2013

EDCI 672

Kelly Trozzo

MICHAEL BISHOP CASE STUDY
The Michal Bishop case involves a pilot program that is testing educational games that were developed
by Michael Bishop and his team for middle school science classes. The program was being tested at the
Oakdale Middle School, but due to a drop in standardized test scores, the school district recently
withdrew from the program. Michael is currently looking for another school district to participate in the
pilot program, and he is meeting some resistance.
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Who are the key stakeholders in the case, and what are their primary concerns?
There are several key stakeholders in this case. The first is Michael Bishop himself. He is a
researcher at the university, as well as the director of the project in question. His primary
concern is finding a new school district to participate in the pilot program. This concern brings
up a couple new concerns. The first is whether or not to redesign the games to be more
appealing to teachers and school districts, and the second is whether or not he should look at a
different audience, such as home school and gifted programs.
The next, and perhaps the biggest, stakeholder is the university that employs Mr. Bishop. The
university is no doubt funding this project, and their primary concern is return on investment.
Another stakeholder is the Oakdale School District including: Nancy Levin, the district-level
science curriculum specialist who recently lost her position; Paul Russell, the Oakdale principal;
and Tara Jones, the new district-level science curriculum specialist. Their main concern is the
drop in standardized test scores. Although this school district is no longer participating in the
program, they have been affected by the program.
Last, we have Bailey Richards, Laura Kenner, Daniel Brown, and Jim Harrington. They are all
representatives of school districts that show interest in the program, and they all share the same
concern, time. They all seem to like the games, but they are all concerned about the amount of
time these games require.
What are the key design challenges in the case?
The first design challenge is measuring what the students have learned. The Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick model of evaluation includes a learning level. In this level, data is collected
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determining whether or not learning has taken place. Thus far, Michael is only using the
standardized test scores which has failed up to this point. There is not data showing whether or
not the drop in test scores was a result of his video game program. Craig Dawnson, the director
of science education for the state education association and a strong advocate for inquiry-based
learning pointed out the lack of evidence that learning has actually occurred. Pedersen,
Arslanyilmaz, & Williams (2007) bring up the point that standardized tests prompt teachers to
emphasize factual information rather than application of knowledge, a goal inconsistent with
problem based learning.
The other design flaw is the actual implementation of the program. Will teachers use it how it
was designed to be used? Mr. Dawson brought up the point that during the testing of one of his
designs, the teachers implemented it in ways he hadnt even thought of. Pedersen, Arslanyilmaz,
& Williams (2007) state that researchers expressed concerns about the modifications teachers
make to curricular materials, pointing out that such changes have the potential to become lethal
mutations that undermine an instructional approach to the point where it is no longer effective.
Michaels gaming software needs to be educative, and so far, it is not.
Describe how the assigned readings and your previous experiences contributed to your
understanding of the case problem.
The assigned readings helped me to better understand problem-based learning as well as the
barriers involved in using video games in the classroom. According to Kirkpatrick and
Kirkpatrick (2006), Learning can be defined as the extent to which participants change
attitudes, improve knowledge, and/or increase skill as a result of attending the program.
Michael Bishop has to show evidence that learning has occurred through the use of his video
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game program. But, this will be a difficult task because standardized tests prompt teachers to
emphasize factual information rather than the application of knowledge, a goal that is
inconsistent with problem-based learning. (Pedersen, Arslanyilmaz, , & Williams, 2007).
There are several barriers that impact the use of video games in learning. In this case, were
looking at one particular barrier, time. This is the major concern of the stakeholders, and its a
valid concern. The case study tells us that Michaels video game program takes approximately
two weeks to complete, but it doesnt mention if this takes into account the time of the class
period. Two weeks is a long time to spend on one concept, and the program will need to be
specifically designed so that learning objectives can be typically achieved within 30-45
minutes. (Rice, 2007). And, if a student is interrupted while in the process of engaging in a
learning objective within the gaming environment, do the interruptions interfere in the students
learning process? (Rice, 2007). This is a question that Michael will need to answer. It also ties
into our concern regarding implementation. If the program isnt implemented as it was designed,
the teachers will most likely run into time consuming problems. Not to mention the instructional
time that will be lost if teachers are not trained to properly use the program.
Solutions/Recommendations
The first recommendation is for Michael to collect data showing whether or not learning is
occurring. I would suggest having the students take a pretest before starting the program, then
having learning checkpoints throughout the program (formative assessment). I would also
suggest administering a post-test after the program has been completed (summative assessment).
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The second recommendation is to train the teachers to properly use the program before it is
employed in the classroom. This will help to ensure that the program is implemented properly,
and ultimately, save time. Michael could go a step further, and hold a practice class for the
teachers to role play the implementation of the program.
Pros/Cons
Solution/Recommendation Pros Cons
Progress Monitoring
Data showing whether or
not learning is taking place.
Data showing areas of
concern
Interruption of game
Time taken away from
lesson
Teacher Training
Teachers will have a better
understanding of how the
program was designed to be
implemented.
Less instructional time lost
Time for teacher training to
take place
Cost of teacher training

Final Recommendation
Based on the pros and cons listed above, I am proposing the following recommendations. First,
Michael should incorporate a pretest and a post-test into his gaming program. He should also
divide it into 30 minute sessions with an exit ticket at the end of each session. This will allow
for adequate progress monitoring without interrupting the game or taking away from the lesson.
He should also create a teacher training program to ensure the teachers implement the program
as it was designed. This training program should take careful consideration of time and cost. It
should be done as part of the regularly scheduled in-services that are held prior to the start of the
school year.
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References:

Ertmer, P. A., Quinn, J. A., & Glazewski, K. D. (2014). The ID CaseBook: Case Studies in
Instructional Design (Fourth ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education,
Inc.
Kirkpatrick, D. L., & Kirkpatrick, J. D. (2006). Evaluating Training Programs (3rd ed.). San
Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Pedersen, S., Arslanyilmaz, A., & Williams, D. (2007). Teachers' assessment-related local
adaptations of a problem-based learning module. Association for Educational Communications
and Technology, 230-249. Retrieved October 18, 2013, from
https://mycourses.purdue.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-2114695-dt-content-rid-
7386732_1/courses/wl_65704.201410/wl_master_edci_672fa23_conlonc_distance_ImportedCon
tent_20130917123520/Pedersen_etal_2009.pdf
Rice, J. W. (2007). New Media Resistance: Barriers to Implementation of Computer Video
Games in the Classroom. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 16, 249-261.
Retrieved October 18, 2013, from https://mycourses.purdue.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-2114696-dt-
content-rid-
7386735_1/courses/wl_65704.201410/wl_master_edci_672fa23_conlonc_distance_ImportedCon
tent_20130917123520/Rice_2007.pdf