Educational Gaming / Badging Program

Meeting Contribution Notes:

March 20:
● Allyson created a planning document and sent it to the group.

March 22:
● The group continued to brainstorm ideas for the gaming/badging program, such as Work
From Home Tips and end-of-grade testing for classes.
March 23:
● Mindy drafted the description of context and problem.
● Stephanie aligned the problem and solution to AECT indicator and alignment.
March 24:
● Mindy drafted Module 1.
● Stephanie and Allyson continued to edit and revise the document.
March 29:
● Mindy added overviews of Modules 2, 3, 4, and 5.
March 30:
● Mindy drafted Module 1 assessment questions.
March 31:
● Stephanie created and uploaded the five badges for teacher achievement.
● Mindy created Google Slides Module.
● Allyson helped to update and expand upon various sections.
● Stephanie added in assessment forms for the assignments.

Description of Context and Problem:

Problem Statement:

Teachers at Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools need to administer an effective review

curriculum for the North Carolina End-of-Grade Test for 5th Grade Science to ensure at least
64% of students are proficient by the end of the term.

Instructional Context:

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) is located in the Charlotte, North Carolina region and
provides academic instruction to more than 148,299 students in kindergarten through 12th
grade in 176 schools throughout the cities and towns of Mecklenburg County.
 Total enrollment: 147,639

African-American 38.1%
American Indian 0.4%
Asian 6.6%
Hispanic 24.1%
Multiracial 2.5%
Pacific Islander 0.1%
White 28.0%

Historical Background:

Data from the 2018- 2019 end-of-grade tests that 61.9% of CMS 5th grade students met the
Science career and College readiness standards (North Carolina Department of Public
Instruction, 2019). With the pandemic beginning in March of 2020, many students missed
weeks of school due to rescheduling and lack of internet access. The 2020- 2021 school
year began with students working at home in an online environment. It is clear that many
students could not fully access the science curriculum due to various problems stemming
from the pandemic. To ensure growth, students need an engaging program that motivates
them to review 5th-grade science standards. To ensure student, teacher, and school buy-in
CMS has created an end-of-grade science gaming program for 5th-grade students.

Figure 1: End-of-grade science performance by grade level.

Indicator and Alignment:

AECT Creating Leadership under Professional Knowledge and Skills Standard

“Candidates lead their peers in designing and implementing technology-supported

learning” (AECT Standards, 2012, p. 2).

Upon reading and studying the AECT standards, our team began designing a professional
development course that offers Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools teachers the opportunity to
receive professional badges for completing the course and implementing essential review
strategies. Through this professional development course, teachers will be encouraged to
create their own review lessons as lead by the training team.

Our team decided to use the ADDIE model to plan out the instructional design.

Analysis: Our target audience includes all fifth-grade teachers in Charlotte-Mecklenburg

Schools. Each teacher should hold at least a four-year degree and a current teaching license
for the state of North Carolina. They should also be familiar with the North Carolina Essential
Standards for fifth-grade science. Prerequisite skills needed include basic computer knowledge,
an understanding of using the internet to explore and communicate, and various online
resources for creating learning experiences.

Design: Gaming and Badge Modules (1-5) outlined in the ‘Product’ section below.

Development: Google Slides Presentation

Implement: Trainers will introduce this professional development course to all fifth-grade
teachers at their individual schools. Teachers will then receive a deadline to complete each
module. There will be weekly check-ins through Google Meet and Google Forms.

Evaluation: At the end of this course, teachers will complete a course evaluation survey. The
survey will focus on course design and implementation. We will also ask for course
improvement ideas. Throughout the course timeline, trainers will schedule observations to view
the course in action and use any information collected to make necessary changes to the
course design. End-of-grade testing results can also serve as an evaluation tool.

