UnboxEd UndEr the microscope

                Our Process

We begin each course with a discussion of students’ goals, interests, expectations and responsibilities. Basically, we ask what and how they want to learn. Democratization fosters intrinsic motivation and a sense of agency over their learning and environment.

Weekly lessons then cover the fundamentals of each subject. Board games are used to reinforce concepts and exercise the left brain, while the feature of each class is a role-playing campaign that weaves content, imagination and fun into concrete knowledge. Instructors design a world full of dynamic civilizations, characters, mysteries, adventures and course-specific challenges, while students work together to explore, interact, experiment, solve problems and grow their characters.

Heroic avatars and fantasy worlds provide a safe, abstracted playground for kids to take risks with self-expression and confront social and emotional conflict. Our games always feature Additive Scoring. Students begin at zero and continually gain skills, points, and confidence upon achieving goals. They focus on their individual strengths and become identified by their unique contribution to the team. Additive Scoring removes the fear of failure and the stress of punitive grades. This model breeds lifelong learners.  

Case Study

This data was compiled from our Storytelling class for grades 3 - 5. There was no control group, and an average of 16 responses per week. "Exit Tickets" are one sentence, unstructured takeaways from the day's experience, which the students write before leaving class. At Week 5, we transitioned from conventional instruction to playing community-building RPGs, with students writing various pieces based on in-game prompts.

This data set follows one particular student who struggled with emotional regulation. At Week 3, he had threatened another student with a pencil. The administration asked if we wanted him removed from class. Instead, we paid more attention to what he had been communicating: he constantly drew, sang Surface Pressure and showed us pictures of his favorite character from Encanto. When we switched to RPG-based lessons at Week 5, we assigned him as our Cartographer and Historian, and set him on a reward path so that his cooperative and creative choices built up to an unveiling ceremony, where he opened a door that granted his character a magical power: the ability to bring his drawings to life. Once a weapon, his pencil became a tool; once showing us pictures of who he wished he could be, by the end of the semester he wouldn't stop showing off a graphic novel he made about his own adventures.

      Student Progress

Previous groups have shown measurable improvements in reading comprehension, cause and effect, inferencing, iterative problem solving, group collaboration, and a host of applied math skills. They've also gone on their first job interviews, forged solid friendships, and saved the world from drought, greed, and vengeful princes.

We survey -- never quiz -- students at the beginning, middle, and end of each semester to demonstrate their grasp of each unit as well as their engagement. We use in-game metrics to monitor weekly progress as well as optional take-home projects. Each lesson ends with an 'exit ticket' discussion of how new material was applied within the game.

But mostly, we remember that they're kids. If we're all laughing and sharing an afternoon of fun, socialization and imagination with zero screens in sight, that's when us adults tend to learn something.    

WALL OF RESEARCH