Have you ever considered using video games to help engage your middle school students during math class? I have been teaching middle school math classes for over 7 years, and a couple of years I came across Lure of the Labyrinth, a video game created by MIT's Education Arcade, which I began incorporating into my lesson plans. The game was specifically designed to help middle school math students learn various pre-calculus concepts by having them navigate through a digital world in order to solve a mystery. To solve the mystery, the game requires users to work out multiple math problems in the form of puzzles. It was an instant success because its enticing visuals and unique story line captured my students' attention and got them practicing solving math problems in a fun, explorative atmosphere.
For a quick look at the game and to see how and why other math teachers are using Lure of the Labyrinth in their classrooms visit their website and view their Introduction video.
The following section of our website is a tutorial for middle school math teachers who are interested in incorporating the digital game, Lure of the Labyrinth (LL), as a tool to help support the learning of various math concepts within their math lessons. This tutorial consists of the four parts:
For a quick look at the game and to see how and why other math teachers are using Lure of the Labyrinth in their classrooms visit their website and view their Introduction video.
The following section of our website is a tutorial for middle school math teachers who are interested in incorporating the digital game, Lure of the Labyrinth (LL), as a tool to help support the learning of various math concepts within their math lessons. This tutorial consists of the four parts:
- An Introduction to the game (below);
- A checklist that teachers should use to evaluate if LL is an appropriate tool for your learning environment;
- A getting started section that provides information for teachers on how to begin organizing and planning for using LL;
- A sample lesson plan modelling how teachers can use the game as a support tool within their math lessons.
Introduction to Lure of the Labyrinth
Lure of the Labyrinth is a digital game designed by the MIT Education Arcade for middle-school pre-algebra students. The online, puzzle-solving, adventure game was designed to encourage math and literacy learning. The game is presented in a storyline format that demands players to navigate through a virtual world in search of clues to help them solve a mystery. The clues are in the form of puzzles that require the use of pre-algebra skills for them to be solved. There is a multiplayer function incorporated into the game that allows students to collaborate online with their team members and teacher (more on this later) through the use of a built-in chat tool. The game also exemplifies to the players several cognitive processes and habits attributed to scientists and mathematicians, since the game requires players to observe phenomena, hypothesize, analyze data, and arrive at conclusions. This may help situate the skills learned and developed in this virtual world to those found within a real world setting.
In the game, students navigate through three wings in an underground labyrinth. Each wing contains interactive puzzles that relate to a different math concept connected to a typical American and Canadian pre-algebra middle school curriculum. One wing offers puzzles that focus on proportions such as fractions and ratios, whereas another wing in the game concentrates on variables and equations. The final wing asks students to attend to number and operation problems that require knowledge in geometry, order of operations, and modular arithmetic. All wings encompass three puzzles, which in turn have three levels that increase in difficulty.
Another added feature in LL is that students or teachers wishing to just play the puzzles without partaking in the actual game can do so by simply clicking on the “Play a Puzzle” option when they first log into the game. As you will see in the Lesson Plan section, this is a great option when teachers want to use the puzzles as examples to reinforce the given math concept of their math lesson.