YPA Games Club
Over the last few months YPA has developed the use of a Games Club within the school. We have always played games with our students as it is a very valuable activity for everyone involved. These activities have developed from simple card games and two player games to more complex games of chess and group role-playing games of Dungeons and Dragons.
Engagement and motivation have long been established as clear outcomes of using games in the classroom The very nature of games provides three main factors for motivation: fantasy, challenge and curiosity. These facets connect with our understanding of child development: − Fantasy relates to the use of imagination and the child’s inherent inclination towards play. Unstructured play, be it with figures, Lego bricks or video games, is seen as a powerful learning tool. Many educationalists explain that play and games create a learning space along five distinct axes:
- freedom to fail
- freedom to experiment
- freedom to fashion identities
- freedom of effort
- freedom of interpretation.
All these possibilities can only continue to help us develop and engage the students at YPA
Once restrictions are eased, we hope to develop the in-school “Games Club” to an after-school activity where we can really let our students excel and grow in a creative way. It’s a great opportunity to continue this activity and will allow us to develop it to its real potential.
