Equipping Educators for Game-Based Teaching Using Minecraft

Posted on June 27, 2023 by jess

QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES – The Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Sciences (ALLS) has conducted a series of teacher trainings for basic education teachers that focused on module development using the What-If Hypothetical Implementations in Minecraft (WHIMC) worlds. The goals were to introduce Minecraft and WHIMC to the teachers, and develop their skills on module or lesson plan development using WHIMC in their classes. 

Through its project Nurturing Interest in STEM among Filipino Learners using Minecraft funded by DOST-PCIEERD, ALLS was able to conduct four (4) teacher training sessions in total – two online and two on-site trainings. 

In March 2021, ALLS conducted one (1) online teacher training on the purpose and use of WHIMC in partnership with Dr. Jeff Ginger of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), a postdoctoral associate of the WHIMC project of UIUC. A total of six (6) teacher participants attended the training. ALLS then conducted another online teacher training on developing learning modules using WHIMC last May 2022, which was in partnership  with the Ateneo Teacher Center. A total of sixteen (16) teachers have successfully completed the training requirements and received Continuing Professional Development (CPD) units.

Then, in October 2022, ALLS started to conduct on-site trainings for for Ramon Magsayasay Elementary School (RMES) and Leopoldo B. Santos Elementary School (LBSES) intermediate level teachers.

Workshop on the use of WHIMC EE at RMES.
The training facilitators and the school principal intently observe the teachers trying the game.
Dr. Rodrigo discussed the training program during the training with RMES teachers.
A teacher from LBSES presenting the sample module their group drafted as an exercise.

After the training, each school endorsed teachers from Grade levels 4, 5 and 6. The teachers drafted lesson plans integration WHIMC in a topic from the school curriculum, and implemented it to a pilot class from said levels.

ALLS team and the teachers of ERSES
ERSES teachers showing their WHIMC Education Edition apps through the school’s tablets

With the new grant under the University Research Council (URC)  of the Ateneo de Manila University, ALLS was able to conduct another on-site teacher training for Eulogio Rodriguez elementary school for their Grades 2 to 6 teachers. This is part of the laboratory’s effort to continue the school deployment of WHIMC in Education Edition

Visit https://go.ateneo.edu/ALLSWHIMCPage for more information on WHIMC and sample lesson plans.

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