7 Ways to Reward the Brain TED Talk

For this assignment, I had to watch the "7 Ways to Reward the Brain" TED Talk given by Tom Chatfield. While watching, I wrote down some insanely interesting stats that stood out to me and made me think about the inner workings of both my 5th grade classroom and my classwork for my Master's.

As someone who has to attend her virtual class aboard the spaceship Prometheus in the video game platform Second Life, I see how engaging and rewarding video games can be in education. One thing that Mr. Chatfield mentioned is having both long and short term goals for the game. This is the same mentality used when setting academic goals in the classroom. Allowing students to reach smaller goals in the classroom is the same engagement factor that is used in video games. Each small stepping stone will lead to the ultimate goal of passing the objective.

Another reward mentioned is earning XP points for progress measuring. Even if a student doesn't measure up to the fill objective, they can still earn points for the work that they have completed. These XP points may add up to a higher rank. Students will be driven to learn because they will push to reach the next level and gain the benefits of that promotion.

The most important part of this TED Talk is the piece about working with other people. In classrooms, it is crucial that teachers get their students talking and working with one another, as this will be an essential skill when seeking employment and working in the global job force. Students and gamers alike need to work with one another to complete those objectives at a faster rate or to receive more XP points. Being able to communicate needs and wants is a vital skill for the 21st Century learner.