# Summary: 

Join us today with guest speaker Gerry Marchand as we discuss the possibilities for gamification in the science classroom. Gerry is a science teacher at Huntley High School in Illinois with a blended learning background- in fact, he was a pioneer at HHS in the first Blended Learning program in Illinois in 2011 and was also the first at HHS to implement the Flipped Classroom Model, creating over 100 videos to enhance student learning. His current endeavor of mastery-based learning has only escalated the flipped and blended learning model! Find out where he gets his gamification inspiration on this episode.  

## Listen To Podcast Here:

Spotify

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Anchor

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## This Show is Hosted by: 

Inspirit, the 3D STEM learning platform, revolutionizing virtual science learning everywhere! Click here to sign up and build your 3D lesson plan in less than 30 seconds.

## In This Episode We Cover:

- Gerry’s background in education - teaching in Illinois for many years!

- Started flipped classrooms even before it was cool (made remote transition easier)

- Took inspiration from EduTwitter and Aaron Sams’ Chemistry videos and class and started thinking about replicating it for his class

- Do fun stuff in class and do the repetitive stuff on video- so students can rewind and replay for help!

- Made anatomy and biology videos all in one year

- Mastery based system means that Gerry never has too many students where he can’t help them

- Students can go at their own pace- encourages social learning, and ownership for their learning.

- Gamified learning- started with powerpoint templates! Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Jeopardy, etc. Kids are attracted to goofiness! You can relate, breaks down barriers.

- Games were way more work virtually!

- Got inspiration from a gamified classroom- students tracked progress with a Google sheet and leveled up, complete with avatars!

- Education is heading to the Metaverse. Gerry sees it in his own kids! Virtual field trips, etc. The possibilities just are endless.

- Ideas for gamification: How to survive on Mars! Learning on happy accident via gaming

## Hot Take:

”Once I heard about the mastery-based learning thing...I would never, if you paid me, go back to the way I was doing things earlier because the students are way more engaged, they are in control of their own learning, and they are making decisions on when to do things, how to do things...All real world stuff and learning the science at the same time.”

## Links from the Show:

Aaron Sams: __[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Sams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Sams)__

## Connect On Socials

Twitter: [https://twitter.com/gm8585](https://twitter.com/gm8585)

Learn about how to gamify learning in your science classroom with Gerry Marchand!


Gerry Marchand

Gamified Learning in the Science Classroom with Gerry Marchand | EOTMP Episode 3


# Summary
Today on Educators of the Metaverse, we hear from Jessica Popescu. Jess is wrapping up her 9th year teaching and teaches now at Blue Springs High School in Missouri. She was the teacher of the year at BSHS for the 2021-2022 school year, and also is an assistant coach for both track and cross country. Aside from her career, Jess has found a passion in native plants, and you can often find her in her yard trying to get the perfect picture of a pollinator that is busy with her flowers.  She also has two little girls, and an amazingly supportive husband who works as a scientist. Join us today as we discuss how Jess creates space for meaningful “difficult dialogues” in the science classroom, and shares her recent experiences these last few months as an educator. 

## Listen To Podcast Here
Spotify: 

<iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/1lSnYcvbrVfokzbxbXNfsx" width="100%" height="232" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture"></iframe>

Anchor: 
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## This Show is Hosted by:

Inspirit, the 3D STEM learning platform, revolutionizing virtual science learning everywhere! Click __[here](https://inspiritvr.com/signup)__ to sign up and build your 3D lesson plan in less than 30 seconds.

## In This Episode We Cover

- The fun and challenges in teaching Biology to students of all levels 
- Not teaching to the test provides more freedom for actually doing science
- No deadlines means that students get to drive the class- they follow their curiosity
- ”Micro-Museums” as an activity where students get to pick and present the topic, like “pandemics across the world.”
- The changes in the educational landscape- legislation changes put a magnifying glass on teachers
- Mental health disparities in schools 
- Feelings of safety (and not safety) as a teacher 
- Learning from (and taking cues from) students when it comes to creating an inclusive space for difficult dialogues in the classroom
- Utilizing data and resources to structure and encourage challenging conversations (a science background is a huge advantage here!)
- Example: Social Determinants in Health
- Finding a group of like-minded colleagues or resources can be really helpful as well
- Start local! Find a topic/conversation your students are interested or invested in

## Hot Takes
”I had a student who said, “Oh I think he has this disease.” A couple students around them said, “Hey hey they use they/them pronouns!” And it became a whole discussion on “wait, so what do I say?” “You need to say they. You can’t say he.” So the students were correcting each other, and actively attempting to practice they/them pronouns... And it was a safe place to discuss a potentially difficult topic and they (the students) were practicing it!” 

## Links from the Show

- [Kelly Kluthe](https://twitter.com/KlutheScience?s=20&t=Wo18hVeOdApjjo5x49RjQA) (Social Determinants in Health)

- [KABT](https://www.kabt.org/) (Kansas Association for Biology Teachers) 

- [Gender Inclusive Biology](https://www.genderinclusivebiology.com/)

## Connect & Follow here!

Connect with Jess on Twitter here - [https://twitter.com/MrsPopescuBio](https://twitter.com/MrsPopescuBio)

Learn about making space for difficult dialogues with Jessica Popescu!