Serious Fun in the Classroom

Robert King

Some very clever people are using fun to solve social problems. The approach is called “Fun Theory,” and it’s tackling all kinds of social ills.

For example, Kevin Richardson suggests creating a “speeding lottery.” Cameras that catch speeders can also recognize those who obey the speed limit. Speeders pay fines into a pot, and those who obey are entered into a lottery to win the pot. Check out the speeding lottery video. Fun!

The mayor of Bogota, Columbia, has his own approach to speeding. Anatas Mockus hired over 400 mimes to stand on street corners, making fun of bad drivers. His reasoning is that it is more of a deterrent to humiliate bad drivers than to fine them. His idea has worked, dropping traffic fatalities by more than half. Fun!

And recently, two 17-year-old Canadians named Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad used fun theory to capture international attention for their backyard experiment. They sent a helium balloon nearly into space, including a Lego astronaut, which they filmed in flight. Fun!

What can fun theory do in my classroom?

Fun theory is limited only by imagination—yours and your students’. First, use fun theory on a source of annoyance. What is your biggest pet peeve? What are you constantly reminding your students about? Here’s a beginning list:

• Lateness for class
• Forgotten homework
• Sloppy mistakes
• Chatting and texting
• Not turning in assignments
• Not putting names on assignments

[Read more.]

In the News

Recent articles on 21st century skills, inquiry, project-based learning, media literacy, and education reform

An Introduction to Game-Based Learning At Kinect Education, Andrew Miller provides a nice overview of game-based learning. This approach uses serious games to target learning outcomes. It also reaches into the realms of gamification and fun theory, featured in this week’s newsletter article. By their very nature, games teach. The question is how to ally the teaching power of games with the needs of the curriculum.

Real World Math: Using Google in the Math Curriculum This free Web site provides lesson plans for using Google Earth to teach mathematics. You’ll find concept, measurement, exploration, and space lessons, as well as support for project-based learning. The site also includes tutorials and other resources. (Thanks, Richard Byrne, for pointing us to this great site.)

The Brainstorming Process is B.S., But Can We Rework It? In Co.Design, Cliff Kuang argues from recent articles and scientific data that traditional brainstorming actually tamps down on creativity and leads to groupthink. He asserts that we need to recognize the true drivers of creativity—solitary work punctuated by conflicting opinions, a balance of group chemistry and novel individuals, and a space that facilitates random encounters with those outside of one’s team.

Twimpact On her blog The Essential Principal, elementary school principal Kim B. posts about how Twitter is impacting her professional development. Though she admits that “this was a slow week” for her on Twitter, she outlines a “Twimpact” that includes reading over 400 tweets, sending 24, finding a terrific activity that she “favorited,” and even receiving updated testing information days before it was available in other forms. Many educators now use Twitter as part of their Personal Learning Network (PLN)—and if you do, make sure to follow us at www.twitter.com/inquirebook!

College Readiness: How to Help Students Think Abstractly At the Edutopia Web site, Ben Johnson addresses a much-needed skill for college-bound students—abstract thinking. He focuses on the importance of algebra and geometry but also of literature and language learning. Anytime students must grapple with symbol systems to understand what they represent, those students must engage in abstract thinking.

Dan Meyer: Math Class Needs a Makeover In this illuminating TED talk, math teacher Dan Meyer tells how he gets his struggling students to think like mathematicians and develop patient problem-solving skills. His method is quite simple: Unpack the layers of a math problem presented in a textbook, provide just the visual representation, ask a question about it, and have students develop their own formulas for figuring out the problem. Instead of using math thinking to “jump over tiny cracks,” students use math thinking to take on messy, real-world problems.

Thoughtful Learning: Upcoming Events

ASCD Convention (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development)

Thoughtful Learning will be exhibiting at the ASCD annual conference from March 24–26 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA. We’ll provide more detailed information as the show approaches.

In Focus: Improving Social and Emotional Intelligence, One Day at a Time

We are developing a new line of products titled In Focus: Improving Social and Emotional Intelligence, One Day at a Time. The author of the line, Thomas McSheehy, has taught elementary school for 21 years and has been a social worker and family therapist for 16 years. Each book (K–2, 3–5, 6–8) provides concise daily activities to help your students develop their social and emotional intelligence by

• increasing attention and focus,
• reducing bullying and impulsive behavior,
• elevating self-esteem and confidence,
• strengthening social skills, and
• improving teamwork and collaboration.

For more information, download a free sampler of In Focus grades 6–8. Also, watch for more in future editions of the Thoughtful Inquirer!