When I was in elementary in school, I absolutely loved history. I wanted to read about wars; the events that led up to the conflict, and their repercussions. I wanted to learn about the ideals and virtues of past civilizations. I loved comparing mythology and traditions and tracing their evolution. I wanted to know where and when major inventions were made and the origins of the great wonders of the world. This love of history was not sparked in school however. It was sparked from several games: the board game Risk, and the computer game Civilizations (and all its sequels).
Even though Risk was my favorite board game, I didn’t get to play it too often because the games were so involved. One game took several hours, maybe even days to complete. Finding a partner to consistently play a game of Risk (that was assuredly an investment in many hours of time) was not an easy task. However, with the computer game Civilizations, I could play that game against the computer over and over without bothering anyone else. Each time I played, I would choose a different historical people to play with, and would invariably learn about their major leaders, values, customs, music, clothing, and more. I would build Wonders of the World to advance my nation (and learn about them while I did). I would use diplomacy, trade, and war with my neighbors, based on their resources, tendencies, and power. Alliances would be made and sometimes broken, the world was explored for expansion and trade, inventions and new technologies were discovered, and these were all parts of the game. Every time I played a new game, it was a new and unique experience (so I learned something new each time).
When I taught in the upper elementary classroom, I remembered how powerful these games were in creating excitement and fostering curiosity in my own youth. For culture lessons, whenever I could, I would incorporate some type of simulation or game based on the subject we were studying in class. While it was time consuming to create game mechanics and rules for these game/simulations, it never failed in getting students excited and encouraging participation (especially from students where history was not their favorite subject). Some of my games/simulations became so popular amongst the students that other classrooms would come to adopt them as well. When we would debrief and talk about the concepts of the game and how they correlated to the subject we were studying, it became obvious that the students were learning more while they were playing more.
I will be the first to admit that the statement “the students were learning more while they were playing more” definitely needs more research and investigation, it is based on my observations from years in the classroom setting. As I continue to create Montessori PE lessons for this year, one of my goals for the following school year is to focus much more on developing research that may highlight the potential benefits of integration. I have good start from Masters thesis and research, which you can read here, as well as some preliminary research on physical education and math facts, which you can read in my blog here.
In the article Playing to Learn, the idea that play is a good way to learn is not a new idea, and was recently discussed in a panel at the Graduate School of Learning at Stanford University. One of the ideas expressed by James Gee, professor at Arizona State University, was that humans perform better working together, referred to as “collective intelligence,” which games promote. Dan Schwartz, GSE professor at Stanford, added that “games allow us to measure learning in ways couldn’t do before.” Games also develop non-cognitive skills that are better markers for success than traditional testing like IQ. Maria Montessori knew how important choice was to the student; it is critical for optimized performance. Constance Steinkuehler, associate professor at UW Madison, Co-director of Games+Learning+Society, and former senior policy analyst for the White House, stated that “games are architectures for engagement,” and her work demonstrated how important engagement was to performance (specifically in reading).
In part two, we will look at play in respects to language and storytelling.
Macka. R. F. Playing to learn: Panelists at Stanford discussion say using games as educational tool provides opportunities for deeper learning. (2013). Stanford News. Stanford University. URL https://news.stanford.edu/2013/03/01/games-education-tool-030113/. Retrieved Dec. 11th, 2019.