Solution:

Our solution is designed to award teachers with digital badges for creating a content overview of
what students have learned throughout the school year, student engagement activities, and
student assessments (formative and summative) for each topic taught in 5th-grade science.
The badges will serve as a marker of progress for teachers on an individual basis. By collecting
badges, teachers will simultaneously challenge and assess their professional skills, design
principles, and serve as a creative outlet that can be shared among staff upon completion. The
idea of the badge.
According to McLeod (2020), the basis of this activity utilizes a Behaviorist learning theory – or a
created environment for learners (in this case the educators or teachers) to benefit from
stimulus-response activities that enhance overall behaviors or actions. Through the process of
action and reward, via the badge system, this has the potential for increased outcomes and
overall motivation for completing each task. The visual and internal satisfaction of receiving a
badge serves as a new and fresh way to encourage teachers in their educational development.

Furthermore, in regards to badging, a study (An Online Badging System Supporting Educators’
Learning) was conducted at Penn State University to determine the effectiveness of badging
systems to support K-12 educators’ learning. In their study, badges were defined as “an online,
visual representation of proof of learning experiences, or ‘micro-credentials,’ that document
expertise and skills.” The idea is that badges offer a level of objective, standardized
transparency to the achievements of educators within a school or institution. In essences, the
badges themselves prove learning and growth have happened.
In the study, 36 teachers were given the opportunity to participate in this badge reward system
in order to determine the benefits (or lack thereof). The results concluded that educators
enjoyed the system and provided them “short-term benefits with lifelong learning [principles].”
Other feedback was provided, but it was interesting to note the overwhelming preference for
collaboration and involvement among many teachers at once. The more participants at their
school at a time, led to an increase in their enjoyment and engagement in the system. For the
teachers that did not have fellow educators participating in their school, their feedback revolved
around requests for collaboration with other schools that had this type of system in place, for the
sake of commodity and accountability.

Overall, this study further solidified our passion for this project as a unique opportunity for
educators to work together to achieve quickly, purposefully, and in a fun way.

Product:

Educational Badging Program access: Google Slides Presentation

Module 1: Human Body Objectives:
Systems ● Create an infographic describing six major human body systems
● Explore the use of an interactive review game
● Reflect critically on how to use assessment data to enhance student
CMS Review Specialist: learning.
Human Body Systems
Badge Overview:
Why Use Infographics:
The human body is complex, and understanding major systems and
functions has proven difficult for many 5th graders. Students need extra
support determining how systems relate to and interact with one another.
Infographics can present the relationship to students in a clear, organized
manner. Infographics can “allow a deeper interaction with messages of all
kinds and introduce the process of analytical thinking about representation
and meaning” (Kibar & Akkoyunlu, 2014).

How to Create Successful Infographics:

● Concise Headline
● Quick Introduction
● Structure
● Proofread
● Do Not Overload Graphics and Text
● Text Explaining What Reader Sees

Read this article and infographic on ways to create successful infographics.

Creating Your Own Infographics:

● Canva
● Piktochart
● Visme

Assignment 1:
Using Canva, Piktochart, or Visme, create an infographic describing how
human body systems work together. All infographics must include:
● Digestive, circulatory, nervous, muscular, skeletal, and respiratory
systems
● Combine graphics and Text to create a clear message

Effective Use of Classroom Games:

Students can benefit greatly from playing educational games in the
classroom. However, “the game design and inclusion in the lesson is
crafted with deliberate thought versus playing a game as a reward for good
student behavior. The trick is to follow guidelines to maximize their
inclusionary impact” (Ferlazzo, 2021).
● Engage and Motivate
● Increase Skills
● Be Clearly Tied to Content
● Require the Participation of Every Student
● Educational and Fun
Read the Education Week’s article on ways to effectively use games in the
classroom. Then, look through the following three examples of human body
systems games to play in 5th-grade science classrooms.

Interactive Body Systems Review Games in the Classroom:

● Jeopardy
● Blooket
● Kahoot

Assignment 2:
● Discussion Post: Why should educators use games in the classroom?
What do you believe are key components to maximize the benefits of
games?

Reading Assessment Data:

● Ensure the assessments are purposeful and meaningful
● Assessments are not only quizzes and tests
● The most important aspect of gathering assessment data is that “it
effectively gathers data teachers can use to best deliver high-quality
instruction for your class (Gordon, 2017).

