Board Games in the Classroom

Introduction

When one thinks of board games, the idea of a family or friends gathering around a table is what comes to mind.  This event feels like quality time, since players interact with the board and other players.  As teachers, it would be a great benefit to be able to leverage that environment to encourage students to learn and engage with one another.  There are different barriers towards doing this, such as the time, effort and cost to apply a board game to a course; however, the tradeoff in achieving the level of engagement in a classroom that board games allow can definitely be substantial.

Barriers to Using Board Games in Class

Teachers tend to tailor their classes based on their own learning experiences.  Asking them to step out of that mindset is a barrier.  For example, when Sardone & Scherer (2016) explored a teacher training program in a private university, they found that “candidates planning on teaching high school struggled more than elementary candidates did with game development, thinking their job as a future high school teacher was to prepare lessons using direct instruction, namely lecture. Perhaps this is indicative of what they remember about their own high school experience.” (Sardone & Scherer, 2016 p.221) Having teachers step out of that thinking is crucial towards developing in what Dr. Dweck, a professor of Psychology, describes as a “Growth Mindset” (Franklin, 2016), teachers will work towards developing their abilities with work.

Additionally, the cost of board games is generally expensive, so it is important to vet board games to see which games are valuable to one’s practice, as well as how easily it can be connected and grasped by one’s students. The rules of board games can be intimidating and may also be a barrier for many teachers.  Games normally have different mechanics to them; some of those mechanics are geared towards experienced players to distinguish the game from another.  Being able to sift through these rules and gain an understanding is difficulty which is why “a number of online resources have been developed over the last few years to support the board-game hobby.  The best resource is a community-based site called BoardGameGeek” (Levine, 2008).  These resources can help teachers learn how to play a game to give them ideas on how to use them in the classroom and if teachers can find a game that connects well to a class that they are teaching, they are more likely to see value that would justify the use of a game despite its cost and game mechanics.

Engagement and Satisfaction of Board Games in Class

Sato and deHaan (2016) did a study in Japan based on the playthroughs of “Ticket to Ride” and “Hey, That’s My Fish”. They noticed that the reported enjoyment after 1 playthrough of “Ticket to Ride” was 97.1% and 100% for “Hey, That’s My Fish” (deHaan & Sato, 2016, p. 9).  This demonstrates that board games present an opportunity for student engagement, and enjoyment, which can in turn improve student learning.

Also, playing board games in class exposes students to different game mechanics that can lead them to create their own board games.  According to a study done by Castellano and Chiarello to see the effects of game creation for STEM learning, they found that: “[these] activities appear to be particularly attractive and engaging, stimulating interest and enthusiasm.” (Castellano & Chiarello, 2017, p. 78) This avenue of creativity can foster the learning, and growth of students in the classroom.

Furthermore, board games have evolved over the years; older board games, such as Monopoly, were heavily competitive and rewarded the last player standing.  Modern board games are more tailored towards high school students. Based off Jenny (2008), modern board games are different from traditional board games because:

• Players are not focussed on eliminating other players; this can lead to tension in the group.  All the players are also playing the game until the end instead of having some players drop out early.
• There are no long wait times. For example, when one completes a turn in Risk, the player may wait 30 minutes before your turn comes up again. In modern board games, this is not the case.
• There are many different ways to win a board game.  This diversifies the decisions that one needs to make when playing a board game and helps a player really engage with the game. (Jenny, 2008, p. 9)

Teaching students how to play board games

According to deHaan and Sato (2016), the following can be done to teach students how to play board games:

• Simplify the rules of the game
• Pair students up so they can consult with each other
• Have a script ready for the students to read instead of the board game instructions book
• Play a few moves as a group, essentially demoing what you can do during your turn
• Teacher’s should consider the games that students have been exposed to before deciding on a game to play in class (deHaan & Sato, 2016, p. 12).

