealing end goal for the students will likely result in them being more engaged and willing to participate.