We Need More New Games

My classroom is not as fun as is used to be.

I am keenly aware of the reason why, alternating two content delivery styles this year in my grade 9 science/math classes: Project-based for a month, then clearly defined activities and quiz's for another. This begs the question:

Does a classroom where enjoyment is not readily apparent, correlate to the level of student learning?

I have found (as many do) when I cover the curriculum with textbook work and online activities/reports, I can be entirely accountable to covering all expectations in the curriculum. The downfall is the classroom becomes less enjoyable when sacrificing the carnival-like atmosphere of experiential learning...it's a case of messy (experiential) vs. smooth (coverage).

Time for a head shake and forward-thinking.


I presently find myself in the cog of our mechanic schooling system, fraught with a student-teacher disconnect, lack of engagement and a culture of 'tough love'. Meaning the cruel tradition of expectations out-of-touch with student engagement and learning is disguised by the excuse that students need to ‘become prepared'.

Enter the The New Games Book

When I began teaching in the formal system, I acquired some resources from my sister, a fellow teacher who left the profession. I dabbled with a few of them, others quickly became obsolete with current technologies, but the one book that I kept returning to again and again was a physical education activity manual titled The New Games Book. These were used not for physical education class, this was for academic classes. The cooperative games were a metaphor for how to conduct yourself within real world project-based learning.

Fashionable professional development currently informs us that were are teaching in a different world, 21st century students needing skills for occupations that do not exist yet. So, if all of this rhetoric is as true as competent ed-thinkers predict for the future, what are the key things we must focus on in schools to honor our students with the skills they need? It's empathy, and New Games is the most powerful delivery method, a method that is all to often dismissed as extra-curricular.

This book is as important now as ever. I caught myself dismissing it as dated cooperative games, common-good, everyone-wins stuff; however, after researching/assessing my students after months under project-based learning with New Games Activities and standard-based learning with textbook activities, I not only see no difference in academic levels, in regards to the two methods, I see an increase in joy and engagement when it comes to learning and school when New Games activities are combined with project based learning.

My key to success was not to be intimidated by staff and students that state they are well aware of cooperative activities, group games, icebreakers, initiative tasks, and say they belong within extra-curricular classes. A next step is to further embed The New Games Book motto of: play hard, play fair, no one hurt, comprehensively into academic courses in schools. With that culture in place, an educator is more commonly able to find the sweet spot of teaching and “Deliver content at the peak moment of [students] engagement” @burgessdave. Engagement, I have found that is non existent within coverage-based delivery methods and commonly within experiential methods.
Caution*** do not include a prescribed lab, or a step by step hands on activity as experiential. (see Harts Ladder of Participation for details)

My classroom, school, district, is over-concerned with ‘preparing’ students. When preparing grade 9’s (our regions final year of Jr. High) for high school, test-taking and thin coverage of a massive curriculum or program of studies, we mistake coverage for learning. When joy is removed from learning you can see similar trends: fun and enjoyment is not regarded as learning and scoffed due to its abstract nature of being so difficult to measure, and so integral for student development. If classrooms can increase fun and decrease cruel traditions of out-of-touch expectations, we will find ourselves in more situations of peak engagement to deliver content.

My classroom needs to become more fun again, no excuses.

Next half-completed post coming soon: Not a Free for All: Project-Based Learning in 2013.

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