“I’ll take secretions for $1000, Alex:”
The creation and use of games in teaching
CAS Teaching Wine and Cheese
 Why games in the classroom?
o Pedagogy of games
 The differences between work and play

Dr. Martha Rosenthal
Professor of physiology/ neuroscience
239-590-7220
martha@fgcu.edu
Benefits of using games in the classroom
 Creativity
 Short attention span theater
 Immediate rewards
 Non-threatening competition
 Review of material
 Active learning
 Enjoy the process
o Examples of games
 Games as a means of student assessment
o Benefits of using games as assignment
 Can’t be plagiarized, no stage fright
 Students need to think carefully about material
 Students especially willing to let creative juices flow
 Increased motivation and interest towards subject
 Group skills
 Fun to grade
o How to assign/ assess/ grade
 Be very clear in what you want

Game assignment from my syllabus:
 If you choose this assignment, you will develop, design, and create a game for
one of the class topics. It may be a card game, board game, or have another
design. It must cover the range of information covered in class regarding the
topic. You will turn in:
 A description of the game, which includes the rules of play.
 A copy of the game (including all questions, game board and pieces,
cards, etc.).
 A separate list of all game questions with the answers.
 Each individual in the group will turn in a sentence or two describing
what part you and the others played in the production of the game.
 You need to turn this in to MY OFFICE before 4:30 p.m. on the day it’s
due.

This is worth a total of 50 points. Your grade will be based on:
 The accuracy of your questions. (20/50 pts)
 The scope of your questions—including the number of questions asked,
the breadth of the material covered, and consideration of the difficulty
of the questions. (10/50)
 Organization, presentation, and clarity of directions. (10/50)
 Originality, creativity, neatness of game materials. (8/10)
 Individual evaluation sheet (evaluates group members). (2/10)
o Examples of student games
 Game creation
o How to design games of your own
 Choose the material you want to cover
 Consider the scope of the material to cover
 Consider the difficulty with which you want to present it

Think of learning outcomes – consider the type of learning you are trying to
facilitate.
 Are you trying to have people understand theories and concepts? Facts?
Both? How would you make up a game that only tests facts? How is that
different from a game which tests theories? How can you incorporate both
into one game?

Choose the game format
 Think of games you’ve played and model it after that. Add your own
changes and revisions.
 Consider the size of your class and the materials you will need to make

Where to get materials
 Game boards
o Boards from Goodwill/ garage sales
o Poster presentations
o Posterboard
o Laminate
 Cards
o Print out and cut on cardstock
o Print out stickers and stick to ½ size index cards
 Make-a-game kits
 On site grants for course material