Is Teaching With Minecraft Worth It? [4 Tips To Make Your Lessons Memorable]

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Short answer: Teaching with Minecraft is totally worth it if you successfully manage your students.

Minecraft Education Edition’s greatest strength can also be its biggest drawback:
The unmatched excitement it induces among students.

If you can successfully channel your students’ excitement for Minecraft into a learning experience, Minecraft Education may be the most powerful teaching tool you’ve ever encountered.

After speaking with instructors at our coding school (With plenty of Minecraft classes under their belts), we’ve identified 4 main criteria for teaching a memorable lesson that students will be excited for.

Don’t let the challenge of managing their excitement deter you. I haven’t seen students get as excited about a lesson as when we mention Minecraft.

Try, learn, iterate. Don’t forget what kind of a memorable learning experience you’re creating once you’ve mastered class management.

The Challenge to Overcome:
Students Distracting Themselves From The Project

1. Allocate specific free time slots – as a reward for good behaviour

If you don’t do this, students will find a way to incorporate free time into time intended for projects.

You can use this time as leverage for when students misbehave, as we do with recess and lunchtime.
E.g. The more time spent messing around, the less free time you get

Accept that students want to play with Minecraft and designate a time for this.

2. Use pre-built levels to minimise distractions

These levels usually don’t allow you to build or destroy blocks. They’re linear, with challenges to solve along the way.

The free trial lesson, Hour of Code: TimeCraft (See the demo below), is a great example. They have an abundance of pre-planned levels on their website, so you won’t have to worry about running out. Check them out here.

Hour of Code: TimeCraft Walkthrough (5 minutes)

3. Ban destructive blocks, disable undesired actions

The biggest culprit for disruptions in a lesson is destructive player to player interaction. Ban certain blocks like TNT or lava buckets, anything you find students using excessively, and disable settings like player to player damage.

Minimising any possible distractions will make it easier for students to focus on the projects at hand.

4. Close laptops when you’re explaining concepts

A simple yet crucial tip. When explaining coding concepts to ensure they understand what they’re doing, ask them to close their laptop at a 45-degree angle or completely. The fact is, if children have Minecraft in front of them, they’re going to try and play it.

Summary

Minecraft generates unprecedented excitement among students. Use these 4 tips to channel that excitement into a productive learning experience that students will look forward to.

I didn’t touch on the logistics of getting set up here, but if you need help, we’ve got tonnes of experience in doing precisely that. So I’d be happy to help more schools make the most of this powerful teaching tool.

Reach out to me at luke@codekids.com.au – I read and reply to every email personally.

Happy coding!

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