Game Based Learning
Last spring, Belle Sherman partnered with Imagine Learning, language and literacy software company, to provide game-based activities for learning English, struggling readers, students with disabilities and early childhood education students. For three months, selected students in pre-Kindergarten to fifth grade participated in a pilot program, using the software an average of 20 minutes a day. (Note: an average of ONLY 20 minutes per day)
While game-based learning cannot take the place of traditional teaching, it is a resource to fill in students’ individual knowledge gaps and enhance the learning experience for all students
The program is receiving national attention after Belle Sherman Principal Dan Breiman [LinkedIn] wrote about the program’s success in the recent issue of National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) Principal’s Magazine.
Read Principal Breiman’s Game-Based Learning Report:
About Principal Daniel Breiman
Innovative leaders are to be commended for their ability to recognize and implement positive institutional change.
From the Ithaca City School District
Mr. Breiman has worked in education for 10 years, beginning as an inclusion teacher in New York City Public Schools. He went on to serve as special education chair before becoming a principal of an elementary school in Houston, Texas, where he and his family have lived for eight years. Dan is originally from Ithaca and he and his family are eager to return.
As a principal, Mr. Breiman raised student achievement, expanded the fine arts program, increased
overall student attendance, improved security and safety of students and staff, and began the transition to an International Baccalaureate Program. He is passionate about learning and raising achievement of all students, while understanding the importance of inclusion and diversity and the role they play in teaching and learning.
Imagine Learning’s Research
NOTE: This is provided for information only because I believe the underlying research is important.
I am not being paid and this is not an endorsement.
The following is from their web site at: http://www.imaginelearning.com/school/Research.html
Research shows that Imagine Learning English has a positive impact on students’ literacy and language ability. Students in Illinois saw great gains in literacy, based on their scores on the Illinois Snapshot of Early Literacy (ISEL). Students in California improved significantly in language, which is reflected in student scores on the California English Language Development Test (CELDT). To view summaries of these studies, click the links below.