Using the GAME Plan Process with Students

Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer’s (2009) GAME plan approach can be a valuable guide for lesson planning, as its principles are applicable to any learning experience and, indeed, any endeavor. It stands to reason, then, that teachers interested in helping students develop self-directed learning (SDL) habits would want to give them tools such as the GAME plan for their own use.


Regardless of whether their efforts are directed by teacher mandate or self-motivation, most scholars begin successful learning experiences by setting meaningful and attainable goals. Like the International Society for Technology in Education’s (ISTE) (2008) National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS•T), their Standards for Students (NETS•S) provide a solid framework that can be used in concert with curricular requirements or self-imposed aspirations to guide this phase of the learning process. Only when goals are clearly established can a focused plan of action be developed and implemented. This stage of the GAME plan process is particularly important for reducing students’ reliance on teacher direction and for developing their independence.

Of course, just as teachers must monitor and adjust their own approaches to teaching and learning, so must young learners, whose plans are often less prescient than those of more experienced scholars, monitor and adjust their self-directed learning. The GAME process can help to formalize such in-process reflection, often allowing learners to gain valuable insights into their personal learning styles and preferences.

The evaluation phase is both an aid to learning technology and curricular skills and content and an important reminder of the ongoing, recursive nature of lifelong learning. Although the word “Evaluation” suggests a final, summative assessment, it is important to recognize that this merely punctuates one phase of a larger, continuous cycle of personal intellectual development.

If this line of reasoning seems to blur the distinction between teachers and students, this is entirely appropriate, as the two roles are inextricably intertwined in the mind of the self-directed learner.

References


Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2008). NETS for teachers 2008. Retrieved October 20, 2009 from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_for_Teachers_2008.htm