Using Games to Teach
People agree games are a great way to review a topic, but what about using games to deliver your core educational principles? Absolutely! Here are some tips to accomplish this.
• Define your objective. Make a list of the key teaching points you want to cover.
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Create questions based on your key points.
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Be creative. Questions do not specifically have to cover a topic, they can be used simply as a stepping stone to what you want to teach or review.
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Remember, your key objective is to teach a topic, you are using “fun” to help you achieve your primary objective which is educational.
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Use a game that allows the use of summary points that will allow you to review content after each question.
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Slow down the game. Your objective is different than a TV game show. Theirs is to entertain, yours is to educate. On a TV game show in a 30 minute period they may play 3-4 rounds. In the classroom it may take 45 minutes of longer for one game.
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Read each question prior to answering.
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Your main concern should be more on the content delivery than who wins or looses. The game simply is a different medium to deliver your material.
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Games do not always have to be long. A short game of 4-6 questions, can be a great way to review the key points of a talk or use as a warm up for a presentation.