A student, during a certain standardized testing situation in school, was having a hard time.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“You just did, but go on ask another. I’ll be able to answer it in only incredibly vague ways that will not be what you expected”
“Um… ok. So, like… what do they mean ‘flat rate’?”
“I can’t answer that question. You’ll just have to use what you know of the words ‘flat’ and ‘rate’ if you think it is relevant to the problem”
… “Man I can’t do this problem without knowing what it means!… can I phone a friend?” he starts to get his cell phone out
“NO you cannot phone a friend”
“Man why not?” as he continues to start to turn it on
“DROP THAT PHONE OR YOU’RE DISQUALIFIED!!! What do you think this is? Millionaire?”
It is interesting to see how some people apply rules to one game to another. Many times students and individuals are often told rules and then misapply them… deliberately or genuinely.
I was told something interesting the other day about game designs on Tom Vassels top ten list of tips for game designers… I think I heard it there… I watch a lot of videos and blogs on these things… ANYhow: If a player is playing a game they should have an idea of why something is allowed to exist or not exist. That is, the rules of the game should make sense given the construct of the theme or situation.
The kid seriously didn’t understand that he wasn’t allowed to ask for help! … maybe he was just playing the part of the fool. Maybe he was playing a different game or combining elements of another game to this pine. His own mash up?
How many times have people not known what was going on in a lesson? The instructions? The rules of a game? Why? Was it the culture they were brought up in? The culture of the school? Applying past practices and themes incorrectly? Not understanding the nature of this present theme?
gamesateach 