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Course area: |
Review class of any language courses |
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Level: |
Any level |
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Technology used: |
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Activity length: |
30 minutes |
Contributed by Haixia Wang, MLC SoL
Teachers at School of Languages are struggling with end-of-semester activities. The teaching calendar leaves it to teachers to decide what to do in the last 1 or 2 weeks. Some teachers prefer playing games, while others would like to have some serious study. Most teachers of the Chinese division choose to seize the opportunity to review for the final exam. However, they find that it is difficult to turn a “review” session into an interactive and exciting learning experience. Jeopardy is definitely the game teachers are looking for to add fun and excitement while reviewing a significant amount of material. In order to prepare for the exams, students’ main concern is to remember, understand, and apply the information; rather than to create, evaluate and analyse based on Bloom’s taxonomy. Jeopardy can achieve the study goals effectively with its features.
Jeopardy is a game that can be used for any subject. It can fit into any learning content, and can help improve teaching quality. Murphy (2005) has summarized the areas where Jeopardy has been used, and pointed out that it has been usedwidely, “from grade school to the college level for a wide range of topics”.
Aims:
Students will be able to work collaboratively to review what they have learned during the semester.
Set-ups:
The teacher needs to have the Baamboozle set ready before a class (see before class step1-3)
Hardware requirements:
- Teacher: Computer; Projector; Timer; Firefox or Chrome; Internet
- Students: Laptop/Tablet; Internet
Before class: Step 1
Provide students with a review sheet. Ask each student to prepare at least three questions using the given vocabulary and expressions as their homework. They can predict questions on the exams. They can even ask irrelevant questions, as long as they use the required language points. Assemble students’ questions using Notetaker on LearningMall. Remember to give specific tasks to each student so that they know what they should do before going into the classroom.
Pic 1. Notetaker on Learning Mall
Before class: Step 2
Split students/players into 3 or 4 teams. Students work in groups to select the “best questions” that can beat other teams. Etherpad on LearningMall can be used to collect ideas, and to finalize the list to submit after their discussion.
Pic 2. Etherpad on Learning Mall
Before class: Step 3
The teacher modifies the question list, puts it together on Baamboozle, and adds a corresponding value to each question.
Website: https://www.baamboozle.com/
My Library - New Game - Make game - Add Questions - Done!
Pic 3. Edit quiz on Baamboozle
Pic 4. Game preview on Baamboozle
In class: Step 1
Explain the rules to students before playing. The regulations of Jeopardy are very well-known. Teams should take turns to answer questions of different values, and the team with the most points wins. However, several variations can be adopted in a language classroom to ensure fairness and engage each student. Students in the same team can take turns answering questions. It could avoid one or two students answering all the questions and those with lower language abilities not participating in the game.
Use a timer. Students in the same team are given 10-15 seconds to respond to the question. They can have a short discussion before answering questions. It can enhance collaborative learning, ensure positive interactions, and improve lower-level students’ participation in an intensively paced game. Sarason & Banbury (2004) suggest that Jeopardy provides students with an experience of being punished straight away for their wrong answers. Thus, they have to “think before haphazardly throwing out an answer.”
In class: Step 2
Play in teams. Click the “play” button under “game preview.” Choose “how to play” based on the team numbers, grid size, and game mode. I would usually choose “Classic Jr.” It is classic with easy power-ups.
Pic 5.1. Options under “game preview” on Baamboozle
Pic 5.2. Choose “how to play” on Baamboozle
In class: Step 3
The team that wins the game can choose the content of the front page on Learning Mall Online (LMO). There are not so many prizes that we can offer to our students. Authorizing students with the opportunity to design the LMO page is a surprisingly well-welcomed award.
Pic 6. Students have the opportunity to design the front page of their LMO module
After class homework
The teacher revises the questions again or adjusts them into other format questions, e.g., multiple-choice, matching, etc. Create other games using Wordwall/Gimkit/Quiz/Kahoot etc., and assign them as homework. These reinforcement activities can assess students’ acquisition and evaluate their performance after the game.
Pic 7. “Quiz” Style Tech Tools
Alternatives:
We use Baamboozle for the review class because of its layout and free function of inserting images. But there are other alternatives. Jeopardy games with Powerpoint are commonly seen, but as technology is increasingly widely used in education, many websites can be employed to create the game. A comparison among the three widely seen platforms: JeopardyLabs, PlayFactile, and Baamboozle is necessary so that teachers can choose which suits their teaching needs.
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Reference
Boslaugh, S. E., PhD. (2019). Bloom’s Taxonomy. Salem Press Encyclopedia.
Murphy, E.A. (2005). Enhancing student learning with governmental accounting jeopardy! Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, 17(2), 223–248. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBAFM-17-02-2005-B007
Sarason, Y., & Banbury, C. (2004). Active Learning Facilitated by Using a Game-Show Format or Who Doesn’t Want to Be a Millionaire? Journal of Management Education, 28(4), 509–518.