Discusses training for student assistants in academic libraries, reviews the literature on role playing, and describes "The Reference Game," a role-playing exercise used to train reference student assistants at Baylor University (Texas). Description notes participant roles, preparation, rules of the game, typical questions, and…

Explores ring games--where participants form a circle, sing, dance, and take turns entering the circle--and how they can be used in the second-language classroom. The playful integration of vocalization and rhythmic body movement can have a powerful influence on speech fluency. (Author/VWL)

Contends that active learning allows students to become involved in learning by exploring issues and ideas under the guidance of the instructor. Describes the Market Game as an example of active learning that is an interactive game that simulates the behavior of a competitive market. Explores the students' reactions to the game. (CMK)

Presents a game called Push-Penny, played by pushing a coin and having it land on a line, used to teach students to develop intuitive feelings for the consequences of randomness, including data handling and the construction and use of tables and graphs. (ASK)

Presents ideas which offer a change from the normal school library media center orientation. Suggestions include: name tags, relay races for information, Dewey Decimal Hopscotch, written descriptions of the library media center, introduction of sections of the library media center with answers for students to supply questions to, short quizzes,…

Provides a brief overview of the history, research, and theory related to play. Research from education, psychology, and anthropology suggests that play is a powerful mediator for lifelong learning, and the design of hybrid learning environments is suggested based on the constructivist concept of microworlds and supported with games and…

Presents a crossword puzzle focusing on U.S. history which tests the knowledge of Canadian students about their "neighbor to the south." Includes items mentioned in an eighth-grade U.S. student textbook "America's Past and Promise". Provides a word list, blank crossword, and answers. (CMK)

Offers a crossword puzzle that focuses on terms learned in this edition of "Update on Law-Related Education." Explains that the letters in the boxes spell the answer to this question: what do juvenile courts try to offer juveniles? Provides the clues and answers to the puzzle. (CMK)

Discusses teaching grade 1-8 students programming and complex problem-solving skills using MicroWorlds, a variation of LOGO. Discusses game programming and provides a MicroWorlds "Cat and Mouse" game-planning sheet. Argues that programming instruction fosters creativity, innovation, and patience. (PEN)

Games are one of the easiest ways to capitalize on students' learning strengths. Offers an example of how to develop games for the library. Presents ideas for teaching students the parts of a book through: cards; a board game; a dice game; a simulation game; an action game; a question-and-answer game; and a bingo game. (AEF)

Describes the "sexual orientation guessing game," an exercise, using the teacher-as-text strategy, in which the teacher hides his/her sexual orientation throughout the semester and the last week the students are asked to guess the teacher's sexual orientation. Discusses the outcomes of the activity and the students' reactions. (CMK)

Presents seven mathematics games, located on the World Wide Web, for elementary students, including: Absurd Math: Pre-Algebra from Another Dimension; The Little Animals Activity Centre; MathDork Game Room (classic video games focusing on algebra); Lemonade Stand (students practice math and business skills); Math Cats (teaches the artistic beauty…

This article describes digital game-based learning (DGBL), the uniting of educational content with computer or online games, that holds the potential for a wealth of educational applications, if managed properly. DGBL motivates by virtue of being fun. It is versatile, can be used to teach almost any subject or skill, and, when used correctly, is…

This article describes three engaging introductions for topics on a Cartesian graph and the distributive property. (Contains 3 figures.)

The curriculum is packed with so much content that teachers resort to telling students what they know and students simply commit facts to memory. The packed curriculum leaves little time for students to acquire a deep understanding of the subject or to develop life-long skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and communication. However,…