Wildcat Challenge

7/30/2019 Wildcat Challenge

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Renee A. Peterson

LTLE 645

Final Project

The Research

Why do we do what we do? We want to be happy. Therefore, we are motivated by

our perception of happiness. In her book, Reality is Broken (2011), Jane McGonigal

discusses a 2009 happiness study at the University of Rochester. The researchers

found two interesting things about happiness: 1. The attainment of things does

NOT make one happy, 2. Building personal strengths and social relationships does

make one happy. Writer and self-described happiness-explorer Elizabeth Gilbert

puts it best, Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You have toparticipate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings(McGonigal

2011). In her text, McGonigal goes on to explain that helping others makes us even

happier and more satisfied with our lives. As adults, this seems to make sense to us.

So, how do we convince teenagers of this? We dont. We need to create anatmosphere in which this phenomenon will happen naturally.

Why dont teenagers want to go to school? They dont think school makes them

happy. They are motivated to pursue their perception of happiness, and they

believe that is not at school. They believe that happiness comes from the freedom of

no rules, regulations, boundaries, or work. However, these same teenagers

voluntarily take on virtual challenges every day in on-line games. All of those games

contain rules, regulations, boundaries, and lots of work to achieve goals but they

LOVE them! How can we harness that desire to work hard and accomplish goals?

How can we put the motivation of games into school?

J. K. Rowling wrote a book well a series of books you may have heard of them.They tell the story of a young wizard named Harry Potter and his adventures at his

school called Hogwarts. As the students enter the school, the sorting hat divides

them into four houses. Each house contains students from all seven years of school

so that the older house members can mentor the young ones. During the year the

students earn points for their house by doing well. They can also have points

deducted for unsavory behavior or breaking the rules. There are no physical

rewards, just the satisfaction of being the winning house at the end of the year. This

is a fictional school, but there are some actual schools that have attempted to

pattern their programs after the Hogwarts model.

Jane Goodwin, former public school teacher, blogs about the comparison of

Rowlings Hogwarts to todays public schools Every Hogwarts student was able

to- sometimes eventually- find success at something. Nobody was left behind, butmany were soaring while others were still crawling. The soarers were not required,

or even expected, to remain on the ground just because someone else couldnt leaveit. Yet. The schools professors were always willing to tutor, give extra time to,encourage, cheer, reach out of the box, and pass along compliments. Peer pressure


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was rather encouraged, although not the bad kind. The suggestion that a student

who did poorly gave the entire House a bad name was enough to make the slackers

buck up. And the attitude of the other students toward a student who lost the House

some points was enough to make the wrong-doer think twice about doing it again.

Students were often ashamed of themselves for failing, wrongdoing, or otherwise

letting themselves or others down. In our culture, personal shame is stifled, becausepeople cant help it, or were driven to it, or made a mistake. Perhaps this lack ofshame is why our public school students continue to do things a Hogwarts student

would have far too much respect for himself and for others to do. At Hogwarts, self-esteem was only for those who earned it. This is also as it should be. I guess myquestion is, if Harry and his friends could do it, why cant our kids?

Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven, CT divided their school into Hogwarts-like

houses for the first time in 2010. Their purpose was not necessarily happiness and

motivation but guidance. Each house of 330 kids will have approximately 30 staffmembers. They will be led by an administrator, a dean in charge of curriculum and

discipline, two guidance counselors, and a lead teacher. Dean and lead teacher willbe in the classroom three periods a day, and know the kids. The single feature that

caught parents attention most at last Thursdays meeting was the advisory. Inaddition to instructing, each teacher in a house will take on ten to 15 students,

whom he or she doesnt teach, but advises. Elite private schools run on a similar

system. The hope is it will allow kids to become known and supported by adults

other than guidance counselors. The latter are universally acknowledged to be

overwhelmed at Cross (Appel 2010). A perusal of the currentWilbur Cross web

site demonstrates that the houses are still in place.

The Plan

Williamsport High School has a problem many students do not come to school on aregular basis, many students come to school but do not want to be there, and many

students do just what is absolutely necessary while there and cant wait to get out.Im sure this probably sounds like a typical American high school so, what can wedo about it? During the School Improvement Team meetings held in June 2012, the

members tossed around ideas simply to improve attendance. We discussed possible

incentives for attendance and possible school activities to increase school spirit as

well as faculty morale. What if school were more like a game? Adults and teenagers

alike voluntarily spend hours playing games they take on virtual challenges simplyfor the enjoyment of solving problems. They become so focused on game play that

they achieve the flow we would love to see our students and teachers achieve during

the learning process.

