My boys solidified something in my mind this weekend. We were out camping and they decided to make bows and arrows. And the first hint of my realization occurred. They asked me if I liked their bow. I dutifully said that I did. A few minutes later I was talking to them about the different trees that the Native Americans liked to use for bows. One of them was hawthorn. They looked at each other, looked at their bows, and decided that they each needed a new one. A better one. One better than my brother. And they headed off for the hawthorn patch I showed them. They were willing to walk the extra distance, brave the 1" long thorns, and mud. And they did this out of a sense of competition. They wanted to win. Even if winning meant that their little whittled bow was "more Indian" than their brother's.
And then they built arrows. Competitive.
And then they shot. Competitive.
My children were literally creating competition from sticks and string. And this solidified a thought in my teaching mind.
If kids naturally create competition from sticks and strings for their enjoyment, why wouldn't I use competition in my classroom?
I think back to a professor I had in college. He was nearing the end of his career and would toodle around the lab, just looking for ways to create competition. He was so famous for it, we had T-shirts made:
"Just to get a little competition in the lab."
Kids are born with a desire to win. They seek it out in every facet of their life. And then they step into a classroom, and poof, competition disappears.
Our job as teachers is to create a safe environment, that engages the kids, and allows them to compete. When they compete, their attention to detail increases. (Note Pokemon cards and a kid's ability to pronounce 74,000 made up names and quote their particular power) Competition focuses their innate desire to win. Competition is engaging. Competition is fun.
Here are a couple of simple ways that I use competition in the classroom.
Kids compete for points in the results section of nearly every lab. If you get the best results, you can get the best grade. Get last place, and everything else in your write-up must be perfect to earn a 90%. I watch kids design better experimental plans. I watch kids refilter because "they might have missed some." I watch kids take better notes about lab data, because they are competing.
Use curriculum-based games. Especially in the first semester of honors chemistry, I will alternate between a game-based lesson and a lab every other block period. Kids know that they will be competing no matter what the hands-on activity. And to make it fun, I give the winners of games two prizes: eternal fame and glory and the ability to ask one question on the next test. There is only one question they can ask, "Mr. Koch, is this right?" It is a silly and minuscule advantage. And yet kids will compete to win it.
So teachers, be creative. Increase the competition in your classroom. Even if it takes sticks and some string.
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