The author describes an assignment in an undergraduate game theory course in which students work together in class to develop a computer algorithm to identify Nash equilibria. This assignment builds basic computer science skills while applying game theory knowledge to real-world situations. Students work as a team to delineate the steps and write…

Online teaching allows students to discuss their work and learn from varied media, gain nonhomogenous perspectives through global collaboration, and tackle challenging, relevant, real-world problems. In this article, the author describes ways that real-world applications encourage student exploration, how nonhomogenous perspectives challenge the…

Darwin's theory of evolution is explicitly competitive, yet co-operation between individuals is a common phenomenon. The Prisoner's Dilemma model is central to the teaching of the evolution of co-operation. The best-known explorations of the Prisoner's Dilemma are the tournaments run by Robert Axelrod in the 1980s. Aimed at students of biological…

What constitutes appropriate practice in physical education? NASPE suggests the outcome of a physical education program should be that adolescents have gained the skills and knowledge to be physically active for a lifetime. Furthermore, a physically educated person consistently demonstrates responsible personal and social behavior in physical…

When games are approached as a pedagogical methodology, the homologies between games and technical communication are highlighted: pedagogy that teaches people to play and succeed within certain confines; classroom assessment that provides meaningful feedback to encourage self-improvement; instructional design that incorporates gaming theory and…

The aim of this study is twofold. The first is to investigate the ability of secondary school students to understand the different distribution schemes and thus, indirectly, to contribute to the educational discussion and approach to be used for distribution problems so as to lessen reliance on the ubiquitous cross-multiplication rule in…

Almost every adult in Australia has played Noughts and Crosses at some time in their life--it is that sort of game, a universal classic. Very few Australian adults play Noughts and Crosses, adult against adult, unless they are bored, witless and cannot think of anything better to do. Adults stop playing this game. Many will say it is boring, while…

The authors critically analyze how the concept of the drama triangle--part of the game theory associated with transactional analysis--can be used by post secondary instructors teaching online to build a sense of community and decrease students' dependence on instructors in discussion forums. The article begins with an overview of sense of…

Undergraduate students are often interested in applications of economic principles. Although popular television shows and movies are not real-world examples, drawing from these sources can motivate disinterested students and provide a pedagogical tool that enhances instruction. In this article, the authors discuss several basic introductory…

Sex education is almost as sensitive a topic in public schooling as is the imposition of high-stakes testing. Both typically claim to be value-free contributions to the development of the student's cognitive, psychological and sometimes even moral maturity. Ironically each seems to short-change students in all three areas of development. The focus…

This article discusses the challenges encountered by a middle school practitioner over a five-year period when implementing the tactical games approach within the sport education model. Included are genuine quotes (extracted from video tapes and written records) from the students, the principal at the practitioner's school, a guidance counselor,…

Virtually all conscientious teachers in the field of physical education aim to enhance the quality of their classes by introducing both content and approach innovations into their gymnasiums and classrooms, because the "same old stuff" just won't help achieve the goal of creating and maintaining an interest in the topic. Thus, one way to…

The game of rugby is a fast and fluid invasion game, similar to football, that involves scoring with an oval ball into an end zone. The game presents, like other invasion games, a series of highly complex tactical problems so that the ball can be maneuvered into a scoring position. Pugh and Alford (2004) recently indicated that rugby is now…

This study examined the teaching of games via a tactical approach (also known as teaching games for understanding) from the theoretical perspective of social constructivism. A pilot study (of student teachers (STs) and pupils) informed the "main" study which included collecting data on 49 STs, 58 cooperating teachers (CTs) and 1177 pupils. ST data…

Prisoner's Dilemma is a common game theory scenario in which two players must choose between acting cooperatively or out of pure self-interest. What a player decides affects not only his own outcome but also that of the other player. "Friend or Foe," a TV game show that has appeared on the cable Game Show Network (GSN), places pairs of contestants…