Game On! Using Play to Engage Students in Pre-college Courses [H]

If students encounter the same content delivered the same way as when they failed a high-school course, they are unlikely to believe they will fare any better. Research on mindset shows how easy it is to change your mind about your ability to accomplish a task, but what can prompt us to make that change? By using games designed specifically to convey mathematical concepts, we can engage students in ways that may not have seemed possible to them before. Well-designed games are level-playing-field starting points, and the space in which they are played is safe and happy. We will discuss mindset, what is meant by a “well-designed” game, and how to go about creating one.

• Powerpoint slides (PDF)
• Team Dice handout (PDF and Word)
• Dice Level handout (Word)
• X-Factor Game (Word)