EDIS 7010: Courseware Tools, Fall 2017

Final Project Proposal

Dan Redmond
November 6, 2017

Project: Design an online communication tool for chess players to learn, collaborate and
compete with classmates. These 200+ at-risk students have developed a passion for chess
in library, but do not communicate to other players who practice at different times of the
day.

Goals for this project:

1. Provide an online platform for students at Wakefield High School to learn, collaborate
and compete in chess at school and in outside tournaments. Because our chess players
come to the library at different times per day, (before school, lunches and after school),
the community of players needs an online presence to bring them together as a unified
group.

2. Showcase the progress of our chess students to parents and other libraries in the county.

One of my two technology goals for this class (7010) was to learn Canvas, the new
online class platform for Arlington County Public Schools. While the students have
easily adapted from Google Classroom to Canvas, teaching staff have not yet been
offered training on the platform. I may find that another tool is more appropriate for
goal #2 above, which will require public access to view the site.

Introduction:

A slide show about this proposal can be viewed at:

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/2dFpyUXWW7U9CYtHvCys9km51k3E4CylfM22o
V1XR7

Dr. Wilmore, Wakefield Principal, plays chess with students during lunch
Background

In Fall of 2017, I transferred my position as library assistant to a high school in

Arlington County, VA. Of the 2200 students attending this school, 80% are minority and
46% participate in the free and reduced price lunch program. The school is a vibrant
community of learners with a wide range of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.
Teachers and administrators are committed to providing a wide-range of educational, social
and cultural opportunities to our students.

Chess in the library

The students noticed the boards in the library during the first week of school. When
one group of students showed interest in learning to play, I stopped by work and gave an
impromptu lesson. They came back for more the next day, and then the next. I taught them
basic theory of chess, stories about the first African American chess grandmaster, (Note 1.),
and offered them freedom to play among themselves. Rather than make unwise choices,
this group made the purposeful choice to stay in library after school to learn chess. A
different group of chess players had been requesting a chess club sponsor, and were glad to
have the opportunity to play every day rather than be confined to a specific time and date
for club meetings.

The first group of students fell in love with the game, and began bringing their
friends into the library to learn as the weeks progressed. Between my short lessons and
collaborative learning between students at lunches and after school, we have approximately
eighty active players throughout each school day, with an additional thirty onlookers
waiting for boards to open up. I estimate that 200 different students play chess in the
library over a school week. Because I am in library all day, I see each separate group as they
come to play. The students, however, do not know players outside of their playing time.
The overall playing group is now large, but disjointed. An online communication portal will
give voice to the students themselves, as well as give them a showcase to display their skills
to the school community.

Based on the observation of my colleagues, many of these students had not been
patrons of the library in prior school years. Last week I began teaching a more-formal
introductory class in learning chess; the intended audience is girls who have shown to be
intimidated by the boisterous play of male classmates.

We now have eleven chessboards set up in the library for play before school, at
lunches and after school each day. Observing the high demand of boards, I could easily
double this number of boards and not meet current student demand for playing time.
Because I oversee the library space, the boards can remain on the tables throughout the day
with minimal oversight by me.

Importance of/interest in project

Using chess as a learning tool in library can meet goals of a 21st century librarian.
Educational researchers in the past decade have advocated using the library as a hybrid
learning space for STEM education (Subramanian, et. al. 2012). The authors write that
STEM careers are highly skewed by race, gender and income, favoring wealthier
communities in comparison to less privileged populations (Subramanian, et. al. 2012,
p.164.)

My current position as library assistant allows me to oversee the library while operating
this chess program. While I would like to have a library of my own in the future, I have
found this specific position allows me to bring together a broad spectrum of students who
might not otherwise visit the library. If I reframe this question, it might be to showcase how
a 21st century library can flexibly meet the multiple demands of a diverse student
population. This example might give other librarians the freedom to duplicate our program,
or begin one that meets similar needs in their own school.

Overview of learning objectives/project goals

Teaching and Learning

While learning chess can help build transferrable skills in math, history, science and
music (Pagnotti & Russell, 2012), (Berkman, 2004), I have been emphasizing social and
executive function skills to our students when we play. We talk about planning ahead and
confidence building. In the past few weeks, I have seen these students teach new friends
their newfound excitement for the game.

Social and executive function skills

Chess players use unwritten social cues during play. Although there are more rigid
rules in tournaments, playing chess casually with friends allows a student to practice social
cues used in varying social situations. Educational theorists describe the power of play in
the learning process (Piaget, 1975), (Shelton, et. al., 2011).

