4. Games for Understanding: game play and understanding

How can tabletop games be used to teach understanding in the primary classroom?

4: The interplay between game layers and the construction of understanding

Introduction

In the previous articles we first explored how the intangible idea of understanding can be conceptualised, then we examined the different layers that there are in educational games. In this article we begin to bring these two elements and argue that using the mechanics of the game can be used as an external model for understanding which can make it easier for learners to then internalise in their own working understanding.

The tools for supporting understanding

As understanding is constructed through the relationships that are formed between information, teaching approaches and materials that help learners identify relevant information1 and connections can be supportive. This can be achieved using a variety of media such as the conceptual models2, concept maps3, and graphic organisers4 which highlight key information. In helping to focus children’s attention and organise information they also emphasise the key connections that can be made as well as the type of relationship between these connections.  They can also be used to draw out children’s pre-existing understanding and activate past knowledge which is an important skill in tackling misconceptions, whilst highlighting relevant information5.

Constructing understanding in game

Games are designed to support players’ understanding of the game structure. Through the rules, the key information is highlighted by describing the mechanics of the game. In playing a game, a player must understand how these game mechanics interact with each other and the relationship they have to one another. This can be established in reading the rules but it is developed during game play when players complete an action (I can do this…) which in turn will have consequences defined by further mechanics (I can do this, therefore this happens). Depending on the complexity of the game, this may allow for the performance of other actions (I can do this action therefore this happens which allows me to do this action).The relationship between these three mechanics is therefore connected through sequential or causal reasoning. In effect, by highlighting the key information (the game mechanics) and fostering the key connections between them (through gameplay), the game is supporting the construction of understanding; however, this is only an understanding of the game itself not necessarily of the target educational understanding

Supporting understanding IRL through the game.

The mechanics, although existing within the framework of the game, do present the opportunity to model the key connections that would support the construction of understanding by acting as an external model. External representations, like conceptual models or maps, are supportive in the construction of understanding as they share similar structures to the object of understanding. Halford6 describes a structure as the component parts and connections within a concept and therefore an external model of the concept or phenomenon that had a similar structure would share similar information, but more importantly, have similar connections. It is this structural similarity that can help learners then internalise such connections7, and, although the two representations do not have to be exact8  for the concrete materials to be an effective aide9, they do need to have structural similarity and be used consistently10.

The game mechanics are a structure as they are made up of components and the connections between them; however for a game to be an effective support for an educational objective, the structure of the mechanics would need to be similar to the structure of the concept or phenomenon that is the target of the educational objective.  This is often not the case in classroom games in which the ‘game’ is used as a  motivational tool for practising knowledge; however, it is this relational link between the game elements and the object of understanding which can make games an effective tool for conceptual11 and effective learning12. If the mechanics of the game are aligned with the structure of the concept in the educational objective then players that interact with, and form an understanding of, them also interact with the connections in the educational objective. The game then becomes an external working model of the object of understanding because it is modelling the component parts (the pieces of information) and the relationships (connections) of the chosen target concept. Table 1 provides some examples of game mechanics and the learning objectives that have this alignment, along with some games that use these mechanics.

In this way table-top games present the opportunity for teachers to support understanding as they highlight key information, identify connections to be made, and support the reasoning between these connections. In essence they become a working model of the object of understanding in which the children can interact. However, we still have to face the issue that ‘understanding’ is an internal construction within the learner, so how can teachers ‘see’ this understanding? In the next article we explore this and argue that games are a perfect opportunity to make understanding ‘seen’.

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Footnotes :

  1. Gardner, 1999
  2. Mayer, 1989
  3. Entwistle, 2009
  4. Newton, 2012
  5. Newton, 1995; Hounsell, 1984
  6. Halford, 1993
  7. Mayer, 1989
  8. Halford, 1993
  9. Hiebert and Carpenter, 1992
  10. Johnson-Laird, 1985
  11. Siegler and Ramani, 2009
  12. Plass et al, 2015; Ke, 2015

Click here for full bibliography.