Aesthetics

As a teacher aesthetics may not be the first thing we think about when we design lessons.  I realize more and more though that the aesthetics of our classroom and lessons is important.  I incorporate posters, graphics, and vinyl wall stickers to try to improve the overall aesthetics of my room.  I also have oversized colorful bean bags that can be used in brainstorming sessions.  One thing  I was lacking was aesthetics in my assignment sheets.  I have begun to rework all my assignment sheets to have color, borders, images, and a work scenario.

The visual improvements align with the overall gamification of my classroom but the work scenario takes the aesthetics (or the overall game experience) a step further. By "work scenario" I mean I am giving the students a real world situation in which they would have to do the project we are doing in class.  I am starting to include a brief story or background that would justify how the project would be proposed by an industry professional.  Some may be a little bit of a stretch but overall the work scenarios are things that could happen in industry.  I went back and adjusted all assignment sheets we've done this year to include the "work scenario" and let my students know they can find those in the lesson archives if they were interested.  I also told them that future assignments will always have work scenarios on them.

I stressed to the students that I want them to give me feedback on the new look of the assignments, work scenarios, and anything else they feel I should adjust.  It is important for me to get feedback from my students and put that feedback to work so students know they are a part of the process.  The point of all this is after all to improve their overall learning experience.