Socrates + Gamification = Global Ed Opportunities

Gamification and game based learning is getting significant love in schools around the world. Used correctly, games can teach academic concepts and skills in ways that students who struggle to learn by traditional methods can more easily grasp. Games can also be great ways for students to demonstrate what they’ve learned. Gamification brings an instant increase in student engagement that is hard to replicate.

One favorite game in my History class is Socratic Smackdown (instructions, materials, and tutorial on the right hand side of the page) designed by the Institute of Play. It takes the great discussion and questioning method of Socratic Seminars to another level. I have done it for a couple of years now and immediately after finishing each one, students are asking when our next Smackdown will be.

Socratic Smackdown helps me to further develop Global Competency in my students. The game develops communication skills and exposes students to different perspectives. If you choose a global topic to be discussed in the Smackdown, you deepen students understanding of issues facing the world and foster an interest of others and issues beyond their zip code or borders.

The goal of the game is to be the team that scores the most points using different discussion strategies. Students who are not actively debating in a round will be engaged by being scorekeepers using the scorecard template. This is perhaps my favorite part of the Smackdown. In all the times I’ve done this, I’ve never found a student disengaged or not paying attention.

This year, I did my first Smackdown the second week of school. The first is always the most awkward because students are learning discussion skills, how to have a deep conversation, and how the Smackdown format works. However, each Smackdown shows students making significant progress in their abilities to formulate arguments, ask and answer deep questions, and comfortably discuss controversial topics.

Here’s how my Socratic Smackdowns work:

1. Before class I randomly divide students into 3 or 4 teams (more than that makes it easy for one person to contribute little).
2. Pass out the news article or text that gives students background of the topic.
3. Pass out the questions that we will be discussing during the Smackdown.
4. Give students an adequate amount of time to prepare their opinions and support.
5. Have students decide who will represent their team in each round (coinciding with a different question).
6. Pass out the scorecards and explain/remind students about which discussion strategies will score them points during this Smackdown (I write these on the board).
7. Students representing their team during round one (question one will be debated) enter the fishbowl (see pictures below). You can come up with your own name for the debate arena.
8. I read the question out loud and start the timer (no less than 4 minutes, no more than 6).
9. I walk around and listen to the debate and observe the scorekeepers. If conversation gets off topic or if there is a lull, I may interject a question or comment to get it going again (I rarely have to do that though).
10. After the timer goes off, I usually thank the students for sharing their thoughts and respectfully disagreeing. I may even compliment a specific student or two for great comments, especially if it is a student who is usually quiet or not used to excelling academically.
11. Call for the next round and repeat.
12. At the end of the debate, I collect the scorecards and tally the scores that evening (we always go to the bell). The next day I announce the winners. Students are usually bursting through the door the next day asking who won. It makes for some great positive energy to start the next day’s lesson too.

Tips:

1. The key to success is choosing interesting topics and questions. Here is a link to my Columbian Exchange Smackdown questions. For this one students watched a John Green video about the impact of the European “discovery” of the Americas. Students had already been introduced to it in a previous lesson in class. They are encouraged to take notes during the video as they would need to offer specific details to support their opinion during the Smackdown.
2. Consider blocking off two days for your Smackdown. Depending on how long your class periods are, you may need to do the prep work the day before (i.e. students watch or read about the topic while taking notes the first day and then debate the second).
3. Modify the game to fit your kids and time frame. Though I love the idea of the Coach’s Card, I don’t use it for time purposes. Same for the Instant Replay card. Though I am considering making more time for this as self-reflection is so important to personal growth.
4. If you have students with personal devices (i.e. iPads, Chromebooks, etc..) consider extending the Smackdown to the virtual world with Flipgrid. Students must post a short video with their response to the question. Then, they must respond to 2 or 3 other students using the same discussion strategies discussed in class. I will be trying this one this year and will update on how it went.

Socratic Smackdown is great for any subject area. I’ve used current events and controversial issues as topics. I can envision topics for Science and ELA classes easily. With a little creativity Math could make it work as well. It would be cool to see students debating in their Foreign Language class too. The topic could be something school related (or something very familiar), but students would have to debate in the foreign language.

If you have any questions about how I run my Socratic Smackdowns, feel free to post your question or email me. If you have tips on doing similar activities, please post them for other teachers in the comment section.

-Stephen
stephen.blan@fwcd.com