Rosanna Montoute rosannamontoute@hotmail.com Gordana Stok gordanastok@videotron.ca
| Instrructional Objecttive | Learners & Context | Objject of Game | G Game Materials | | Time Required R | Rules | Design Proc ess | Reference es |
Instructional Objective Skillful Thinking is a board game designed to teach high school students how to think critically and “skillfully”. Inspired by the book, Thinking-Based Learning: Promoting Quality Student Achievement in the 21st Century, the game challenges students to form a thoughtful opinion or conclusion about a topic using systematic mental procedures in six categories of thinking: 1) compare and contrast, 2) analyze parts-whole relationship, 3) explain the causes, 4) predict the consequences, 5) solve a problem, and 6) make a decision. By employing the mental procedures proposed in the book, students are taught to "deliberately guide their own use of the productive mental behaviours and skillful thinking procedures to think about relevant and significant content in order to complete the thinking task effectively" (p. 29). The game supports the development of literacy competencies in Secondary English Language Arts, as described by the Ministere de l’Education et Loisir du Quebec, by preparing students to “make intellectual and aesthetic judgments, raise questions, articlulate their thoughts and respect the ideas of others” ( http://goo.gl/h2enZ ) .
Learners & Context of Use Skillful Thinking is designed for high school students in grades 10 and 11; however, it can easily be adapted for college and university courses. The challenge cards that are included “out of the box” cover a wide range of topics, and therefore are ideally suited for English composition classes and debate clubs. However, the game can easily be adapted for subjectspecific classes (such as history, political science and sociology) by tailoring the challenge questions to the course content and the aprpopriate skill level of students. This would also enable the game to be played in college and university. When the game is tailored for the content of a specific course, the instructor would begin the class with a lecture that sets up the context for the challenge questions that will be used during gameplay, allowing for more complex challenges to be presented to students. The learning objective of this version of the game is to effectively use the six different mental procedures in order to come up with the best possible response to challenge questions within the allotted time. When the generic version of the game covering a wide range of topics is played, the game is not preceded by a lecture. Because no context is provided to students before gameplay, the challenge questions are easier than in the subjectspecific version of the game. The primary learning objective in this version of the game is to simply internalize the mental procedures for skillful thinking. In doing so, students will develop the confidence they need to tackle other challenges requiring these type of thinking sklls, whether that be at school, at work or in their personal lives. Skillful Thinking provides the highest learning value when played in 6 groups of 2 to 3 students. When played in teams, students collaborate on responses to challenge questions and learn from one another as they present, assess, provide feedback and debate the various responses by the teams.The game can also be played individually with 2 to 6 players. To encourage interaction among students, the game is played in a circle formation in a classroom setting and facilitated by an instructor.
Ob bject of o the Game e The first te eam (or playe er) to succes ssfully comp plete a challe enge in all siix categoriess of skillful th hinking winss the game.
Game e Mate erials Board • 6 decks of challenge e cards (one e for each ca ategory of sk killful thinking g) • 6 pads o of worksheetts (one for ea ach category y of skillful thinking) • 6 player tokens (Cog g pie shell and 6 slices) • 6 “Thum mbs Up” votin ng cards • 6 “Thum mbs Down” vo oting cards • Dice (6-ssided die) • Timer • Pencils • Compute er with Intern net connection
The e Boarrd The game board conta ains a series s of connecte ed cogs that enable playyers to move e across the six categoriies of skillful thinking ch hallenges, re epresented by b the differe ent colours. The T numberr these cogss indicates th he skill level of the challe enge. The cogs ccontaining th he question marks m are th he Help Line e cogs.
Challe C nge Cards There are ssix decks off challenge cards c – one for f each of the six categ gories of skillful thinking challenges. They are represente ed by the colours: 1) gree en = compare and contrrast; 2) yello ow = problem m solving; 3) red = decision making; 4) blue = causal explanattion; 5) orange = parts-w whole relationship; and 6 6) purple = p predict conse equences. Each deckk of cards contains challe enges at thre ee skill levels: 1 = easy; 2 = average e; and 3 = difficult. Leve el 1 challenge es enables pla ayers to crea ate a respon nse to the ch hallenge usin ng their exissting knowled dge and exp periences. Le evel 2 challe enges require stu udents to res search new information in order to co omplete the challenge. L Level 3 challenges are m more comple ex, requiring p players to bo oth research new informa ation and ev valuate which h they will usse to respon nd to the cha allenge.
Worrkshee ets There are ssix pads of challenge c wo orksheets – one for each of the six ccategories o of skillful thin nking challen nges. The worksheetss facilitate th he completio on of each sk killful thinking challenge by guiding sstudents’ thrrough an effficient and efffective thinking process. In tim me and with practice, stu udents shoulld be able to o internalize the thinking process and develop "m mental habits" so that they no longer need d the aid of the t worksheets. The worksheets are ad dapted from Thinking-Ba ased Learnin ng: promotin ng Student A Achievementt in the 21st C Century, by Robert J. Swartz, Arthur L. Co osta, Barry K. K Beyer and d Rebecca Reagan. R Coll ectively, the e authors havve more tha an 125 years of experience e teaching sk killful thinking. They argu ue that "usin ng specific s trategies, su uch as trying g to answer sspecific focu us questions a associations s assocated with a type of thinking like comparin ng and contrrasting or de ecision making, is essential to make the p practice of th hat type of th hinking skillfu ul" (p. 15).
