Tonight I watched the ASMCUE 2022 session entitled “Developing Mini-Games and Playful Activities to Implement ASM Curriculum Guidelines in Undergraduate Microbiology Courses.” Grace L. Axler-DiPerte from Kingsborough Community College of the City University of New York shared ideas for developing mini-games aligned with the ASM Curriculum Guidelines. Axler-DiPerte discussed tools such as manipulatives, quiz shows, scavenger hunts, and playful prompts. Axler-DiPerte defined game-based learning using mini-games as “a playful activity that introduces or reinforces a single concept or learning goal” Axler-DiPerte focused on simple, low-entry point activities. One example included riddles and charades using constraints such as no jargon. For manipulatives, students can engage in sorting games where student teams categorize and compare items. Using Jamboard, Axler-DiPerte creates a background with different columns and sticky notes with terms. Axler-DiPerte uses randomizers including flippity.net, an online set of tools to create activities with random elements. The example was an isolation scheme created with a Google Sheet and flippity.net. Another way of creating mini games is to use Kahoot and Jeopardy Labs. Scavenger hunts can be used to have students search for items, for example, using iNaturalist. The last type of activity that Axler-DiPerte shared was the use of playful prompts. Role playing, student-generated riddles, and escape rooms were some examples mentioned. One useful tool is the Up-Goer5 website to help learners use friendly language. This constraint makes it more challenging and helps learners think about the language they use. There were so many ideas for simple activities that could be adapted for a variety of courses.
