Title: Game-Based Learning in the Virtual Middle School General Music Classroom
Author Name: Alexia Leavy
1. Introduction
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic had a large impact on the quality of life for people across the nation. The daily routines of workers were interrupted by strict protocols that insisted on mandated health screenings and social distancing. These changes affected how tasks were being accomplished and challenged the efficacy of the processes to complete said tasks. Undoubtedly, America’s public service of education struggled to create digital learning experiences that produced the same outcomes as in-person, or physical, learning experiences. Schools and their instructors in primary, secondary, and higher education had to rethink what teaching would look like behind masks and digital screens. Many school districts in Georgia implemented virtual and hybrid learning options to suffice COVID protocols. These decisions resulted in the increased use of technology as both instructional media and as an instructional process. As instructional media, technology provided instructional support and platforms for delivery. As an instructional process- a more unfamiliar definition of technology in education- technology enhanced learning and reinforced desired learning outcomes.
As instructors adjusted to the new instructional media and processes, learners were also expected to adapt to the same technologies. This unique learning environment presented several pros, though it distanced learners from the usual physical classroom. As Campbellsville University explains in “How Virtual Learning is Transforming K-12 Education”, virtual learning in k-12 classrooms provides opportunities such as blended learning, improved progress monitoring, and adaptive learning (2016). Though a physical learning environment can provide similar opportunities, it alone is not flexible enough to provide the same opportunities for differentiation that virtual learning environments present. Despite the positives of virtual instruction, k-12 instructors were still unprepared to instruct virtually. Virtual learning challenged instructors to design engaging lessons that adhered to state standards using unfamiliar digital tools and platforms. Due to this and other factors such as learner motivation and accessibility to resources, students faced significant learning losses (Dickler, 2021).
The dynamic shift in education during COVID was an impromptu transition that affected both instructors and learners. The new environment did not come with a ready manual. Thus, the largest beasts during the design of instruction were the evaluation of material and delivery methods and strategies for learner efficiency. Due to the sudden occurrence of the pandemic, instructors and learners had little time to be properly trained or to adjust to new learning environments. However, this did not mean that instructors and learners were entirely unsupported and helpless. Several online resources provided opportunities for students to interact with content through game playing. For some instructors, game-based learning and gamification became instructional strategies to encourage student learning through problem-solving. The following paragraphs describe my personal experience implementing game-based learning in virtual middle school general music classrooms.
2. Overview of the Case
As the fall 2020 semester approached, several Atlanta Public Schools opted to continue school virtually. Each school chose a primary video chat software to support instructional delivery and implemented a learning management system (LMS) where learners could access content, activities, assessments, and feedback shared by instructors. In this case, middle school instructors utilized Zoom to deliver instruction and Google Classroom to share instructional content. Students attended virtual synchronous classes on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. On Wednesdays, students completed asynchronous activities and met with teachers for academic conferences. The school followed a block schedule consisting of six courses, one of the courses being a fine arts course, such as general music. Each general music class had approximately twenty students. The 7th- and 8th-grade general music classes consisted of many beginner learners, while the 6th-grade class included developing and proficient learners. This gap in learning existed because several 7th-and 8th graders had not taken general music after elementary school.
Several obstacles affected the impact of instruction on student learning, but there were three main factors that were most observable. Firstly, many learners lacked access to devices or to the internet. EducationSuperHighway, a program whose mission is to lessen the digital divide in America, estimates that more than 376,000 students lack internet connectivity in Georgia. The Common Sense organization suggests that about 559,644 Georgia students lack an internet connection or a device for distance learning. About 12,195 students in Atlanta Public Schools can be found in those numbers (“Interactive Map: America’s Unconnected Students”, 2020). Initially, the school district partnered with Comcast to provide unconnected students with school laptops and wifi hotspots. Towards the end of the first school semester, unfortunately, several school laptops began to malfunction and the hotspots provided by Comcast became unreliable due to pre-existing broadband issues at students’ homes. A second obstacle concerned the district’s fine arts department. The fine arts department provided funding for virtual music technology such as MusicFirst and SmartMusic, software designed to improve learners’ musicianship skills. The department also provided free training on how to navigate the software as instructors. Despite the financial convenience of said resources, software mastery required multiple training courses that many instructors were unable to attend. Similarly, many instructors lacked the knowledge to help students navigate the same software. The blind were leading the blind. Consequently, instructors that intended to use these systems were unable to do so. This resulted in unplanned departmental expenses. Lastly, the concept and characteristics of music present challenges in virtual learning. Music is a communal practice where ideas are shared with and understood by others using a universal system of language. Exploring music behind the screen of a device lessened the sense of community that is usually present in music classrooms. Also, music is an abstract concept that requires the connection between creative thinking and critical thinking. In the physical classroom, this connection was made by synchronous doing or performing. In the virtual classroom, technical barriers prevented this connection.
