Day 3-5 of Minecraft Club

Objective: Develop Civic Competence

1. Create a culture for their community
2. Adapt to environment
3. Experience interactions among other individuals and groups (communication/collaborative skills)
4. Develop structures of governing power and authority
5. Understand the interdependence of communities
6. Develop ideals, principles, and practices of citizenship

Here is what happened during the last three days of Minecraft club:

Community 1:

• The community improved their tools for more efficient and productive work. 
• The blacksmith created full sets of armor for their soldiers.
• They moved their farm to a larger and safer area to produce more food (2).
• A member from the other community came their base to ask if he could join them. The majority of the community voted for him to be accepted into the community (3, 4).

Community 2:

• Members mentioned that the commands given were not productive (3).
• Advanced players were always separate from the rest of the group. This led the weaker members vulnerable to danger (3).
• One member was removed from the community because of his lack of teamwork (3, 6).
• The productivity of the community (mining, construction, farming, etc.) improved due to the removal of the member. There was a focus on community instead of individual gain (1, 6).
• Teams of two were assigned to complete specific tasks. The two community members worked together and protected one another from danger (1, 3, 6).

Day 2 of Minecraft Club: Civic Competence (Social Studies)

Day One

On day one of Minecraft Club, I had my students research civic concepts:

• culture
• adaptation to environments
• social interactions of groups
• governing powers
• interdependence of communities
• citizenship
• communication & collaboration

Day Two

On day two, students were divided into two “communities.” Each community had a team captain. Their goal was to create the ideal community. Here is what I observed on the first day:

Contact Between Communities

• Team leaders communicated with one another which areas they claimed so that the other team could not develop any structures in their area.
• The team leaders met to negotiate trades. They were more willing to trade off resources they did not need or value; usually if they have a large supply of a specific resource.

Team One

Designated Specific Roles:

• The roles of each group member was distributed by their specific abilities and skills. Hunters were required to find animals for food. The food was distributed to group members who were low in food.  Explorers went out and investigated their environment. Explorers reported their findings to the group, specifying the areas that contained resources. Next, the miners extracted the resources (red stones, gold, diamonds, iron, and cobble stone) from these areas.

Nomadic/Masons:

• The group decided not to create a settlement, but travel to different areas where there were resources. They would move on to another area if all the resources were extracted (this resulted in a number of lost members). They used the stone they found to create different types of tools. These tools were used to extract more resources, or used for trade.

Communication:

• Some group members frequently got lost.  I think one cause of this was the group’s lack of communication. For example, hunters did not tell the rest of the rest of the group where they were going. The group sometimes moved on without waiting for them to return.
• This group did not listen to one another. No one responded or reacted to the different commands and comments that were made. Each player seemed to be doing their own thing.

Team Two

Designated Specific Roles:

• Miner: Team Two found a cave that they extracted resources from. The resources would be used for building, tools, and trade.
• Construction Workers: These players utilized the resources miners extracted from their cave to create a structure.
• Blacksmith: This player created tools for the miners, and weapons for the soldier. They crafted these objects by combining different resources.
• Soldier: The soldier protected all the workers from outsiders. He carried around tools to ward off any creature that can harm their settlement and members.

Settlement:

• The team leader claimed a plot of land.
• The team decided to create a structure (home) near the cave where they find their valuable resources. This structure was designed to fit all group members, and protect them from severe weather and outsiders.

Resources:

• Coal, iron, gold, stone, wood, sticks, wool, dirt, birch

Communication:

• This group was able complete many of their tasks because of their clear communication strategies. Whenever a group member made an announcement, the rest of group acknowledged it and took the proper actions to execute their objective.
• The team leader decisively assigned his group members tasks and his team obeyed his orders without question.