Cooperative Game of Competitive Questioning

Great Cooperative games make the play experience deliberately difficult; the game shouldn't be a cake walk. Mr. Glass's decision, therefore, is for him to assume the role of the game and present himself in opposition to his students—the players. He does this by instructing his students (working in groups designed to get everyone working together, especially those who have struggled in the past) to prepare 30 questions that, in their estimation, adequately assess or measure the topics with which the class has engaged. Mr. Glass then provides a list of relevant topics to ensure that all students are on task.

While his students are working on their questions, Mr. Glass is working on his own set of 10 questions. In a subsequent class period, when students are confident in the questions they have written, they exchange questions with Mr. Glass. The students' objective is to work together in their groups to solve their 10 questions correctly before Mr. Glass completes his 30. This is an exercise that balances time with accuracy. If the students (or Mr. Glass) have written a question that can't be answered or is invalid in some way, there's a two-minute penalty. When all groups and Mr. Glass are finished, they compare their work and answers. (Mr. Glass has to show his work just as his students do.) All groups that finish with a time faster than Mr. Glass win the game and get the reward (e.g., they get to drop a low quiz grade or question on an exam).