or an away state. At the neurological level, the brain perceives what’s happening in the moment and classifies it as good (students want to move toward it and engage) or bad (students want to move away from it and disengage). We can describe the toward state as active learning because it’s building and reinforcing neurological pathways (Davachi et al., 2010). When a teacher helps students discover connections, students feel more creative and have a greater capacity to stick with something or tackle new problems. The converse can be said when the brain is in the away state, because the brain focuses on following directions. The away response occurs when people cannot connect to previous knowledge, feel no sense of autonomy, do not feel part of a group, or have their status threatened. This is why spending time and attention on the why and how we think and work together—questing essentials—increases the likelihood students will engage.
Shift Toward Technology
Computer use varies widely by nation, but over 50 percent of students have access to classroom computers in countries around the world (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2012). In U.S. elementary and middle schools, 31 percent of students use a digital device that the school supplies. A full third of high schoolers use school-provided technology, whether it’s to research, communicate with teachers or other students, take tests online, or photograph deliverables (Project Tomorrow, 2013). Despite the digital divide, or many schools’ continued lack of access, technology use seems to be trending upward in classrooms and in education generally. A 2012 Interactive Educational Systems Design survey shows just over 50 percent of participants using mobile technology; a follow-up survey in 2014 shows that 71 percent of participants use mobile technology (as cited in STEMReports, 2014).
A tremendous infusion of technology in schools has changed what, when, where, and with whom we learn. Technology also changes how we demonstrate learning (Zmuda et al., 2015). This digital proliferation stems from teachers providing access to information and global educational opportunities as well as from students being raised in a culture of ubiquitous touch screens and online applications (Mitra, 2010).
Generation Z, born between 1995 and 2009, and Generation Alpha, born after 2010, use technology not only to retrieve information but also to entertain themselves and learn. Students from these generations perceive effective classrooms differently than their predecessors (McCrindle, 2014). Table 1.1 reveals those differences.
Table 1.1: Differences in Effective Engagement
| Generation Z and Generation Alpha | Previous Generations |
| Visual | Verbal |
| Try and see | Sit and listen |
| Facilitator | Teacher |
| Flexibility | Security |
| Collaborating | Commanding |
| Learner centered | Curriculum centered |
| Open-book assessments | Closed-book exams |
| Touch technology and electronic devices | Books and paper |
Source: Adapted from McCrindle, 2014.
The shift from keyboard to touch interface changed learners. Students expect to interact with content and people differently than previous generations did. They seek, process, and share information more visually, collaboratively, and in real time. What better motivation for questing’s instructional framework, which naturally puts teachers and students in the driver’s seat.
Effective questing involves others. Collaboration via networking is possible in physical interactions, but being able to use digital tools for virtual learning connections is essential. Without the increasingly available connected tools and devices, students will not be adequately prepared.
Collaborate in Learning Spaces
Social networks also have a significant impact on learning. Neural activity increases when a learner perceives group context and connection (Demolliens, Isbaine, Takerkart, Huguet, & Boussaoud, 2017). Education professors James Paul Gee and Elisabeth Hayes (2011) promote the necessity of an affinity space—a learning environment where like-minded learners want to figure out something and pool their talents and resources to do so. Affinity spaces come in two levels—(1) member and (2) mentor—and exist in two shared space types—(1) virtual and (2) physical. This affinity space includes:
The whole continuum of people from the new to the experienced, from the unskilled to the highly skilled, from the slightly interested to the addicted, and everything in between, [and] is accommodated in the same space where people can pursue different goals within the space, based on their own choices, purposes, and identities. (Gee, 2007, p. 11)
Teachers, peers, and invested members all occupy these affinity spaces, and they play crucial parts in questing. How students relate to teachers and peers will change during a quest because the process reimagines teachers’ status quo role as experts and students’ as exclusively learners. In these spaces, students learn, receive feedback, and garner assessment from all participants, not just teachers. Students invite expertise from teachers in these spaces, but they also look to affinity space networks (see chapter 2, page 13) to help design and refine questions, seek opportunities to emulate experts, request and provide feedback, and create increasingly higher-quality deliverables. For the brain’s need for group connection, among other reasons, questing employs networks. A sincere community of learners promotes engagement and active learning.
Coda
Sit-and-get schooling has run its course. Making space for quests—open-ended opportunities driven by student interest engagement opportunities—can result in active learning, increased engagement, and increased brain activity. Questing can help students become emotionally attached to their learning, driving initiative and self-direction. They are leveraging technology to seek out affinity space members to collaborate with on authentic problems, challenges, and ideas.
CHAPTER 2
Identifying Questing Components
Quests contain a myriad of elements—design approaches, affinity spaces, research types, and products. What is a quest’s bedrock? The tenets of engagement. They are true for any learner in any learning condition. Beyond the tenets, there is the element of design to consider. In this book, starting with this chapter, we focus on three contemporary design options that can help maximize these tenets of engagement: (1) inquiry, (2) game, and (3) network. These tenets are interconnected, and any design option you choose might touch any one or all three of them to promote a learner’s engagement.
Tenets of Engagement
These tenets come from a meta-analysis of brain-based research (Kolb, 1984; Zull, 2002), game-based theory (Gee, 2007), and our combined experiences with thousands of students. The tenets speak to the challenging, joyful process of learning regardless of the environment where the learning takes place—at an internship location, in a virtual chat room, during pretend play, or in a laboratory, for example.
The
