Speaker: Barry J. Fishman, Professor, School of Education, University of Michigan

We want our students to be deeply engaged in their learning. We want them to work hard and take on intellectual challenges. We want them to take risks and try new things. And perhaps most importantly, we want students to be resilient in the face of failure. So why it is that the design of our educational system - including colleges and universities - encourages exactly the opposite behaviors? I propose that our grading and assessment systems are the heart of the problem.

This talk discusses the deep-seated problems with traditional grading systems and proposes an approach called gameful learning as a solution that supports deep engagement. This is not about learning by playing games. Rather, this talk posits that learning in school is already a kind of game, but a poorly designed one. The goal is to design a better game and a better system.

Please RSVP to Shai Ginsburg, shaig@duke.edu to receive the Zoom link.

Sponsored by the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES)