Games
Overview
Games support learning, as learners engage with new information in fun and informal ways. This increases understanding of content, and sparks Creativity as learners think about concepts in different ways. Games can be beneficial across content areas, strengthening Core Academic Literacies. By engaging students' Attention, games motivate students to develop meaningful connections to the content, and can lead to positive memories of learning. When learners engage in game-playing, they use their problem-solving and Critical Thinking skills, as well as executive functions to support their participation. As games often include peers, they encourage dialogue about their learning, sharpening Communication and Social Awareness and Relationship Skills. Games can be used in traditional or digital contexts to allow learners to learn new content, practice their skills, and to review content.
Example: Use This Strategy in the Classroom
Watch this teacher facilitate a math learning game, Trashketball, to promote problem solving and Collaboration in an engaging and kinesthetic game. This game can be adapted to suit a variety of contexts and learner needs.
Design It into Your Product
Additional Resources
Additional examples, research, and professional development. These resources are possible representations of this strategy, not endorsements.
Factors Supported by this Strategy
More Active Learning Strategies
Encouraging learners to draw as a form of synthesizing key concepts and to explain their drawings in the classroom, can support the development of Core Academic Literacies, especially when solving complex problems across content areas.
Students explaining their thinking during learning is a metacognitive process that involves actively self-questioning or being questioned while exploring new concepts, and explaining thoughts and reasoning in response.
Visiting places connected to classroom learning provides opportunities to add relevance to classroom topics and deepen understanding through firsthand experiences.
Simulations involve students engaging in interactive experiences that mimic real-world scenarios to explore content, practice skills, and solve problems.
Youth participatory action research (YPAR) is a student-centered approach that puts the learner at the helm of the research process, from ideation to dissemination, to investigate and advocate for change they want to see in their schools and communities.