In The Gamification of Learning and Instruction (2012), Karl M. Kapp discusses why

we do what we doMotivation. How can we find what motivates our students? If

we find it, how can we use it to get them to come to school and be engaged in their


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school experiences? It is assumed that students have an intrinsic motivation for

attending school learning for learnings sake education is its own reward sure,in a perfect world. Some students respond well to extrinsic motivation coming to

school to get that perfect attendance certificate or to avoid losing a credit for too

many absences. What is the motivation for playing games? If we want to apply

game theory to school we can follow one of many instructional models including theARCS model. To create a game-based learning environment at WHS we need to get

the students Attention (A), demonstrate Relevance (R) in the activities, increase the

students Confidence (C), and then give the students the opportunity to experienceSatisfaction (S) at school.

So, lets get their Attention. The Wildcat Challenge is something new. It will pique

the interest of even the most apathetic of teenager maybe even enough for a raisedeyebrow rather than a disgusted eye roll. When the students step through the

doors of WHS on August 22, 2012, they need to see something different. Colorful

banners and posters advertising the new Wildcat Challenge need to greet them.

Music playing through the speakers and thought-provoking and/or humorousquotes scroll on the large screen displays throughout the school. The more

attractive the visuals on a game, the more the gamers like it.

After we have their attention, the game needs to be Relevant. How can this game

benefit them? By engaging in the Wildcat Challenge their attendance, academic

achievement, behavior, and school experience as a whole will improve. If they are

required to spend 180 days a year here, they may-as-well enjoy it! With a system of

rewards in place, the students can also earn extrinsic prizes to accompany the

intrinsic reward of an education. Kapp continues his discussion on motivation and

rewards by referring to studies that found that extrinsic rewards could affect

intrinsic motivation- often negatively, but sometimes positively if designed well. Ifthe extrinsic motivators provide feedback on performance that is intrinsic, the

student would have a measure of his own competence thus providing relevance.

Students (and gamers) will work harder if they feel confident that they can achieve

that next level. Success breeds confidence and failure encourages perseverance.

Throughout games, gamers see measurement achievements through leader boards,

level ladders, task feedback. Those same motivators can be used throughout the

Wildcat Challenge. Jane McGonigal, in her bookReality is Broken, discusses how

gamers feel pride not only by achieving points or levels in their own games but also

through helping someone else. This is where the team concept comes into play.

McGonigal states, The happiness we get from cheering on friends and family

ensures our personal investment in other peoples growth and achievements. Itencourages us to contribute to someone elses success, and as a result we form

networks of support from which everyone involved benefits. As a team gains

points from increased attendance, grades, good behavior, or active participation, the

members all benefit from individual achievement. They are a part of something

bigger than themselves and can encourage each other toward positive results.


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Coming to school can be a satisfying experience, and the Wildcat Challenge could

encourage more students (and parents) to be satisfied with their attendance, grades,

behavior, and participation.

The Teams

Williamsport High School will be divided into five teams each identified by a

different color green, red, purple, yellow, and orange. Names for these teams canbe chosen by the founding teams. Each team will include members of each class,

freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Each team will include ten teachers as

mentors, cheerleaders, and guides. The teams will be made up of ten homerooms

or, as they are called at WHS, Personal Education Plan (PEP) periods. For the 2012-

2013 school year there are 971 students enrolled at this point. The arrangement of

teams is as followed:

Team ChartGreen Red Purple Yellow Orange

Freshmen 9N - 17 9L - 17 9O - 17 9K - 18 9M - 17

9I - 18 9F - 18 9J - 18 9G - 18 9H - 18

9E - 18 9C - 18 9B - 18 9D - 18 9A - 18

Sophomores 10G - 19 10J - 19 10I - 19 10H - 19 10F - 19

10C - 19 10D - 19 10A - 19 10E - 19 10B - 19

10M - 18 10O - 18 10L - 19 10N - 18 10K - 19

Juniors 11D - 22 11A - 22 11E - 22 11C - 22 11H - 23

11J - 23 11I - 23 11B - 22 11F - 22 11G - 22

Seniors 12A - 20 12B - 20 12C - 20 12D - 20 12E - 20

12F - 20 12G - 20 12H - 20 12I - 20 12J - 20

Total 194 194 194 194 195

The Points

In its inaugural year, the point system needs to be relatively simple. The details of

the point system will need to be finalized by the faculty committee in charge of the

program; however, point activities can include but are not limited to the following

activities:

Track attendance percentages by team rather than class. The team with thehighest percentage each day earns points. Honor Roll and Distinguished Honor Roll Attending sporting events Game Play

o A green team member challenges a yellow team member to a threegame checkers match; the winner earns 5 points for the team.


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o One PEP challenges another PEP to a game of corn hole winner getspoints.

Participation in clubs or teams Attending other school events Spirit week participation Physical activity for those not participating in sports laps around the track walking or running point for each lap Wearing the team shirt on team color day Reading books in the library and making a poster promoting that book

If points can be earned, there need also be a way for points to be lost. Some possible

ways to lose points are as follows:

Detention Failing grades Referrals Misbehaving in class Inappropriate language

The Awards

This program will need money; therefore, it will need sponsors. The faculty

committee will solicit local businesses to support this program by either providing

funds for activities and awards or donating the awards themselves. However, not all

awards need to be costly.