In addition to those suggestions, teachers can also:

• Teach a group of students before the game is run in the classroom so they can be the connoisseur and be experts of the game. “When teaching the novice player, the experts patiently walked through the basic rules of the game and put aside what were before their cultural norms, to teach someone how to play a game they were passionate about. To those experts, it was more important to demonstrate to the novice why this was a game they loved rather than to win.” (Martin & Martinez, 2016, p. 85)

Benefits of Board Games to a Teacher

By exposing teachers to different board games and their mechanics, it also allows teachers to think of creating their own board games.  Teachers can create, or adapt a game that is tailored to the class that they are teaching and organically expose students to terminology.  Having teachers create new board games or assessments that are based off existing board games allows them to make new creative connections to the curriculum.

Additionally, Sardone and Devlin Scherer (2016) explore this task in a study where 60 teacher candidates at a private university were asked to build board games that are tailored to different curricular fields and that encourage student centered learning.  They found that board games “offer an approachable format to deal with current issues or traditionally taught content. They promote creativity, concentration, and confidence and fit the preferences of today’s learners” (Sardone & Scherer, 2016, p.221). These are necessary skills that comply with the 21st century competencies students must develop.

Board games are also an excellent way to encourage student driven learning.  Martin and Martinez (2016) explored masters students in Library sciences and “found that once students looked past games as being pleasant distractions and were able to see them as both context-rich and well-designed learning environments, they were conducive in bringing games to libraries to spur interest-driven learning.” (Martin & Martinez, 2016, p. 82). Although students in the Library Sciences program are generally more mature than those at the high school level, it is still worth trying any method that allows students to be more enthusiastic about their studies.  Exposing students to different learning styles and scenarios encourages students to think critically so they can adapt to different situations.

Consequently, board games help young students in primary school to acquire numerical knowledge. According to a study done by Hitti, Ramani & Siegler (2012), “[the] results showed that a number board game when played in small groups with paraprofessionals from the classrooms can promote the numerical knowledge of young children from low-income backgrounds.” (Hatti, Ramani & Siegler 2012, p.670). Therefore, various board games can aid in developing student skills at all levels.

Also, different learning expectations for courses may be met by using the different themes that board games offer.  For example, Farber (2016) uses “Pandemic to teach themes of global interconnectedness. Because the game board is an interconnected map of the world, geography is part of the play. As a result, students aren’t memorizing locations on a map; they are using the map as a tool to solve problems.” (Farber, 2016, p.40) This is much more engaging to an audience rather than asking them to look at a map and telling them what they need to know.  High school is about learning different skills and being able to apply them to different situations.  This is crucial because we are preparing students for jobs that may or may not exist at the moment.  The skills acquired is what will benefit them going forward.

Conclusion

Students of today are living in a dynamic world; the way to deliver lessons to students are also various, and changing.  “Traditional instructional methods may have a harder time meeting the expectations of today’s learners whereas gaming adds energy to a class and encourages student learning in unique ways.” (Sardone & Scherer, 2016). Therefore, it is time that we as teachers try different things to get students to learn rather than rely on what we are comfortable with.

References

Chiarello, F., & Castellano, M. G. (2017). Board Games Creation as Motivating and Learning Tool for STEM. Proceedings Of The European Conference On Games Based Learning, 71-78.

deHaan, J., & Sato, A. (2016). Applying an Experiential Learning Model to the Teaching of Gateway Strategy Board Games. International Journal Of Instruction, 9(1), 3-16.

Farber, M. (2016). Gamify your classroom. The Education Digest. 01

Franklin, A. E. (2016). Growth mindset development: Examining the impact of a standards-based grading model on middle school students’ mindset characteristics. Available from Education Database. 

Hitti, A., Ramani, G. B., and Siegler R.S. (2012). Taking it to the classroom: Number board games as a small group learning activity. Journal of educational psychology 104, (3) (08): 661

Levine, J. (2008). Broadening our definition of gaming. Library Technology Reports 44, (3) (04): 7-11

Martin, C., & Martinez, R. (2016). Games in classroom and practice in library and information science education. On the Horizon 24, (1): 82-87

Sardone, N. B., & Devlin-Scherer, R. (2016). Let the (Board) Games Begin: Creative Ways to Enhance Teaching and Learning. Clearing House, 89(6), 215-222