Introduction to Using Games in Education: A Guide for Teachers and Parents Introduction to Using Games in Education: A Guide for Teachers and Parents First edition 8/15/06. Second edition 6/29/08. Dave Moursund Teacher Education, College of Education University of Oregon 97403 Email: [email protected] Web: http://uoregon.edu/~moursund/dave/index.htm Web: http://IAE-Pedia.org Web: http://I-A-E.org/ Edited by Dick Ricketts The second edition reflects careful editing of the first edition, with hundreds of small changes. A little material has been added, and a little material has been deleted. All of the references have been brought up to date. Page 1 Introduction to Using Games in Education: A Guide for Teachers and Parents Contents ...........................................................................................2 About Dave Moursund, the Author .................................................6 Preface..............................................................................................7 Learning Through Game Playing .............................................8 Computational Thinking...........................................................8 Puzzles ......................................................................................9 Brief Overview of Contents......................................................9 Chapter 1: Thinking Outside the Box ............................................11 Puzzle Problems......................................................................12 Problems and Problem Solving ..............................................15 Problem Solving is Part of Every Discipline..........................18 Cognitive Maturity..................................................................19 George Polya’s General Problem-Solving Strategy ...............19 Modeling and Simulation .......................................................20 Games Can be Addictive ........................................................22 Final Remarks.........................................................................23 Activities for the Reader.........................................................23 Activities for use with Students..............................................24 Chapter 2: Background Information ..............................................26 Types of Games Considered in this Book ..............................26 Games-in-Education as a Discipline of Study........................28 Expertise .................................................................................29 Competition, Independence, Cooperation ..............................31 Learning to Learn ...................................................................34 Situated Learning and Transfer of Learning...........................35 Learning in a Game Environment...........................................38 Precise Vocabulary and Notation ...........................................39 A Few Important Research Findings ......................................41 Final Remarks.........................................................................42 Activities for the Reader.........................................................42 Activities for use with Students..............................................42 Chapter 3: Sudoku: A Puzzle.........................................................44 Page 2 Introduction to Using Games in Education: A Guide for Teachers and Parents Introduction to Sudoku ...........................................................45 Introduction to Sudoku ...........................................................45 A 4x4 Example and a High-Road Transferable Strategy .......46 Metacognition.........................................................................47 Is the Puzzle Problem Solvable?.............................................48 Getting Started in Solving the Puzzle.....................................49 Persistence and Self-confidence .............................................50 The Elimination Strategy........................................................52 Final Remarks.........................................................................54 Activities for the Reader.........................................................54 Activities for use with Students..............................................55 Chapter 4: More Puzzles................................................................56 Goals for Using Puzzles in Education ....................................56 Free Puzzles............................................................................58 Jigsaw Puzzles ........................................................................59 Incremental Improvement.......................................................59 Online Jigsaw Puzzles ............................................................61 Complexity of a Puzzle or Other Problem..............................62 Water-Measuring Puzzles.......................................................63 Spatial Intelligence .................................................................64 Tower of Hanoi.......................................................................66 Bridge Crossing Puzzle Problems ..........................................68 Brain Teasers ..........................................................................69 Miscellaneous Additional Examples of Puzzles.....................72 Final Remarks.........................................................................74 Activities for the Reader.........................................................75 Activities for use with Students..............................................75 Chapter 5: One-Player Games .......................................................77 Learning to Play a Game ........................................................77 Solitaire (Patience)..................................................................78 The Solitaire Game Eight Off.................................................82 Tetris.......................................................................................92 Final Remarks.........................................................................92 Activities for the Reader.........................................................93 Activities for use with Students..............................................93 Chapter 6: Two-Player Games.......................................................94 Page 3 Introduction to Using Games in Education: A Guide for Teachers and Parents Tic-Tac-Toe ............................................................................94 Chess.......................................................................................99 Checkers ...............................................................................102 Hangman...............................................................................103 Othello (Reversi) ..................................................................105 Dots and Boxes.....................................................................109 Cribbage................................................................................110 Activities for the Reader.......................................................111 Activities for use with Students............................................112 Chapter 7: Games for Small & Large Groups .............................113 Monopoly..............................................................................113 Hearts....................................................................................114 Card Sense ............................................................................116 Oh Heck: A Trick-Taking Card Game .................................117 Whist: A Trick-Taking Card Game ......................................118 Bridge: A Trick-Taking Card Game.....................................119 Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) .................120 Star Trek’s Holodeck............................................................122 Final Remarks: Moursund’s 7-Step Advice .........................123 Activities for the Reader.......................................................124 Activities for use with Students............................................124 Chapter 8: Lesson Planning and Implementation ........................125 Roles of a Teacher ................................................................125 Learning to Learn .................................................................127 Lesson Plan Ideas .................................................................128 More Specific Educational Goals .........................................130 Goals of Education: Rigor on Trial ......................................133 Rubrics..................................................................................133 Activities for the Reader.......................................................134 Activities for use with Students............................................134 Chapter 9: Miscellaneous Other Topics.......................................135 Women and Gaming.............................................................135 Student Creation of Games...................................................136 Games and the Aging Brain..................................................137 Artificial Intelligence............................................................138 Dangers of Too Much Game Playing ...................................139 Page 4 Introduction to Using Games in Education: A Guide for Teachers and Parents Knowledge-Building