Kahoot is basically a platform to make multiple choice questions into a game that is accessible using smartphones. This post is dedicated to laying down some of my thoughts, comments, and notes in making a Kahoot game for math classes. Specifically, I want to figure out how to make a “good” Kahoot game that is meaningful mathematically.

Since Kahoot takes on a multiple choice format, so the question becomes how do you make good multiple choice questions and how it can be used for learning. My initial thoughts regarding Kahoot is that it would be best used to look at vocabulary and concepts, addressing misconceptions and subtleties. This is due to the score system employed by Kahoot, where fast respondents are given a score bonus. When a question involves calculations, students who may be slower are at a disadvantage in the game, rewarding students who are able to perform calculations faster, which is not really my goal. Instead of speed, I want to encourage accuracy. However, simple calculations with nice numbers can be used to encourage students to work on their mental math. It also rewards students who are familiar with the material by doing homework and/or using work time in class productively.

I plan on making a Kahoot activity as a midterm review, for my grade 9 class and potentially workplace math 10s that review the basic concepts such as rules, common formulas, simple calculations, vocabulary, and definitions. After each question, I will spend time going over each question and point out where the question is from and what the common misconceptions are to help students build up what they need to review.

I will update this post after the Kahoot activity.

Update (Feb 13):

The Kahoots went fairly well. Points of consideration I have after doing Kahoot for 4 different classes are the following,

• Educational goals of Kahoot
• User tag
• Designing questions
• Length & attention span (related to designing questions)

Educational goals of Kahoot

The question behind for everything a teacher does should have the “why am I (are you) doing this?” Any Kahoot activity should have clear purpose. Take the use of Kahoot for review as an example, within the context of a review, it could be used as a casual way to expose students to a range of different topics and getting them to do some math or it could be used to pinpoint student weakness and help students build a study guide. These are all valid reasons behind introducing a Kahoot activity to the class, however, the teacher needs to know before hand what the purpose is and to plan accordingly based on that purpose. You might not need too much planning if Kahoot is going to be a casual and fun way of reviewing, but if you want to use Kahoot to pinpoint student weaknesses and plan their studying, there might need more formal scaffold for younger students to help them develop study habits.

User tag

Problems with inappropriate words or phrases in user name will always exist, therefore, it is the way the teacher addresses these incidents play a tremendous role in setting the tone and expectations in the language used in the classroom. The teacher needs to set a consequence and actually follow through. It might seem hard to identify which student created the user tag, but what you can do is to get students to put their phones down, hands off the device, and go through and check the user names on their phones one by one. Set a consequence that is severe and can be followed through such as a talk after school or involving parents and admin, however, just be careful when you choose to involve parents and admin because it could significantly damage your relationship you have with your students (which is where balancing comes in, how well do you think you can repair this relationship? How important is it to you to set an example of the language you will not tolerate in class? There is no right answer and it will be different depending on the teacher you are). I do not tolerate inappropriate language and I make it clear with my students that there will be personal consequences that will be enforced.

Designing questions

Kahoot is just a multiple choice question in the form of a game. It may feel new to the students, but after a few questions, students will quickly realize it is just math in disguise. This is why variety and variation needs to be thrown in. For math in particular, avoid having multiple calculation based questions and mix in some definition/vocabulary or even some true/false questions. You may also choose to add questions that involve random things such as someone’s birthday, company logos, mixing colors, or even questions for students to learn about you. Having a range of questions help keep students on their toes and keep students engaged for a bit longer.

Length and attention span

Kahoot should not take an entire class, that would be way too long. As discussed above, Kahoot’s core mechanic is basically a multiple choice. Students cannot and will not stay engage for a prolonged period of time. This is where planning out the length of Kahoot is important. I would suggest keeping the basic Kahoot package to ~20 questions, especially if you are going to stop and go through some of the questions. For students who want more, you may choose to design an advance set of questions for those who want to play more and give other students the option to work on their homework if they are tired of Kahoot. When planning out the length of the Kahoot, try and be like a chef: tease the students with just enough questions to whet their appetite for something new but not too much so they are sick of it. You want to be able to come back to Kahoot and have students want to do it, therefore, plan it with ambition and moderation so it remains fresh and exciting for the students.

Due to unforeseeable circumstances, I was actually able to test out my Jeopardy lesson on three different classes, each class with their own interesting results.

Before I discuss what I personally feel about Jeopardy for review (grade 9), I will go through what I have done in each of the classes and highlight some of the differences between them.

