Seville Presentation

Integrating Games Into the
Isochronous Learning
Environment: Designing
Instruction for Mixed-Age
Classrooms
Yulia Piller, MAT
University of North Texas
Jami Roberts-Woychesin, MS, PhD
Arts & Technology Institute

Yulia Piller
Jami Roberts-Woychesin

Introduction
We will present the initial stages of development
of the Isochronous Instructional Framework (IIF)
IIF is rooted in ethnographic evidence collected
over a period of 10 months
Courses analyzed included a 12-week course in
computer literacy and four 5-day workshops

Why This?
At Arts and Technology Institute (ATI) classes
are all mixed-age and students start at different
learning levels.
Popularity growth for the mixed-age class model.
Strengthens higher learners while teaching lower
level learners.

Introduction
Case Studies took place in the Dallas, Texas area.
Students ranged in age from 8 yo - 13 yo.
Computer Literacy class contained 20 students
Minecraft Learn to Mod classes = 16 students

Games in the Classroom
Games should afford learners ability to construct
new knowledge.
Pressure to introduce games in the classroom
Problem of disconnect
Problems with existing frameworks

Flow Theory
Successful learning activities establish flow or a
balance between the ability of the student and the
challenge.
Environments are created that maintain flow while
learning objectives are met.
Opportunities for knowledge and transfer are
presented to students.
Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development is used
scaffolding content without flow interruption.

Theoretical Framework
SOLO
Gagne’s Events of Instruction
Bloom’s Taxonomy

SOLO Taxonomy
Breaks down the complexity of learning into five levels
of a student’s understanding.
Serves to guide levels of comprehension that can be
incorporated with the proposed learning results and
make appraisal criteria of rubrics.
Affords the instructor to analyze the students work in
terms of quality.

SOLO

Gagne Events of Instruction
Learners must proceed through a hierarchy of
skills to complex in order to attain certain learning
outcomes.
These include nine events of instruction.
Useful in identifying educational content of a game.

Bloom’s Taxonomy
Cognitive aspect of learning outcomes
Lower level / Higher level thinking skills
Identifies 3 domains of learning:
Cognitive, Affective, & Psychomotor

Introduction to IIF
isochronous -
mathematical term of
isochronous
curve - a cycloid curve
to its finishing point is
independent of the
starting point of each
object,
given that gravity is
uniform and there is no
friction.

IIF
Isochronous Learning Environment
any classroom in which students are of mixed ages
working toward the same learning objective
independent of their initial knowledge and skill
level.
-Uniform gravity = constant flow
-Friction = anything that can be caused by student’s
learning differences, environmental,
logistical, and social difficulties

IIF
Objectives (teaching & learning) drives game
selection.
Properly defined objectives = solid understanding
Iterative Assessment allows progression

Integrating Games into IIF
Games for assessment
e.g. Jeopardy
Games for understanding
e.g. Rube Goldberg machine in Contraption Maker
Games for transfer and application
e.g. Redstone in Minecraft

Conclusion
Set teaching and learning objectives
Constant assessment
Need for further studies