UPDATES By Esther Retek
Roll the Dice Board games as a summertime learning strategy Though summer is a time to take a well-deserved break from school and formal learning, there are many fun ways to boost and maintain our kids’ academic skills during this leisure season. One unconventional tool, a new study published in Early Years shows, is a fun game night. While past research has pointed to games as a way to enhance reading development and literacy, a new comprehensive review finds that number games like Monopoly, Othello, and Chutes and Ladders may help children with math. “Board games enhance mathematical abilities for young children,” says lead author Dr. Jaime Balladares. “Using board games can be considered a strategy with potential effects on basic and complex math skills. Board games can easily be adapted to include learning objectives related to mathematical skills or other domains.” These number-based games help improve counting, addition, and the ability to recognize if a number is higher or lower than another for young children, according to the study. Children benefit when they play board games a few times a week, especially when supervised by an adult, the study authors pointed out. The researchers reviewed 19 studies published from 2000 onward involving children aged 3 to 9. Most of the studies focused on the relationship between board games and mathematical skills. The children each received special board game sessions about twice a week for 20 minutes over about six weeks. Some of the studies grouped children into either the
16
WELLSPRING / AUGUST 2023
number board game or to a board game that did not focus on numeracy skills, while in other studies all the children participated in number board games but were assigned different games. All children were assessed on their skills before and after the interventions, with the authors rating success in four categories, including the ability to name numbers, basic number comprehension (such as that nine is greater than three), the ability to add and subtract, and interest in mathematics. The results showed that children had significantly improved math skills for more than 52 percent of tasks analyzed. In 32 percent of cases, children in the intervention groups gained better results than those who did not take part in the board game intervention. “Future studies should be designed to explore the effects that these games could have on other cognitive and developmental skills,” Balladares says. “An interesting space for the development of intervention and assessment of board games should open up in the next few years, given the complexity of games and the need to design more and better games for educational purposes. While board games may not scream “summer fun,” they’re a great pick for rainy days, long Shabbos afternoons, or easing back into school mode during transition days. By subtly blending play and learning, this mode of entertainment can help make the transition from vacation to school easier and more enjoyable. (Source: US News)
