Training Games: Everything You Need to Know About Using Games to Reinforce Learning

222 Pages·2001·1.57 MB·English

by  Susan El-Shamy

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TRAINING GAMES
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TRAINING GAMES
Everything You Need to Know about
Using Games to Reinforce Learning
Susan El-Shamy
STERLING, VIRGINIA
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Published in 2001 by
Stylus Publishing, LLC
22883 Quicksilver Drive
Sterling, Virginia 20166
Copyright © 2001 by Stylus Publishing, LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced in
any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying, recording and information
storage and retrieval, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
El-Shamy, Susan.
Training games : everything you need to know about using games to
reinforce learning/Susan El-Shamy.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-57922-040-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Employees—Training of. 2. Training. 3. Management games.
4. Learning strategies. I. Title.
HF5549.5.T7 E425 2001
658.3'124—dc21 2001020468
First edition, 2001
ISBN: paperback 1-57922-040-1
Printed in Canada
All first editions printed on acid free paper
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In memory of my father, Ben Syphers,
and his love of Ping Pong, his skill at Euchre,
and his patience with Candyland.
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ix
PART ONE: WHAT’S IN A GAME?
1. LET’S PLAY A GAME 3
History and Definitions of Games
2. IT’S NOT WHETHER YOU WIN OR LOSE 21
Learning Theory and Training Games
3. BIG GAME HUNTING 43
Types of Training Games
4. IT’S HOW YOU PLAY THE GAME 71
Electronic Training Games
PART TWO: THE PLAY’S THE THING
5. THE GAME KEEPER 93
Choosing and Using Training Games
6. LET THE GAMES BEGIN 125
Examples and Illustrations
Game 1: Word Search for Effective Feedback 129
Game 2: The Top Ten 136
Game 3: Future Flash 142
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CONTENTS
Game 4: E-mail Brainstorming 149
Game 5: Diversity Bingo 156
7. IT’S YOUR TURN 163
Getting Started with Training Games
8. GAMES GALORE 181
Resources, List of Games, Web Sites
INDEX 205
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INTRODUCTION
Are you a player of games? I am. I’ve loved playing games as long as
I can remember. Card games, board games, computer games—I’ve
spent endless hours of my life enjoying them all. I noticed early on in
life that I could tell a great deal about people by playing games with
them. From siblings, to friends, to colleagues, to clients—there was a
lot to be learned from playing games.
When I was a graduate student studying educational psychology
and counseling and guidance, I discovered experiential learning games
and they became a part of my game-playing repertoire. As a counselor,
therapist, and educator, I used experiential games to help groups of
people raise their awareness of issues and broaden their perspectives of
the possibilities. I realized that careful reflection and skillful facilitation
of game-playing behaviors was a powerful learning tool. I also used
experiential games and activities to help individuals get in touch with
their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. I saw the power of games to act
as metaphors, to mirror attitudes and behaviors used in the outside
world into the world of the game at hand.
Then, I changed careers from the academic world of teaching and
counseling to the business world of training and development. And one
of the first and most exciting discoveries I made in the business world
was a whole new realm of games and simulations. I learned to use
games to help departments find better and quicker processes, to assist
groups in finding ways to work together more effectively, and to help
individuals prepare for international work assignments. But I also con-
tinued to use games to help individuals reflect on their own thoughts,
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