Why interactive and game-based instruction beats lecturing every time
Why interactive and game-based instruction beats lecturing every time
Why interactive and game-based instruction beats lecturing every time
January 11, 2022
By Nancy Boury
Summary
Take the Introduction to Biology course I teach, which usually has 200 to 300 students enrolled.
Talking for 50 minutes and demanding that students hang on every word is, frankly, an unreasonable request to make of a 19- or 20-year-old with minimal interest in the subject.
A student's time could be better spent engaging with the material, their classmates and me instead of focusing on "The sage on the stage".
In Microbiology 101, I start the semester with a reading and video about a world without microbes, then my students play a quizlet that turns language acquisition into something fun.
Students would have to answer a probing question about the week's topic, ask one question, then reply to two posts from their classmates.
Students enrolled in Save Us achieved higher normalised learning gains - modestly so, but still higher - than the equivalent face-to-face course.
Yes, the non-traditional methods I employ in the classroom require more work, but it's time well spent if students become so engrossed in the activities that they forget they're learning.
Reference
Boury, N. (2022, January 11). Why interactive and game-based instruction beats lecturing every time. Retrieved February 15, 2022, from https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/why-interactive-and-gamebased-instruction-beats-lecturing-every-time