Please help evaluate the WAY Game. Here's one of my problems - how do you get everybody on board? In times of trouble, people come together. Parent Volunteers step up and help by making WAY Game materials for the class. Teachers see the value and slowly adopt SMART WAY practices.
When you evaluate the WAY Game, think of the ripple effects, such as improved student grades, better reporting, improved discipline through student engagement, and a lightened workload for teachers.
The value of a SMART WAY to Learn and the WAY Game is immeasurable - but I need you to help make the WAY Game a reality for your class or your family. Simply show your class the four WAY Game videos and ask them if they want to play.
Focus Question
1. Can students be motivated to play WAY by watching four videos?
Outcome - The class decides to play or not to play.
Steps
1 Read Let 5m Show you the WAY.
2 Watch all four videos, and take notes on procedures.
3. Read Teacher Stories.
Let 5M Show You the WAY
Why do painters paint, writers write, and teachers teach? I'll tell you, I really don't know. I do know that some kind of underlying force or energy that is not understood and has been misconstrued by many.
I try to meditate, but it's difficult with ADD. After recess, I had a class routine - an approximate three-minute meditation time, where I asked students to sit up, close their eyes, practice deep breathing, and relax.
I would explain why were meditating by putting a coin in each of my hands and offering them to a student. One hand held the coin in a fist, the other relaxed and open. The question was, if you really needed the money, which hand would take the coin from?
The analogy was that a person's brain works the same way; if your mind is stressed, it's harder to get things in and out. To further the point, I'd have the class pass a ball to each student in the class, acting as a giant clock. A randomly selected student would be given a randomly selected letter. The student who was 'it' had to name six words that began with the letter. Students distracted by the 'student clock' often failed the task. The lesson was if you want effective learning - learn to relax. This is one of the powers of playing games - students are relaxed.
So we're going to continue with who is this Brian guy anyway, and can we trust him? Before we go on to CAP Notes, I thought it would be a good idea to look at the last WAY Game I played before retirement. It was June 2015; the students had asked me if I would put instructions for the WAY Game online so others could play. I think they wanted to play in grade six. I always intended to share the game, so I said, "Ya." I had no idea what a long and difficult [but rewarding] journey it would be.
The next four videos are clips from the last WAY Game that 5M played. Because of my promise, I decided to film the last game. Parents were well aware of what was happening; I would have four parents a week to come in and see the WAY Game being played; they were also asked to join in. My lessons were posted online daily; I wanted, needed and achieved a transparent classroom with multiple means of reporting what was going on: an annual Pathfinder report, weekly Game Cards, daily CAP Notes, daily posted lesson plans and a homework plan that we'll talk about later.
Teachers, students and parents have an opportunity to learn together. [Holistic PD] Follow the lessons in my Blog, and make my lesson plans your lesson plans. Teachers are now the drivers, and students, the passengers. Students don't need to know all that is under the hood of the car or who made it to get from point A to point B. They just need to enjoy the ride with you driving.
So watch the following videos a let students from 5M teach your students and parents the WAY Game.
I heard a speaker liken classroom teachers to gunslingers. Constantly shooting [solving problems & answering questions], you get a taste of it in the video; there will always be discipline problems; teachers just have to learn how to deal with them effectively. Be cool.
Enjoy our Videos
Are students motivated and engaged? The filming of 5M was unscripted and improvised from beginning to end. Video editing helped get to the teaching moments.
Work as a team to capture instructions. Take notes, what is written, what was said, what do you see? Use videos to motivate students to learn and play the WAY Game.
The WAY Game - Part 1 - Look for & Listen to:
What students say in the background
How to make Teams
Learn the roles of three Judges
3:13
The WAY Game - Part 2 - Look for & Listen to:
CAP Note Introduction
Ten summary points
Game Cards
Role of Captains
Place Cards and Judges
SMART Board Judge and Free File and uses
Start the game. Technical problems are now solved
Seven games samples
Judging demonstration
6:28
The WAY Game - Part 3 - Look for & Listen to:
Examples of WAY Game Learning Technologies
Entering clues won on Pathfinder
Student Choice - How the tables can turn
Old and New SMART Board tools
Confidence and coincidence are in the Cards
I will be there for you…
Empower students with expectations and responsibilities that count
SMART Board tools used to play WAY
Learn questioning techniques
Answer It - game demonstration
Introducing a Captain's Challenge
5:16
The WAY Game - Part 4 - Look for & Listen to:
Three wishes
Captains Challenge
Guess Mystery Kid's identity
Student of the Day
Prizes giving
Magic in the Cards
Evaluating with Rubrics and Card Boards
Concluding message
4:40
Well, what do you think? What do the students think? What do the parents think? Is worth your time and effort?
Teacher Stories
My first mnemonic was a time long ago when I was six years old. I knew my mother was tired of chasing down twin toddlers I affectionately called Thing One and Thing Two. These early school days were truly a daze. I remember being tested in grade one, and the diagnosis was - he was a lazy boy.
I never went to kindergarten; my mother felt I wasn't ready for school. Mom never shared with me why she thought that way. I remember being a shy and insecure child, of Charlie Brown being my role model.
My mother was lying in bed; I could tell by the look on her face that she was fed up. "Please spell the word." Then I remember the Jingle, "All was made for your washer, and your washer was had for All. Then I visualized the big orange box and proudly spelled ALL. "Go to bed, Brian," and I did. Funny the things you remember and how seemingly unrelated events affect people in different ways. I'm sure the designers of laundry detergent never thought their product would help a kid get a word right on a spelling test.
It's hard for a child to understand when letters and words switch around, not all the time, just sometimes. Dyslexia and ADD are a curious skill combination to have in my chosen career, so I've always had a soft spot for students who struggle. My advice for the young in those days would be to 'fake it until you can make it.' Today, there are amazing learning technologies to help kids who struggle with learning. The WAY Game is one of those technologies, combining best learning practices with fun and games.
What's Next
Learn the Value and Benefits of Pathfinder Student Learning Profiles.