Horticultural Jeopardy: Motivation through Gamification
By Dr. Ben Casteel -- “Do It Well. Make It Fun.” were the words etched into our January in-service schedule at Virginia Highlands Community College where I teach Horticulture & Agriculture courses. Local author Ron Culberson was sharing his philosophy (and book title) on how to achieve excellence in the workplace through entertaining motivational mechanisms. I couldn’t help but to ponder how I might make some of the more banal moments in my classroom more enjoyable for students. Later that evening, while having a throwback family dinner in front of the television set, the epiphany occurred. We would often play along with Jeopardy over dinner—and in that very moment—I realized this could be a way I could make exam review time more fun and engaging for my students. That Spring, I trialed using a Powerpoint template of the Jeopardy game show as our midterm and final exam review. It was a smashing success for the outgoing extroverted students—and they were the clear winners