Games in the Classroom, part 1 (General Philosophy)

Hello everyone,

Here's an email that I received. My comments follow in CAPS.

What are your thoughts on using electronic games as teaching tools in the

classroom? I use them, but not very often. Mostly I use them for reviews and

they seem to be VERY VERY effective ... to the point where the students are

so engaged in the game that they are unaware that they are learning in the

process of playing those games. Do you know of any good games?

I THINK GAMES CAN BE VERY EFFECTIVE, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO HAVE STUDENTS LEARN FACTS THAT MIGHT OTHERWISE BE BORING TO THEM. THE SCHOOL LIBRARY HAS SEVERAL GAMES, INCLUDING AN EDITION OF JEOPARDY THAT CAN BE PERSONALIZED TO YOUR SUBJECT (YOU WRITE YOUR OWN QUESTIONS.) SEE MR. GARCIA FOR THOSE.

JOHN BENSON, A FORMER GARFIELD SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER WHO COMES BACK TO SUB OR DO PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, BASED HIS METHODOLOGY ON GAMES WITH GREAT SUCCESS. IF YOU BUMP INTO JOHN, ASK HIM ABOUT IT. (HE'S FREQUENTLY ON CAMPUS.)

SHAUN KLASEUS AND ELLEN SELL HAVE A COLLECTION OF THEATER GAMES THAT ARE USEFUL FOR A VARIETY OF ROLE PLAYING. (ROLE PLAYING AND IMPROVISATION CAN BE A SORT OF GAME THAT CAN BE VERY EFFECTIVE.)

GAMES THAT ARE UNRELATED TO WHAT YOU ARE TEACHING BUT ENGAGE STUDENTS ARE GENERALLY NOT WORTH THE TIME. YOUR GAMES NEED TO ENGAGE, BUT THEY ALSO NEED TO TEACH OR REINFORCE KNOWLEDGE.

I WILL FORWARD A SET OF GAMES THAT I WROTE UP FOR ONE OF YOU EARLIER THIS YEAR. I USED THESE FORMS OF FOOTBALL AND BASEBALL TO REVIEW FOR TESTS AND TO TEACH GRAMMAR. THEY WERE ENGAGING AND FREQUENTLY EFFECTIVE IN HELPING STUDENTS REMEMBER FACTS.

FEEL FREE TO INVENT YOUR OWN GAMES. THE ONES THAT REQUIRE THE LEAST AMOUNT OF OUTSIDE MATERIAL AND FOCUS THE MOST ON KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION SEEM THE BEST.

JEFF COMBE