Prediict the e Cons sequen nces C Challen nge Players are e guided thro ough the me ental process of predictin ng the conse equences off a decision. For examplle, predict th he uences of pllagiarism (le consequen nces of not finishing high h school (lev vel 1 challenge). Predict the consequ evel 2 challen nge). Predict the e consequen nces of raisin ng the retirem ment age fro om 65 to 67 (level 3 challenge). Playyers respond d to the challenge by answeriing the follow wing questio ons in the wo orksheet: 1) What conse equences miight result fro om the optio on? 2) Does each consequen nce count for or against the decision n? 3) Does each e conseq uence rank as importan nt? 4) Is therre evidence that t counts for or against th he likelihood d of specific consequenc c ces? 5) Base ed on the evvidence, are the consequ uences likely y, 6 Is the dec cision advisa able in light of o the significcance and liikelihood of the consequ uences? unlikely or uncertain? 6)
Predict Conssequences Worrksheet.pdf
Com mpare e and Contra C ast Cha alleng ge Players are e guided thro ough the me ental process of comparing and conttrasting a to opic. For exa ample, comp pare and con ntrast inner beau uty to outer beauty b (level 1 challenge e). Reality TV V to scripted d TV (level 2 challenge).. School bulllies to dictators (level 3 cha allenge). Pla ayers respon nd to the cha allenge by answering the e following q questions in the workshe eet: 1) How are a the topics alike e? 2) How are the topics s different wiith regards to o specific asspects? 3) W What is your conclusion? ?
Compare Conntrast Worksheeet.pdf
Analy yze the e Parts-Who ole Re elation nship C Challen nge Players are e guided thro ough the me ental process of analyzin ng the parts of a topic to o its whole. F For example, analyze the e parts of Faceboo ok to its who ole (level 1 challenge). Analyze A the parts p of a co omputer systtem to its wh hole (level 2 challenge). Analyze the parts of Canada's lega al system to its whole (le evel 3 challe enge). Playe ers respond tto the challe enge by answ wering the followin ng questions s in the work ksheet: 1) What W are the parts of the object? 2) W What would h happen to th he object if a part were missiing? 3) What is the functtion of the part.
Parts Whole Analysis Work ksheet.pdf
Ex xplain n the Causes C s Challlenge Players are e guided thro ough the me ental process of explaining the causse(s) of a top pic. For exam mple, explain n the cause((s) of YouTube'ss popularity (level ( 1 challlenge). Explain the caus se(s) of obessity (level 2 cchallenge). E Explain the ccause(s) of the t Great Depression (leve el 3 challeng ge). Players respond to the t challeng ge by answe ering the follo owing questiions in the worksheet: 1) What are e the possib ble causes? 2) What are some cluess or evidence e that you m might find for the causes? ? 3) When you gather clues s or evidenc ce, what do you y find? 4) Which is the e most proba able cause a and why?
Causal Exp planation Worksheet.pdf
Solve a Problem C Challe enge Players are e guided thro ough the me ental process of solving a problem. F For example e, eliminate ccyber-bullyin ng (level 1 challenge). Reduce po ollution (level 2 challenge e). Increase student inte erest in scien nce (level 3 challenge). Players resp pond to the challen nge by answ wering the following ques stions in the worksheet: 1) What are e possible so olutions for ssolving the problem? 2 2) What solu ution should I consider? 3) What will be the likelyy consequen nces of choo osing this so olution? 4) Is s the consequen nce a pro or con? 5) How w important is each cons sequence? 6 6) How can the solution be changed d or made be etter?
Problem Solvving Worksheeet.pdf
Make a Decision C Challe enge Players are e guided thro ough the me ental process of making a decision. For example e, how should I pay for m my college we legalize education? ? (level 1 cha allenge). Is it more econ nomical to bu uy or rent a h house? (leve el 2 challeng ge). Should w euthanasia a? (level 3 ch hallenge). Players respo ond to the ch hallenge by a answering th he following questions in n the worksh heet: 1) What is the e decision to o be made? 2) What makes the deciision necesssary? 3) Wha at are my op ptions? 4) W Which option should I consider? ? 6) What will happen if I take each option? o 7) Why W do I thin nk this will ha appen? 8) How importan nt is each consequen nce?
Make Decision Worksheet..pdf
Votin ng Carrds The “thumb bs up” and “thumbs “ dow wn” cards are e used to vote on the efffectiveness o of the challe enge responses.
Sw witch Player P rs Card d Each deckk of challenge e cards conttains three wild w cards that prompts tteams to switch the mem mbers of the eir teams. Th he cards indiccate how the e players are e to be switch hed. For exa ample, one ccard reads “Player 1 in e each team m moves clockw wise to the next team”.
