Mr. Glass has been looking for a way to accomplish two class goals with his 7th grade math students. First, he has had some difficulty getting some of his students to work together effectively. They brought with them (from 6th grade) a history of some bad blood between some students, and that experience has manifested itself in his classroom. Second, he wants to give his students an opportunity to demonstrate mastery of a range of content and skills they have been working on for the better part of the semester, but he doesn't want to just give them a conventional exam.
Enter the Cooperative mechanic. Like Card Drafting (see Level Up Your Classroom, p. 91), the Cooperative game mechanic is a relatively new innovation in game design, coming into its own only in the mid-2000s. In a Cooperative game, the players form a team and play together to defeat the game itself. If the game is well written, this method of gameplay is surprisingly intense and stimulating. There are two ways to write a Cooperative game: fully cooperative and semi-cooperative.
In a fully cooperative game, all of the players work together against the game. In Pandemic, for example, the players take on the role of epidemiologists and other medical specialists trying to deal with the outbreak of a number of deadly viruses. Although every player can take a certain assortment of actions, the players each have specialized roles on the team. The action of the game is precisely balanced. It's incredibly easy to lose, and even though victory is possible, it doesn't come easily. It's important to note that in fully cooperative games, the players take no actions against one another; the players all lose or win as a team.
In a semi-cooperative game, by contrast, the players are still competing against the game, but a "traitor" element is introduced that problematizes the teamwork aspect. To me, the best example of this type of cooperative game is Battlestar Galactica, a well-regarded game adaptation of the reimagined television series that ran for four seasons. In this game, every player begins the game presumed to be human and therefore on the same team trying to defeat the game. The twist is that at some point in the game (not necessarily at the beginning), at least some players will learn that their character is a Cylon (i.e., not human) and therefore opposed to the team. The Cylon players win if the game wins, and they lose if the human team wins.
Here's the other twist: when a player becomes a Cylon, only he or she knows it; it isn't revealed to the other players. Only a Cylon player can reveal himself or herself (there are strategic reasons why a player may want to do this). As a result, an unrevealed Cylon can take actions surreptitiously that damage the likelihood that the human players will win, building a great deal of tension and suspense into the game. In my experience, both semi-cooperative and fully cooperative games have excellent tension and suspense.
The tricky thing for a teacher who wants to use the Cooperative mechanic in a class is figuring out the nature of the opposition. Remember, the players (students) form a team working against the game itself—not against one another. Great Cooperative games make the play experience deliberately difficult; the game shouldn't be a cake walk. Mr. Glass's decision, therefore, is for him to assume the role of the game and present himself in opposition to his students—the players. He does this by instructing his students (working in groups designed to get everyone working together, especially those who have struggled in the past) to prepare 30 questions that, in their estimation, adequately assess or measure the topics with which the class has engaged. Mr. Glass then provides a list of relevant topics to ensure that all students are on task.
While his students are working on their questions, Mr. Glass is working on his own set of 10 questions. In a subsequent class period, when students are confident in the questions they have written, they exchange questions with Mr. Glass. The students' objective is to work together in their groups to solve their 10 questions correctly before Mr. Glass completes his 30. This is an exercise that balances time with accuracy. If the students (or Mr. Glass) have written a question that can't be answered or is invalid in some way, there's a two-minute penalty. When all groups and Mr. Glass are finished, they compare their work and answers. (Mr. Glass has to show his work just as his students do.) All groups that finish with a time faster than Mr. Glass win the game and get the reward (e.g., they get to drop a low quiz grade or question on an exam).
Cooperative Gaming in Math Class-table
Learning Concepts | Gamification Standards |
|---|---|
| Lesson Objectives / Core Questions | Using mathematical critical thinking to demonstrate mastery of pre-algebra concepts |
| Grade Level | 6-8 |
| Alignment to Learning Standards | Aligned to Common Core State Standards |
| Game Mechanic | Cooperative |
| Gamified Standards: Persistence | By aligning students as a collective against a superior foe (or boss), the teacher builds a high level of student commitment to winning and succeeding. |
| Gamified Standards: Self-Direction | The game stimulates student persistence by creating a compelling narrative and opposition. The choice of the number of questions students have to generate is a function of how skilled the teacher believes he or she is versus the students. This is an area where game balance is key. |
| Gamified Standards: Social Skills | Self-direction comes from the fact that students are responsible for synthesizing the math concepts they've learned and then deploying them in interesting ways against their foe. |
| Gamified Standards: Communities | This approach is highly social—compellingly so. As long as the opponent is not another student, it will stay so. |
| Gamified Standards: Communities | The entire class should be at liberty to collaborate in whatever way they deem appropriate. Small groups, encouraged to innovate, can share wisdom with the whole. |
| Gamified Standards: Democratic and Meritocratic Philosophies | Student victory or defeat is predicated entirely on mathematical merit. This carries a high level of risk, of course, but the rewards for merit are also high. |
| Gamified Standards: Playful Learning | This game is highly interactive and compelling, mostly because the teacher is the opponent. |
| Gamified Standards: Flow | The instructor will need to be sure to support students who are disengaged either because less-proficient skills cause them to separate or because stronger students are dominating the conversation. |
Source: Excerpted from Level Up Your Classroom: The Quest to Gamify Your Lessons and Engage Your Students (pp. 94–96), by J. Cassie, 2016, Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Copyright 2016 by ASCD.