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Games
Strategy #4
Presented by Brandon Elwood

What is a game?

Webster says: activity engaged in for diversion or amusement

Wikipedia says: structured activity, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational too.
Games...
... encourage cooperation
... help content knowledge sink in
... increase cognition and working memory
... aid students in remembering
... increase kinesthetic ability
... allow kids to learn formal rules as well as informal concepts (camaraderie, negotiation, etc.)
... promote euphoric learning by stimulating the frontal lobes of the brain
... are FUN [one of 5 critical needs that effectively motivate individuals)
(Tate, 2010)

Types of games:
Sports Dice games Video games
Dexterity/coordination games Domino and tile games Online games
Board games Pencil and paper games Role-playing games
Card games Guessing games Team building games

Where can games be apphed?

Math Language Arts Foreign Language
Science Music History
Physical Education Social Studies Art

Where can games not be appUed? (If you're stumped, you're on the right track.)

As teachers, we should Always Be Teaching (ABT).

—Brian Mendler, Author & Classroom Management Consultant

Games are no exception to the i4Br rule. We can make games a learning experience every time. We might say to
our students, "Let's take a break and play a game." Unbeknownst to them, that game may be the most meaningful
learning experience of the day. (Mendler, 2008]

A veteran teacher once told me that on a bad day at school, the day would be structured as 95% entertainment
and 5% instruction. If that's the case, we can do our best to make that 95% as educational as we can through the
use of games.

A study of college level students who participated in a course where lectures were replaced with games showed
favorable results, citing the need for more interactive instruction. If such is the case with adults, how much more
of a need is there with children? (Kumar, 2007)

In an article that reviewed 68 different studies to determine the instructional effectiveness of games versus
conventional instruction, the results were as follows:
• 38 studies concluded that there was no difference
• 27 studies favored games
• 3 studies favored conventional instruction
(Randel, 1992)

Works Cited
Kumar, Rita, and Robin Lightner, "Games as an Interactive Classroom Technique." International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Kducation
19.1 (2007): 53-63. Prim.
Mendler, Brian D., Richard L. Cnrwin, and Allen N, Mendler. Strategies for Successful Classroom Management: Helping Students Succeed without
Losing Your Dignity or Sanity. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2008. Print.
77ie Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Springfield, Mass; Merriam-Webster, 2004. Print.
Randel, Josephine, Barbara Morris, Douglas Wetzel, and Betty Whitehill. "The Effectiveness of Games for Educational Purposes." Simulation Gaming
23.3 (1992): 261-76. Print.
Tate, Marcia L. Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites: 20 Instructional Strategies That Engage the Brain. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks: Coruin, 2010. Print.
Wikipedia. Web. 08 Mar. 2011. <http://www.wikipedia.org/>.