Using Chess for Education
Chess in Education (CIE) focuses on chess as an educational tool. In a CIE framework, educators use chess and CIE methods to engage and equip students with academic and 21st Century skills. CIE can take two distinct forms. It can be implemented either as a curriculum subject with its own school time yet still emphasizing the development of academic and 21st century skills. In its second form, CIE can be used in transversal and interdisciplinary activities integrated into conventional curricular subjects.
Characteristics of Chess in Education
Implementations and pedagogical approaches vary, but they typically involve one or more of the following:
- Connecting chess to an area of the education curriculum, allowing teachers to engage student interest, differentiate for complexity, and encourage critical thinking in and beyond the classroom.
- A focus on developing skills that are transferable from chess to other domains like math, literature, science, and engineering. One example is customized chess training that emphasizes the development of executive functions in children.
- Using chess and chess-related activities to introduce and reinforce social emotional learning and 21st century skills.
Alternative Terminology
“Chess in Schools” or “Scholastic Chess” describe a chess program in a school setting. However, these terms can be confusing because they are often used for programs focused primarily on competition. Some have described this difference in terms of how the school’s relationship to chess is viewed. In some cases, the school program exists to showcase student chess proficiency, providing a setting for a chess instructor to develop talent and to host tournaments. In other cases, chess is viewed as a tool to further its educational goals. The choice has implications.
Educational Chess versus Competitive Chess
Several areas of comparison help to differentiate between chess in education (or educational chess) and competitive chess.
- Goals – Is your goal to identify and produce chess talent – highly skilled chess players ready for tournaments? Or is your goal to access all students using chess to develop academic and 21st century skills?
- Timing – Is the program primarily after school or during the school day?
- Personnel – Who delivers the instruction? An outside chess expert or a classroom teacher with some knowledge of chess and its classroom connections?
- Methodologies – What pedagogy drives the instruction based on the goals?
- Assessments – How do you measure success? Tournament trophies and ratings? Or student skill development and behavior?
The examples above highlight some of the differences but there is certainly space for the inclusion of both within a school’s programming. Understanding these differences can assist leaders in building the type of programming needed by educators in that particular setting. And these approaches may make a significant difference when explaining the benefits of a chess program to stakeholders.
Educational Chess Theory & Pedagogy
Find out about the theory and pedagogy that informs Chess in Education.
