Double Entry Journal #9

"6. The Cycle of Expertise. Video games will provide sets of challenges until certain actions, behaviors and skills become routine and automated. The games then provide a new problem in the form of a boss, new level or game mechanic that makes the gamer re-think their mastery, learn a new skill and then integrate this skill into the rest of the experience" ("10 things schools," 2012).

Learning should be about mastering a skill, applying that skill, and then facing a new challenge while still using the previous skills you have learned. As teachers we need to enrich our students by building their knowledge through challenges. Video games are a great example for comparison on how we should be helping our students learn. I find this idea of "cycle of expertise" not mind blowing, but rather enlightening. When I think of teaching I do think of building knowledge; however, when I read this quote the idea of building knowledge becomes a clearly stated fact. After learning a routine on how to perform an action or behavior, we need to face our children with new problems and have them use what they learned earlier to enhance their learning. Sometimes we never really think of the obvious until we see the facts completely laid out, and that is exactly what this article does. Good educational video games are like good teachers, we should have our children work in groups (interact), produce their own work and ideas using creative projects (production), take risks without worrying about failure by providing support from their teacher and other students (risk taking), challenge them with ordered problems, have them break away from the text book (context), not push them past what we know their capable of (regime of competence), have them delegate duties among their groups (take relationships into consideration), and provide time for children to reevaluate what they have learned (exploring). 

I found a video on how to play a game called Energyville on YouTube, in my Civics class last year we played a similar game that led to my choosing this video as a link. This game can be used by anyone, however I feel this game would be beneficial for students in economics, engineering, and anyone interested in government. This game also goes along with the 10 things schools can learn from video games. This game is challenging but not too hard, this game increases with difficulty, you are able to produce your own town, you can take risk without actually harming anyone, you can compete against friends or play together, and you can play again and again.



  

10 things schools can learn from video games. (2012, January 20). Learning in Gaming:An Educational Approach, Retrieved from http://www.learningingaming.com/10-things-schools-can-learn-from-video-games/

Chevron. (Producer). (2010). Chevron's energyville teaches lessons in mangaing energy . [Web Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb2gqi287j4