BioQuest: Mini-Game for Categorizing Biology Terms

By Beth Acton, John Abbott College

BioQuest: Mini-Game for Categorizing Biology Terms

At a Glance

Discipline

  • STEM
  • Biology

Instructional Level

  • College & CEGEP

Course

  • 101-806-AB, Topic: Biological terms

Tasks in Workflow

Social Plane(s)

  • Individual
  • Group
  • Whole Class

Type of Tasks

  • Other

Technical Details

Class size

  • Small (20-49)

Time

  • Brief segment of class period (< 20 mins)

Inclusivity & Accessibility

  • Variety of action & expression

Instructional Purpose

  • Preparation & knowledge activation

Overview

The review activities allow them to categorize and consolidate information to help build their working memory around the concepts and terms being used in the game. Students are put on the spot to not only retrieve the definition of the terms, but to also create links between the terms and concepts. As students participate as either players or game-masters, they are actively applying their knowledge while participating in the game. The games are most useful as a review activity for students, particularly in courses where students feel a memorization burden.

Instructional Objectives

Students will be able to:

  • define biological terms
  • categorize and classify biological terms and concepts

Note: The specific learning objectives will vary depending on which topic is being covered.
connect terms across concepts”

Workflow & Materials

Workflow

Activity Workflow

View on CourseFlow

Contributor's Notes

Beth Acton

Beth Acton

SALTISE Fellow, John Abbott College, Montreal

Benefits
Challenges
Tips
Benefits
  • Provides for a gamification aspect to learning.
  • Instructors can allow students to play in groups, where students rotate through their turns as player and game-master.
  • Once the game have been modelled in class, students will often use the game in their own study groups.
Challenges
  • Success of the games relies on a game-master that knows the right answer(s); if the material is new to the students, allowing the game-master to have access to learning materials and resources will help make sure that students are learning the correct information.
  • Can get a little loud!
Tips
  • Demonstrate how the game is played for your students by volunteering to be a player yourself. This allows you to model the types of questions to be asked, and how you use the information you gain to formulate the next question. Students also appreciate that you make yourself vulnerable to the class and just might get the answer wrong.

Applied Strategies