Possible prizes: PEP mod spent in the gym with others that had perfect attendance for a

month with a DJ for some fun music.

PEP spent in the cafeteria with other distinguished honor roll recipients for aspecial afternoon event.

A beautiful afternoon outside spent for the team with the highest gpa in amarking period

Afternoon treat when the team reaches 100 points I Love Lucy episode in the auditorium for the team with the highest

percentage of members wearing the team color on a certain day

Movie passes Restaurant certificates School store gift cards Athletic event passes Dance tickets

The Leadership


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A game of this magnitude will take time time to set up, time to explain, time to

maintain. The leadership will consist of a committee of teachers and the students

already involved in the leadership of the Link Crew and the Student Government

Association of WHS. The Interact Group of students and community business

leaders will be charged with finding sponsors and possible prizes. Daily and weekly

tasks concerning tallying points and awarding prizes will need to be organized andassigned to leadership groups. For this system to work, it must be maintained

properly including new and interesting incentives throughout the year with a BIG

finish at the picnic at the end of the year. If it falls apart, it will never work again.

The leadership committee will need to choose a limited number of point activities

and awards with which to start the year adding a few as the year progresses to keep

the game interesting and the teams involved.

The Details

The details of the game will need to be worked out by the leadership team.

The Training

Once the faculty committee has ironed out the details, those teachers will train the

Link Crew leaders and SGA officers in their duties.

Professional Development

Opening: Find the tags Put random key tags for stores in a basket. Pull one and

give candy or lollypops to the first 3 people who can produce their own key tag of

that kind: CVS, Food Lion, Panera, Sheetz, etc. Play until everyone has candy of

some kind.

Discussion: Why do we all carry store cards?

Desired Direction: We want to save money by earning points or coupons by using

our cards. Having a rewards card encourages us to frequent that business. Getting

to the next point level and getting a coupon, certificate, or free cup of coffee makes

us feel accomplished even though we had to spend money to get there.

Brief presentation of the Wildcat Challenge using Power Point.

Faculty team activity:

Goal: to get the faculty leaders to know each other and become more comfortable

with each other before they are charged with leading a team of students for the year. Divide the faculty into their five Wildcat Challenge teams of 10. The teachers

who do not have PEP groups will make team #6. They then pick up their

assigned box of supplies and separate to assigned classrooms for the

following activity:

The box contains 10 nametags of five different colors, one sharpie, 5 randomitems


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Sit in a circle and distribute the nametags one for each person. Pass theSharpie: when you have the Sharpie in your hand, you introduce yourself to

the group first and last name what you teach and one activity you are

good at or enjoy. He/she then writes his/her first name on the nametag,

affixes it to his/her shirt and passes the Sharpie.

Next, divide into your partners determined by the colors of the nametags (2blue, 2 red, 2 green, etc). The pairs randomly choose an item from the box.They then have 3 minutes to discuss the best way to use that item in a lesson

in class. All partners then return to the group to share their brilliant ideas.

They will then choose their favorite item/use to present to the large group.

The teams return and each presents their favorite use of an item in a lessonto the large group by the pair that originated the idea.

Large group game: Pictionary five rounds the pre-determined nametagpartners are now drawing partners. There are three baskets of drawing

clues. Basket #1 contains items that are relatively easy to draw and worth

one point each. Basket #2 contains more difficult items to draw and are

worth 3 points each. Basket #3 contains more abstract items which are themost difficult to draw and are 5 points each. Each team has its own white

board and markers. The first pair from each team comes to the baskets and

picks out a card from basket 1, 2, or 3 depending on their chosen level of

challenge. The partners have 30 sec to secretly discuss their drawing

strategy then 1 minute to draw their item while the team guesses. The

administrators will be charged with the task of awarding the appropriate

points when the team guesses the word. After 5 rounds, the team with the

highest score will win! (possible prize: gift cards or small boxes of school

suppies)

Before leaving the session, the teams will make a plan to meet again at aconvenient time/place for them to discuss ideas to welcome the students ontheir team on the first day of school.

References

Appel, A. (2010, July 19). Like Hogwarts, Cross Now Has 4 Houses, Too. New Haven

Independent. Retrieved July 10, 2012, from

http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/cross/

Goodwin, J. (2012, March 21). Making School More Like Hogwarts [Web log post].

Retrieved July 10, 2012, from

http://tristanverboven.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/making-school-more-

like-hogwarts/

Kapp, K. M. (2012). The gamification of learning and instruction: Game-based

methods and strategies for training and education. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.
http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/cross/http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/cross/http://tristanverboven.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/making-school-more-http://tristanverboven.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/making-school-more-http://tristanverboven.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/making-school-more-http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/cross/


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McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality is broken: Why games make us better and how they can

change the world. New York, NY: Penguin Group.

Wildcat Challenge

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