Assignment 3: Respond to the following questions.

● What science assessment data do you think is most beneficial in your
classroom?
● What are some ways you can improve your instruction using current
data?

Assessment:

1. When creating infographics, it is best practice to include which of the

following?
A. Long, detailed introductions
B. Text that overlaps with graphics
C. Structure
D. Fun images

2. What type of instructional aide can allow deeper interaction with

messages of all kinds and introduce the process of analytical thinking
about representation and meaning?
A. Gifs
B. Infographics
C. Study Guides
D. Note Trackers

3. Which of the following is not a reason to add instructional games into the
science classroom?
A. To engage and motivate students
B. To help form deeper connections with content
C. To ease the planning load on the teacher
D. To increase students’ skill levels
 4. What should the average word count be in an infographic?
A. 150 - 400 words
B. 500 - 750 words
C. 800 - 1,000 words
D. 1,000- 1,500 words

5. When reading assessment data, it is important to...

A. Ensure assessments are purposeful and meaningful
B. Ensure all students are successful
C. Ensure students are able to complete
D. Ensure assessments are rigorous

Module 2: Weather Overview:

Within this module, teachers will learn how to create and assign weather-based
CMS Review Specialist: WebQuests to 5th-grade students successfully. Successful weather
Weather Badge WebQuests can allow students to explore different concepts such as convection
cells, air pressure, precipitation, and global winds. When used appropriately,
students can work at their own pace individually or as a group. This tool is a
fun way to add weather-based resources and research to the classroom.

Module 3: Heat Energy Overview:

In this module, participants will learn how to facilitate group discussions

CMS Review Specialists: focusing on specific question prompts successfully. The goal is to help
Heat Energy Badge teachers understand that during a discussion, they should not be lecturing. The
goal is to have the 5th graders process information about heat energy.
Excellent facilitation of classroom discussion can increase interest levels and
engagement.

Module 4: Forces and Overview:

Motion
In this module, participants will learn how to add kinesthetic learning into
lessons. Teachers will learn about data-proven hands-on experiments to
CMS Review Specialist: explore gravity, friction, pushes and pulls. Not only will adding hands-on
Forces & Motion Badge experiences increase engagement level in classroom learning, it will also help
fix common misconceptions. Teachers will aim to have students learn through
experience and bridge gaps between theory and practice.
Module 5: Ecosystems Overview:

Within this module, participants will learn how to assign virtual “field trips.’
CMS Review Specialist: Participants will learn how to access and assign rigorous virtual field trips to
Ecosystems Badge various ecosystems. Participants will learn how to navigate Discover Education
to find various virtual field trips. By the end of the module, participants will
assign and differentiate virtual field trips to 5th-grade students.

Badges:
References:
Ferlazzo, L. (2021, March 5). Response: Ways to use games effectively in the classroom.
Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-response-ways-to-use-
games-effectively-in-the-classroom/2019/05.

Gamrat, C. Zimmerman, H. An Online Badging System Supporting Educators’ STEM Learning.

http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1358/paper2.pdf

Gordon, W. (2017, August 16). Using assessment data in the classroom. TeacherReady.
https://www.teacherready.org/using-assessment-data/.

Kibar, P. N., & Akkoyunlu, B. (2014, October 23). A new approach to equip students with visual
literacy skills: use of infographics in education . http://ecil2014.ilconf.org/wp-
content/uploads/sites/3/2016/11/ecil2014_abstracts.pdf#page=139.

McLeold, S. (2020). Behaviorist Approach. Simply Psychology. Accessed March 2021:

https://www.simplypsychology.org/behaviorism.html

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. (2019). 2018–19 Performance and growth of
north carolina public schools executive summary (September 4, 2019) Retrieved March 23,
2021, from https://files.nc.gov/dpi/documents/accountability/reporting/exsumm19.pdf

Walton, Mary (2020, January 13). 7 steps to writing compelling infographic copy [infographic].
Visme Blog. https://visme.co/blog/how-to-write-an-infographic/.