Fortunately, these obstacles helped to identify learners’ needs and decide if solutions could be provided. Upon analysis, learners mostly needed three things: Accessibility to resources, a sense of community, and intrinsic motivation. Thus, game-based learning was used to support general music instruction.
3. Solutions Implemented
Designing game-based activities was not a cause to reinvent the wheel. Game-based learning existed before the pandemic and provided the flexible accessibility that unconnected learners needed. Several free digital music games were sourced from websites such as Classics For Kids and could be accessed from various personal and shared devices. Song-making platforms like Groove Pizza and Chrome Music Lab emphasized exploration and creation through play. These websites were perfect for practice activities and independent discovery. Programs such as Nearpod and Peardeck were used to gamify content and to measure understanding during instruction. For example, Time to Climb by Nearpod is an interactive game where learners’ avatars race to the top of a mountain with every correct answer chosen. Questions and answers can be edited to align with learning objectives, and after each game, instructors receive data about learners’ performance. Other game-based platforms such as Kahoot, Quizizz, and Blooket presented content and evaluated student learning. Performance support (i.e. Google Slides) was utilized to design two review games. The first game was a musical Jeopardy Game. This game was hosted via Zoom, and learners unmuted themselves to choose a category and answer a question. If a student was unable to answer a question, another student had the opportunity to steal the question (I soon learned about a free website called Factile that provides a jeopardy template and allows students to type in their answers, allowing for more traditional gameplay and less time spent on game design). The second review game designed on Google Slides is Master of Gems. This game was also presented via Zoom. Master of Gems contains nine levels each having two questions, or gems, and a boss question. Learners took turns answering both gems, and after answering correctly, they would be led to a boss round which presented a slightly more difficult question. After the boss round, the class progressed to the next level, which would present more advanced content. The goal of the game is to gather all the gems by correctly answering the questions. The class received bonus grade points for every gem collected.
The expectations for game-based learning were to fulfill the need for convenient and cost-efficient resources, community, and intrinsic motivation. Digital games sourced from websites and delivery platforms were free of charge, easy to navigate, easy to edit for learner needs, and could be accessed from any device connected to the internet. These games were also implemented to fill the communal void that was expected in virtual general music instruction. Student competition via gaming was expected to prompt classroom discussions and learning moments. Finally, gaming was expected to encourage intrinsic motivation through the form of extrinsic rewards and feedback.
4. Outcomes
Virtual game-based learning in the middle school general music classroom had mostly positive observable outcomes. The academic outcome of game-based learning is very much affected by the delivery of instruction. Gaming activities were utilized to monitor student progress during instruction and review games created opportunities to fill learning gaps. In this case, games positively impacted student learning. Learner feedback suggested that the games helped them recall, process, and apply information. Game-based learning also increased learners’ intrinsic motivation; more students became active participants during game activities than any other activity. Learners’ confidence also affected how they interacted with peers during games; the more confident learners became, the more sociable they became.
Despite the games being easily accessible to learners, some students still lacked a reliable internet connection or distant learning device. Games that occurred on digital software were designed to be accessed by several means, however, some students had connectivity issues despite the software’s multiple mediums. Thus, some students did not reap the benefits of game-based learning.
Though learners’ intrinsic motivation heightened, it appeared that more proficient learners, specifically 6th graders, were more intrinsically motivated than 7th and 8th grade. Though the same games were used with all grades, some instructional material was differentiated. Perhaps 7th and 8th grade focused on a concept longer than 6th grade or 6th grade participated in enrichment lessons. Again, the delivery of instruction may affect the impact of the gaming activity.
5. Implications
Accessible resources, motivation, and community are essential to effective education. Ironically, the pandemic illuminated the district’s and school’s availability of quality resources and the need for improved resources. Virtual learning tasked students to develop intrinsic motivation, but students that lack the resources to maintain this motivation did not have a fulfilling learning experience. Likewise, students that lack resources and/or motivation may not experience a sense of community in a virtual environment. An instructor’s capacity and motivation to learn also influences student learning.
Though this case proved game-based learning to be impactful, I question the future of game-based learning in music education. What are the chances that general music could be complemented with serious gameplay? A musical game similar to Guitar Hero would be perfect for performance assessments. The boundaries of game-based learning could in fact be limitless for performing arts.
References
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