Playe er Toke ens Each team m is given a different d colo oured playing g token to trrack their mo ovement and d progress in n the game. Each time a team successfully completes s a challenge, they place e a slice of the t same co olour as the cchallenge in their token.
Time Requiired The durattion of the ga ame varies depending d on o the challe enge levels t hat are draw wn and the a amount of intteraction bettween ued so that players. T The game, however, h can n be stopped d and contin it can be pla ayed across multiple classroom sess sions.
The Rules
Each team chooses a coloured token and rolls the die to establish which team plays first. (The highest number plays first, the second highest number plays second, etc.) The first team rolls the die and moves their token the same number of cogs along the game board, as indicated on the die. A token can only be moved along cogs that are connected. When landing on a challenge cog, a member of the first team distributes a challenge worksheet that corresponds to the skillful thinking category indicated on the cog to all teams. As the worksheets are being distributed, another team member from the first team draws a challenge card and then reads aloud the challenge that corresponds to the skill level indicated on the cog. The instructor sets the time for the challenge. All teams are given 10 minutes to prepare responses to a Level 1 (easy) challenge; 20 minutes for a Level 2 (average) challenge, and 30 minutes for a Level 3 (difficult) challenge. The timer is turned on and each team prepares a response to the challenge using the provided worksheet. Teams may use the internet to search for information for Level 2 and Level 3 challenges. In addition, teams may ask their instructor one question for a Level 3 challenge. After the time is up, the first team is given five minutes to present their response to the class. When done, the other teams take a vote to determine whether they think the team’s response was effective or not by raising their “Thumbs Up” or “Thumbs Down” card. If all teams vote “Thumbs Up”, the first team earns a point in that Skillful Thinking category. They keep track of their winnings by placing the challenge’s corresponding pie slice in their token. If, on the other hand, one or more teams raise a “Thumbs Down” card, each team takes turn to explain their reasons (2 minutes), and then present their own team’s response to the challenge (5 minutes). When each team has finished presenting their counter‐responses, the remaining teams take 2 minutes to choose which team created the best response and explain the reason for their selection. If all teams have prepared a counter‐response, then the instructor selects the best response. The team with the best response wins the round and earns a token piece. The next team rolls the die and the game follows the same process as explained above. When a team lands on a Help Line cog (represented by a question mark), the team can ask their instructor one question about the challenge. The team has the choice to use the Help Line during their current round of game play, or save the lifeline for a future round. (If they choose to use the lifeline, they hand it in after use it.) If the team draws a “Switch Team Members” card from the challenge deck, each team must switch one of its members, as indicated on the card.
The teams continue rolling the die and drawing from the challenge decks until the first team successfully creates a response in each of the six categories of skillful thinking. If the game cannot be completed in one classroom session, the instructor takes a picture of the board containing each team's location in the game and player tokens indicating the number of challenges that each team has won. The status of the game is then re‐created in the next class.
Design Process Gordana and Rosana began brainstorming ideas for a board game the first night of class and initially came up with the concept of Creative Connections. – a game that challenges players to explain the connection between two people, places or things in six degrees of separation or less. After doing further research, we discovered the book Thinking-Based Learning: Promoting Quality Student Achievement in the 21st Century, by Swartz, Costa, Beyer, Reagan and Kallick. The authors argue that the majority of people do not think “skillfully”. Rather, they skip important mental steps or fail to check the accuracy of claims and facts when coming to a conclusion. The authors then provide concrete suggestions for teaching students how to use the “proficient and strategic application of appropriate thinking skills and productive habits of mind … to develop thoughtful products, such as decisions, arguments, and other analytical, creative, or critical products”. (p. 1) Moreover, the authors stress the importance of developing habits of mind that are grounded in "values and a commitment to act consistently on those values" (p. 19). They cite the following habits of mind as contributing to skillful thinking: - Persisting at a task that requires thinking - Managing impulsivity in thinking and acting - Thinking flexibly - Striving for accuracy and precision - Thinking interdependently - Listening with understanding and empathy - Communicating with clarity and precision - Responding with wonderment and awe - Creating, imagining, and innovating - Taking responsible risks in thinking - Finding humour - Questioning and problem posing - Applying pas knowledge to novel situations - Gathering data through all the senses - Remaining open to continuous learning We decided to turn the concepts presented in the book into a game because we find the thinking strategy maps and worksheets included in the book are extremely effective for helping students to develop higher order thinking skills. What’s more, the tools can also be used to write an effective school paper – another area that many students struggle with. We hope that by playing the Skillful Thinking board game over time, students will internalize the systematic mental procedures proposed by the authors and utilize these higher order thinking skills in to their academic, professional and personal lives.
References Books & Journals Gee, J.P. (2007) What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning and Literacy New York, NY: Palgrave McMillan Swartz, R. J., Costa, A. L., Beyer, B.K., Reagan, R., Kallick, B. (2010) Thinking Based Learning: Promoting Quality Student Achievement in 21st Century. New York, NY: Teachers College Press
Electronic Ministere de l’Education et Loisir du Quebec Acknowledgement: Bernie Dodge, San Diego State University