Create a Science/Math 4 Pics 1 Word puzzle for your classmates
Why?
- 4 Pics 1 Word is engaging. Harness that!
- Students demonstrate a deep conceptual understanding of concepts
What is 4 Pics 1 Word?
It is a popular puzzle game available on mobile platforms (iOS version here). This is a screencap of a question (the level I was stuck on at the time of writing this):
On my Practicum...
In my Grade 9 Applied Math Class on my practicum, I often caught students playing 4 Pics 1 Word on their phones when they were supposed to be working together on a question. Instead of telling them to put their phones away, I would walk up behind them and tell them the answer to the level they were struggling with. This would often result in groans of "Sirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Why did you give it away???" at which point they would get the picture and get back to work on their math. They really, really wanted to come to the answers themselves and their faces lit up when they found it.
The strange thing about this is that it's generally the COMPLETE opposite of what students are like when doing a math/science problem. Usually they want you to give them the answer or tell them exactly how its done and there isn't that same satisfaction of coming to a conclusion as there was with 4 Pics 1 Word.
This tells me that
a) there is something wrong with the way we teach and
b) there is something huge we can learn about student engagement from casual games like 4 Pics one Word.
In Blooms Taxonomy lingo, my Grade 9 Applied Students were using Higher Order Thinking Skills (Analyzing and Evaluating) when playing 4 Pics 1 Word. And it is self-directed and collaborative! I hardly ever saw a student working on the game alone. Making the word associations in 4 Pics 1 Word are highly dependant on prior knowledge and experiences so certain answers come easy to some people and are more difficult for others. I have been stuck staring at questions for a loooong time and then somebody comes by and gets it instantly. Thus, the nature of the game makes it conducive to collaborative. Education should be the same. It shouldn't be a chore to work together. It should be necessary and fun and embedded in the task!
As a teacher, this would be an excellent activity for a unit review: Have groups of students Collaboratively come up with a 4 Pics 1 Word question for their classmates. This pushes 4 Pics 1 Word to the highest level of Bloom's Taxonomy: Creating. Students have to synthesize their understanding of the units concepts and be creative to make their problem tricky for other students. They can take pride in making their question hard for others to figure out. I think this is a form of Skilled Communication. They have to express their understanding of a concept in an indirect, yet targeted way.
I'll come up with a physics/math example and post it here SOON. It's late and sleep is good.
Students decide!
I think one of the biggest reasons I saw so many students play 4 Pics 1 Word is that it is not teacher-mandated or evaluated. Students hear about it from friends and online. It is self-directed! They have a choice to play the game and there are no time limits for each level. Also, there is no penalty for asking a friend to help, unlike a test or assignment.
Because I think the reason so many students play it is because they have a choice to play it or not, asking your students to create a 4 Pics 1 Word problem for fellow students would potentially undermine some of its appeal. This why giving students choices and letting them decide how they want to study/present material is so important.
21C...
This activity doesn't do so well on the neXt Lesson continuum. I think its strength is in conceptual thinking though and is worth giving students as an option for a review exercise.
1. Collaboration: entry - adoption - adaptation - infusion - transformation
4. Skilled Communication: entry - adoption - adaptation - infusion - transformation
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