Re: Gaming and Education

Pete Pellegrino — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 23:16:37 -0000

Hi Richard, found my way here from the History Teacher Discussin Forum.

Games...it is a shame that so much of the games in education discussion focuses on video/computer/electronic gaming. As a retired naval officer and former Games Division Director, War Gaming Dept, US Naval War College, professor of war gaming and strategic game theory, and amateur table top game designer with loose affiliations with Hasbro, I've seen the power of simple board games to engage students on a variety of levels.

If you haven't come across it, check out www.juniorgeneral.org, run by Matt Fritz, a middle school teacher in NJ. From the website,

"This web site is intended to promote the use of historical simulations as a tool for teaching history by providing free resources that anyone can use. The simulations make use of historical miniatures (paper or plastic toy soldiers), maps and counters, and matrix arguments. The simulations are designed for students in grades 6 - 8. Each scenario is complete with everything needed to run the simulation except dice and rulers."

While Matt targets the age group he teaches, I've used many of the games with older kids (and adults). For the video generation, there is a bit of initial skepticism that anything based on paper soldiers can be fun and engaging - I've seen adults even react this way. The true power of a war game to engage is the fact that the paper soliders are simply stand-ins for the real opponents, i.e. fellow classmates. It gets personal - fast.

I often cite the example of how my sons react to a naval war game we have on the computer. When they play against the computer in solitaire mode, winning/losing generates a particular set of emotional responses. Play the same game again, only this time with a sibling opponent on another networked computer. Same rules, same interface, same graphics...only now winning and losing is personal! Captain McCarty-Little, who brought war gaming to the Naval War College is the 1800's, said that the power of gaming was in knowing that in the room next door was a human opponent ready to pounce on our mistakes.

One of the more popular games I run involves the use of 19 inch plastic battleship models on the gym floor refighting the sinking of the Bismarck. The kids form teams, or crews, for each of the ships, with one kid the commandering officer and others representing the various departments - navigation, weapons, etc. The game becomes an exercise in group decision making, prioritization and leadership as only a few of the many options available to the crew can be executed each turn, and the group must decide what those actions will be in 2 minutes of intense crew debate. The Gunner wants the ship to turn to bring more guns to bear, but the Navigator is worried about mines. The Engineer wants to turn away to make repairs, but the Captain thinks that now is the time to press the attack. What to do? How to decide?!

The kinestetic value of manipulating forces, the consultation with collegues on strategy, the feints and 'mind games' played out against adversaries, the analysis of outcomes vs. the historical record...all for the cost of some paper and toner!

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Re: Gaming and Education