Exploration of Knowledge

Danish name of project: Udforskning af viden.

Instead of deciding for your student what reading and which excercises they should do today, why not let the students decide?

With Exploration of Knowledge, the teacher takes the content of 4-8 hours of teaching and present it to the students on a printed map.

With the help of a system of deadlines, locked gates and keys to be earned, the students then make their way through the material in the planned time, taking on extra challenges as time permits.

Link: https://entankeadgangen.wordpress.com/2017/01/23/exploration-of-knowledge/

or Danish version: https://entankeadgangen.wordpress.com/2016/11/29/udforskning-af-viden/

(Please notice: the text on the map used as example is in Danish)

When is Exploration of Knowledge the right choice?
This project is a good first project to try when using gamified teaching. Exploration of is much faster to learn for both teacher and students than fx. ClassCraft, and does not tie the class to use it for more than a limited time.

Exploration of Knowledge is designed to be used with the same material you usually use.

Classes that usually show good discipline are well suited for Exploration of Knowledge.

Media: Instructions to construct and print maps.

What are the strengths of it?
The students are motivated by choosing their own path, setting goals and reaching them. Also, the students get to practice talking about the subject by presenting their work for the other teams and the class.

Compared to other systems, Exploration of Knowledge don't take away time from the teaching. It actually frees up time for the students to read and work, because it relies on the student reading theory and examples rather than the teacher explaining it in front of the whole class.

What are the weaknesses?
Explorations of Knowledge encourage student for their the accomplishments. It does not modify the behaviour of students, so you might want to use it in combination with another system such as ClassDojo or only use it in well-disciplined classes.

It also require some preparation in planning and constructing the map. On the other hand, once the map is constructed, much less planing than usual is required for the modules.

What is the recommended age?
Around 8 to adult. The kids must be able to read and understand the exercises that the teacher write to them, and add numbers together to calculate their points.

How can it be customized?
Combine Exploration of Knowledge with rewards for gaining keys and completing bonus targets. This could be rewards of your own making, or points in a system such as ClassCraft.

You can make up a story to go with the map, like how the students has been sent out to gather ancient knowledge (medieval/fantasy setting) or recover knowledge after a nuclear war (post-apocalyptic setting).