Big Board PowerPoint game on Historia de cronopios y de famas
Standard III: TEACHING, LEARNING AND THE CURRICULUM. Teachers implement curriculum plans include curriculum plans that include methods and strategies for applying technology to maximize student learning.
Standard III-C: Teachers apply technology to develop students’ higher order skills and creativity.
This PowerPoint game is designed as an informal assessment for student comprehension and understanding of three short stories in the novel, Historia de cronopios y de famas, by Julio Cortázar. Jeff Ertzberger of UNC-Wilmington created a wonderful PowerPoint game template called BigBoard. I used this template to create this game designed for the high school Spanish classroom. In addition to written assessment, this game is to be played after spending a great deal of time working with and discussing these three short stories and the main characters.—los cronopios and los famas-- therein. Similar to Jeopardy, there are different categories with different questions varying in difficulty as well as point value. In this game, there are five topics with five questions within each specific topic. Two of the topics address the characteristics of the two main characters groups. The other three topics address the content of the three short stories—Lo particular y lo universal, Viajes, and Los exploradores respectively. However unlike in Jeopardy where each individual is responsible for knowing the correct answer, each team works together to discuss (within allotted time of a minute or so) and a designated group representative answers for the team. I would chose the group representative to ensure that that entire group (and not just the representative) would be participating in the game.
The format of the game uses a current computer program (Microsoft PowerPoint) in student assessment .The heavy emphasis on audio-visual in PowerPoint helps students who have difficulty writing in Spanish or with writing in general will be more apt to participate because of the PP format (and because it is a game, not a regular assignment). Plus, visual learners as well as students who best articulate themselves by speaking have greater opportunities for participation as well as successful achievement. Although the students will be required to remain in their groups, the students are able to sit/stand wherever the group chooses (within reason) to accommodate bodily-kinesthetic learners. The fact the ‘assessment’ is a game in which students are on teams makes it fun and informal, and unique from traditional forms of assessment. The large majority of the questions require analytical and in some cases hypothetical thinking about the material, which encourages students to engage in higher order thinking. For example one question asks, “Which group would you rather travel with—famas or cronopios?” The student has to think about the personality characteristics of these groups based on their understanding of the text, make their judgment, and then defend his/her particular stand. Thus, such questions not only require ‘quick’ analytical thinking, but personal reflection and opinion that will be unique to each student. Therefore, if students’ are able to answer these challenging questions, I will be certain that they know the text, and more importantly they can critically and analytically understand its meaning and the nuances associated with the stories’ different elements and themes. This game seeks to provide ample opportunities to participate in the learning process with ease and efficacy with less pressure and in a setting that’s more comfortable and preferable for them. Furthermore, this game seeks to assess the student’s abilities as a whole, not just mere comprehension of the text. This game assesses the student’s reading comprehension, listening skills (as I read each of the questions after they select their choice) , speaking abilities (as it is done completely in Spanish), mental agility (as there is a time limit to answer the question), and abilities to work within a group.