Research Paper on "Can At-Risk Students Learn Math Through Video Game Production?"

Research Paper 10 pages (2866 words) Sources: 20 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Teaching

Can at Risk student learn math through digital design? Through research, it has been determined that sat risk students to school because they enjoyed math and hands-on courses (i.e. art) or that have up-to-date technology. Along with that, students' favorite courses depended on the amount of self-expression they could achieve in the class. This was in regards to if the classes offered practical application, and whether the subject matter came to them easily, giving them a feeling of mastery or being smart (Cardon, 2004).

Product:

In teaching, at Risk student to learn math through digital design, I would encourage them to use the Logical Mathematical stage because it will help them understand the material. I would also encourage the students use the Musical stage in order to pick out key points in order to learn the material. This helps them to make sense of the details of the subject so that they can analyze and have a new outlook. Furthermore, analyzing the key points helps them to apply them to a real life situation. When students can apply the material to real life, they have truly mastered the subject. Therefore, using the Gardner theory stages helped students to get a grasp on what they need to learn because it is very important to pick up key points in order to grasp the material better (Brualdi, a. C 1996).

I would make a lesson plan that would have the students go to a website that has math games that explore their math skills. However, before doing that, I would introduce the math material through a Youtube video to grab their attention. I would keep using digital design throughout the lesson plan to keep the students attention. In one lesson plan, I may use the WII game system as a tool to learn math skills in order to keep the creativity going. Within modern society, technology makers understand children exercise and like video games. In order to combine exercise and video games for children, they have created the WII and XBOX KINECT, which allows the player to be the actual controller, and they see this as fun. This will keep them excited about math. Since computers are limited in most classrooms, I would make a list of the students that will allow to get a ten-minute turn with the digital material.

Abstract:

This paper discusses the benefits of teaching at-risk students math through digital design. The paper will discuss the instruction on how to teach at risk students math through this technological method. Furthermore, it will explore what I have learned as a teacher about teaching math through a digital design.

Research Rationale:

Along with that, children do no want to sit and read a textbook anymore. They are more interested in reading digital material because it seems more comfortable and easier to understand information. For example, with new technology, people do not have to work as hard, which gets them too physical unmotivated to be active. Technology can make communicating and doing homework seem less physical when it can be sent electronically, which does not involve any physical activity. It is logical for children to use the easier and faster way to do what is required of them so that they have more time to do what they want rather than taking the time and doing it in person. Anything that takes time, children see it as work or a chore so with the internet, they see it as a way to do things quicker, which ultimately leads to them not being active and at risk for gaining weight. Studies show that children spend six hours or more of their leisure time on the internet rather than doing physical activity (Lin, C., Lin, S., & Wu, C. 2009). From that, children have more leisure time with the internet causing them not to be physical active. Being this non-physically active will make a person physically lazy but at the same time, using this technology is stimulating the mind to learn more. This confirms that the more society and the media make it easier for children to be less active by using technology to make activities simpler, it would be logical for teachers to take advantage of technology to make learning more fun and exciting.

The structure and the family support from the child's home will contribute to their educational desires. Due to the fact that technology is growing and becoming a part of the educational tools for teachers and students, it is apparent that family structure is highly important to children's behavior due to the fact it does affect all levels of performance, which includes preschool to college. Furthermore, family has a big influence on a child's behavior. This is due to the fact when observing, other family members behavior, it is not likely that they will pick up the trait but they will have a trait similar to the one that they observed (Children of single parents more likely to be chubby, 2003). This goes along with the idea that support is the key getting a student to learn math through a digital design. Even though there is good home structure, children still need structure and be motivated in the classroom so that they will continue to be excited about using the technology in the classroom. Furthermore, students often follow the trends in technology due to what the media shows and advertise for activities for youths.

Within children using the internet as an activity, there is something that is called leisure boredom, which is a motivator in adolescents' to go through the internet. In order to take advantage of the effects that internet has on students, parents can increase adolescents' educational choice of activities on digital design such as the internet, provide supportive control, and mollify feelings of participation as suggested above when stating the importance of support from family. Parents must just not know where, what, and with whom the adolescent is doing but they should encourage open communication with their children regarding their Internet use, and to set rules about their online behavior. There are guidelines that help adolescents avoid Internet addiction disorder. The guidelines are parents getting involved with their children, keeping the educational goals in perspective, make sure there are other hobbies, making clear limits and rules, monitoring internet use, and young people need a good role model (Lin, C., Lin, S., & Wu, C. p, 994-2009). Even though these are great ideas to take advantage of the technology for educational purposes, technology and the media give new ways to be inside playing with gadgets, therefore teachers and parents have to be innovative (Lado).

The behavior of students inside the classroom depends somewhat upon their relationships with professors and faculty, because, after all, they are the ones who teach the subject and interact with students. It is inevitable that behaviors of students inside a classroom especially those who are at risk students in a way depend on their race or ethnicity, which does not make it very neutral place of learning and social interaction (Bloom, 2000). Studies have shown non-native speaking students struggle because they are in a different country and away from family. Scholars argue whether this is the implication of the alienation to students who form the mainstream population or just one of the effects of being drenched in a multicultural society (Carruthers, 2001). Therefore, it would help if teachers were taught how to manage digital design material to teach math skills to at risk student by having it as a part of the curriculum so that elementary schools would not let students fall behind (Ayers, 2008).

Additionally, studies show at risk students are more pessimistic than any other students and are more likely to anticipate possible problems in their ventures (Winn, 2002). This insinuates that they are more inclined towards avoidance of future maladies, and thus they always tend to play their affairs safe. At risk students are also more prone to health problems as aftereffects of their depression and pessimism, not to mention persistent recurrences of inferiority complex, which may interfere with their academic achievement and in this case, teachers should have curriculum that allows them to teach math on a digital design (Gimbert, 2010).

"In the new vision of challenging learning activities, the curriculum for all students would emphasize the integration of higher order thinking skills, authentic tasks, and mixed-ability groupings. Instead of students practicing discrete, isolated skills (such as spelling and punctuation done on worksheets), the curriculum would stress composition, comprehension, and applications of skills. Rather than treating basic skills as an obstacle that must be surmounted before exposing students to more complex and meaningful learning activities, schools would give at-risk students opportunities to learn and practice basic skills in the context of working on authentic tasks (Means, Chelemer, & Knapp, 1991). at-risk students would work more in heterogenous groupings as part of collaborative classrooms and less in ability groupings or pull-out classes for compensatory instruction. They would be judged… READ MORE

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