Think kids don’t like to learn? You must not have come to the Game Jam at Code in the Schools last Saturday. Students 12 years and up worked in small teams from 8 am to 8 pm to learn programming and to solve problems as they created their own video games. Volunteers with gaming and programming backgrounds mentored each group as they developed their ideas into working video games.
Could this model of mentored learning help students learn in other fields like architecture, health, communications, construction, or government services?
Baltimore needs to think out of the school box learning model with more mentoring and learning opportunities with business, non-profit and government partners. Learning with mentors helps students understand how their learning can be applied in solving real problems and it can help connect them to their futures. What problem solving exercises could your business or agency host for students?
Sixth grade students demonstrate the video game they developed to the judges at Game Jam.
Students work together to learn the programming necessary to make their games work.
They were able to reference other games and use online resources to create their own working game.
So what strategy would you use to escape hungry dinosaurs on an island?
Students had to come up with story plots, characters, game rules and the programming to make it all work as they created their games.
This is a blending of learning across subjects that few classroom experiences match.
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