The general set up throughout the 3 classes

• Students were separated into groups of 5-8
• When a question is selected, every group will be allowed to challenge it
• Same Jeopardy grid (separated by sections in the chapter)
• Every group got a small whiteboard and a single marker (with paper towel to erase)
• No fixed amount of question before the game ends 
• No prize for the winning groups

Class 1 (morning first period):

• Groups randomized (4 groups of 6)
• Everyone could write on the small whiteboards
• No limitation on what questions students can pick during the first few rounds. Ie. groups could go for 500 points on the first round
• No strict time limit was placed on each question
• Points were assigned based on how fast students completed the questions. Ie. first group with the complete and correct solution got 100% of the points, second group with complete and correct solution would get 50%, third with 25% and forth with nothing
• The team with the least points will pick the next question

Class 2 (afternoon first period):

• Groups were self-selected (2 teams of boys vs 2 teams of girls by student choice)
• The person holding the marker can only write down what other group members are saying. The scribe is rotated after each question
• You can only select 100 pt questions on turn 1, 200 pt & 100 pt questions on turn 2… The first time 500 pt questions will be available will be on the fifth turn.
• Time limit is imposed on questions based on their point value. Ie. 100 pt questions get 90 secs, 200 pt questions 2 mins, 300 pt questions 3 mins, and 400 pt/500 pt questions 5 mins.
• Full points are rewarded when the group completes the question within the time limit
• The fastest group to complete the problem correctly will select the next problem

Class 3 (afternoon second/last period):

• Groups were self-selected
• The person holding the marker can only write down what other group members are saying. The scribe is rotated after each question
• Time limit is imposed on questions based on their point value. Ie. 100 pt questions get 90 secs, 200 pt questions 2 mins, 300 pt questions 3 mins, and 400 pt/500 pt questions 5 mins.
• Full points are rewarded when the group completes the question within the time limit
• Questions are selected by shouting out/raising hand

General observation (just based on what I have seen today/what I remember) + things to consider for future Jeopardy games

• The classes generally had very good engagement with the mathematics and (I speculate) they enjoyed the review class more than they would if it were just a work period (with worksheets)
• Students had the opportunity to see the questions they had trouble answering and which sections they are from, however, it is unclear whether those students will remember/go home and review the topics they did not get in the game (at the same time, I am just grateful they happily took part in the game)
• Lots of care and consideration must go into planning the game to get the students remain focused and engaged.
  • In class 1, the game fell apart because students decided to go for the 500 pt questions (“go big or go home”) and got demotivated since the 500 pt questions were naturally very hard. This is the reason why the limit has been imposed from the second class onward.
  • The point distribution in the first game was done poorly because it encouraged students to be quick. This was changed in the second game because I wanted to encourage students to get the correct solution and work.
  • Consider how much time students will get to solve their problems, make sure they have enough time to finish and check their work but not too much so they are just sitting around and bored waiting for others.
  • Place limits on the questions students can choose in the first few rounds, otherwise students will do the 500 pt questions and lose motivation when one group gets too far ahead (this issue was exacerbated with the point distribution used in class 1). Prepare some sort of “comeback” mechanism such as doubling/tripling points, but don’t make this mechanism too complicated.
  • Place a limit on the number of questions you do. While some students will be engaged and want to play on for a long time, others will get tired of the game and will lose interest and disengage or go off task.
  • Have tangible rewards for the winning group of the game, but do not tell students the rewards and keep it as a surprise.

Mid-class Breaks

Moving away from the Jeopardy, I also experimented with giving students a 5 min break in the middle of class during the last game. Before I say anything of the break, I want to acknowledge that I could have done it much better and I might have set a bad precedent for the future, but I do believe having a break is an interesting idea to explore further and refine.

What I did:

1. See the engagement levels drop in class, students are getting tired of doing math/Jeopardy (6 rounds in)
2. Offer students a 5 min break 25 mins before the end of class; allowed students to leave to go to the washroom or get a drink without having to ask me for permission
3. Students all returned after 5 mins
4. Students were unable to focus on math for the remainder of the class and were eager to pack up and go

Thoughts

• Not having students to ask me for permission before leaving the room is a terrible idea for safety reason during emergency situations
• Clear rules need to be established regarding the purpose of the break before giving students a break
  • Come back on time
  • Limit the number of students that can leave the room to 3 or 5 but give student the freedom to move around inside the classroom
  • Make sure students understand they are expected to stay focused on and on task after they return or else they will lose the break next time (make sure this is enforced)
• I would attribute some of the disengagement with it being Monday’s final period, but part of it is definitely due to the nature of the lesson (game). I would be curious as to how well the same group of students engage when my SA are teaching the same class in the same period.