BREAKOUT of Traditional Math Instruction, ESCAPE into Learning!

Once upon a time there was a world where anything you wanted to learn came from a single source. A book, a parent, a teacher. You asked, they answered, you learned. The flat unidirectional representation of information from one expert in print or face to face is no longer the norm. The information highway flows to and from multiple directions with all of us not only along for the ride, but also co-creating the map. We have entered a reality where user generated and interactive content has replaced the static transmission of a single form of information from an educator to a student. This new normal of crowd sourced information and community participation has created a culture that has expanded our personal borders of knowledge, understanding, awareness, and empathy in ways that were not possible before without the transformative video platform of YouTube. The Jasper Series was ahead of this YouTube generation. The Anchored Instruction of collaborative situational problem solving allowed for students to move away from being passive recipients of knowledge and instead we able to be immersed in a situation where they could solve math related problems that they may actually encounter in there daily real lives at home and in school (Hasselbring,Lott, & Zydney, 2005). The back to the basics movement in mathematical political conversations wants to reaffirm the need for procedural knowledge, yet research has shown that procedural knowledge should be taught within the same context(s) where it will be used in the future (Hasselbring,Lott, & Zydney, 2005). Further, in order for students to truly develop a mathematical mindset they need to experience more opportunities that simply answering pages and pages of questions with right answers (Boaler, 2013).If we reduced technology in our mathematics instructions to simple calculators, skill and drill computer software, or tutorial videos for mathematical algorithms and procedures we have missed an incredible opportunity to focus on the critical competencies of innovation, problem solving and collaboration. The Jasper Series was a stepping stone to creating this type of learning environment, with the power of YouTube we have a chance to continue this legacy of learning. YouTube is more than a repository of content to be passively consumed. It is a human space that is full of challenges, curiosity, peer groups, social interaction, and wonder that all impact the development of our sense of self and collective wisdom (Duncum, 2014).

We are all learning and creating together. This 24/7, 365 day a year access to anytime anywhere information has greatly impacted our traditional education systems where students were (and in many cases still are) expected to check their connections to the world of information at the door and sit in an environment where a teacher chooses when, where, what and how to transmit information (Riley, 2017). This cloistered environment removes the connection to infinite our students are native to. The learning community is far greater than that found within our classroom walls. There are those that claim purpose in this closed off method is due to the belief that learning is disadvantaged if we acquire it through 2D-media and not in the physical, 3D-world (Schilhab, 2018). This simple sterilization and depersonalization of the “machine” of learning as found for example on YouTube I feel is a falsity.  “If institutional education is to remain relevant we must first acknowledge that we have entered upon a very different world in which informal learning communities are now a major part of our students’ lives. They represent nothing less than a paradigm shift in education. We must acknowledge that students now come to us with the expectation of being able to employ their own agency in exploring the world they are to inherit and change” (Duncum, 2014, p.35). Instead of having teachers simply transmit  information that students receive,  the Jasper Series emphasized the importance of having students become actively involved in the construction of knowledge (The Jasper Series, 1992).

When considering these constructivist underpinnings where we hold fast to the belief that students cannot learn to engage in effective knowledge-construction activities simply by being told new information I began to think about an amazing opportunity to create a math or science lesson that could act as a new iteration of the Jasper Series anchored instruction methodology while also harnessing the power of current technological tools such as YouTube. An incredibly popular trend in the entertainment industry is the Breakout Room Experience. Breakout Rooms are contextual problem solving experiences where the participants become part of the story. They must work together to solve a series of problems based in Language Arts, Math, Science and more in order to get out of the room. Participants are committed to solving the problem, because just as it did for Emily and Jasper, it has become their problem anchoring them in the situation (The Jasper Experiment, 1993). These rooms are complex and interconnected requiring the creation of a plan, working through multiple solutions, and contextual application of knowledge. This tremendously successful entertainment platform was transformed into a learning experience. Breakout EDU, founded in 2015 by James Sanders and Mark Hammons, provides kits to schools and districts allowing for immersive gameplay. These padlocked boxes can only be accessed by decoding verbs, performing math problems, or solving scientific puzzles. “They’re an innovative way to bring technology and critical thinking into the classroom, and the benefits are twofold: Games have a history of promoting engagement in a learning environment, and the collaborative elements help students develop social skills” (Stone, 2016, p.1). The student is placed into the narrative of the game. Consider this scenario:

“The inventor Claire Levine has been kidnapped, and her robot has been reprogrammed to destroy a hospital. To save it, students must activate the kill switch inside a box—but they need to get through four padlocks to do so, and they’ve only got 45 minutes. Multiple locked boxes and clues are scattered through the room—deciphering these leads to hidden keys and combination passwords. There’s a black-light flashlight that reveals hidden messages, and a QR code that directs players to a video containing a four-digit code.”

Breakout EDU has over 200 games that have been created by fellow educators. These are a mix of a physical and digital experience and the content can be tailored for the age group and subject areas. Now in 2016, Breakout EDU digital was released so teachers can create completely digital versions of these immersive problem solving questioning using images, videos (such as you might find in the Jasper series) and text based clues. I have created many of these breakouts for students and for my professional development workshops. Yes, they take time. Turning these breakouts into a classroom activity can be constrained by teachers needing to deal with classroom size, facilities, and the curriculum standards (Stone, 2016). Time taken to spend on these immersive experiences was also noted in the Jasper Series as well. You can explore 112 Math Games here alone https://platform.breakoutedu.com/category/math

“Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just sitting in classes listening to teachers, memorizing prepackaged assignments, and spitting out answers.” (Chickering & Ehrmann, 1996, p.1). We have the opportunity to ESCAPE into learning with these breakout experiences in order to construct mathematical understanding anchored in experience.

For fun I thought some of you might like to give Breakout EDU a try. Here is the link and code to my game you can play.

https://platform.breakoutedu.com/game/digital/show-me-the-code-16701-8Y495FLIHL

Code: GCK-6FM-U3S

Trish