Students on the autism spectrum may need specific instruction on social and
executive function skills (Baron-Cohen, 1997). They may be behind their peers in learning
social cues (Mazza, et. al. 2017). While playing games may help students learn, playing
games deemed below their age level (the social level of their peers) may be embarrassing
outside of the special education classroom.

In personal observation, students on the autism spectrum learn the structural rules
of chess easily, but may struggle with unwritten social cues the game requires. I have had
the privilege of teaching chess to students on the autism spectrum. A special education
teacher has brought her students to library for several months to learn chess. These
students were initially skeptical in their skills and resistant to learning the game. Once they
recognized structure of the game matched their aptitude, their personal confidence in the
game and classroom has soared. These students now eagerly await their next lesson, and I
look forward to their library visits.

A surprise outcome of these lessons is that these students are now teaching neuro-
typical classmates how to play chess during lunchtime. I see accomplishment on the faces of
students with ASD as they share their newfound knowledge in a socially appropriate
manner with classmates who may have avoided them previously. Chess allows these
students to share their aptitude for statistical inference while simultaneously learning social
skills from students outside their immediate social circles. While ethnic groups are still
mostly separated during chess play, I am beginning to observe social interactions between
groups that may not have intersected prior to the introduction of chess. This intersection of
cultures will occur when a spot opens up on an unused board, which gets quickly filled by
whomever wants to play next.

Chess and school achievement

Students struggling to perform academically also benefit from learning chess (Hong
& William, 2007). For these students, I teach the board as a reflection of a social perception
of the world, as developed within the 2,000-year history of the game. These students
appreciate the underlying narrative of chess pieces rather than the mechanical movement
of the piece. The pawns, I say, are the working class if they proceed diligently at a specific
pace, and look after one another, they have the potential to promote to advance their status.
The back rank (queen, bishops, knights, rooks) that sits within the castle already have
membership into the royal society, which is why they cant promote to a higher level when
reaching the opposing players back rank Chess slang such as walk the dog, skewer,
swindle, pin, luft, gambits and forks are among valid chess manipulations these students
enjoy learning. I also teach that each piece is looking after one another, just as we [as an
informal social group of chess players] need to look after one another outside of the game.

Whether I teach the mechanical skills of the game, or in narrative form, the result is
the same- students who enjoy playing the game no matter from which direction they
originated. I tell all students that chess is an easy game to learn, but takes a lifetime to
master. This concept helps them overcome the perception that chess is just a brainy game
for rich kids. I have observed students with low academic success to-date have develop
latent skills on the chess board.

I have observed an increase in confidence and positive peer decision making skills
during introduction of chess to the library. Positive peer pressure can aid improved
decision making skills. (Shin, J., Seo, E. Hwang, H. 2016).

Collaborative learning

While the administration and librarians at our school have offered generous latitude
and flexible space in this project, it is the students who have helped evolve the program in a
few short months. Because students have access to the library up to twenty hours per
week, they can bring their friends in to learn and play at whatever time works with both
students busy schedules. (Braun, L. 2012). This latitude in open-play time and space has
enabled the few dozen students I originally taught to share the game with their friends, who
have passed the game on to a larger group of students.

In collaborative learning, peers take on various roles within a group to learn

together. Each individual utilizes their own prior learning to enrich the learning of the
group. As the original groups I taught have expanded, they are now going outside of their
own peer group to start a game, coach and teach one another. Unknown to us at the start,
the trust built within this framework and open play format has allowed this program to
become somewhat self-sufficient over time. As an example, students waiting for an
opponent will clean up neighboring boards for players who had to leave quickly, knowing
the favor will be returned the next time.
 Freeman Hrabowski, President of University of Maryland, Baltimore Campus, notes
that learning chess is a foundation of success in engineering careers where collaborative
learning is a cornerstone of academic success (Lapinski, 2002). An African American
himself, he encourages minority students to get excited about the educational process by
learning chess. Noting that minority students are a small population of engineering
students, the University of Maryland Baltimore Campus has established a scholarship fund
specifically for chess players (Lapinski, 2002).

Chess and electronics

When I began teaching chess in elementary school, I was hesitant to introduce chess
apps and online versions of the games to students (Note 2). However, I learned to do so
when students wanted to play on their own on weekends or when we lacked enough boards
for everyone to play. After showing the apps to high school students, I thought they would
not be back again to play in person in the library. This fear was unfounded. Students still
arrive faithfully each day after playing online or through the Mac Book app. Rather than
replace live chess with electronic versions, they are advancing their chess skills with these
apps and bringing their new skills to practice live with friends.

One long time high school teacher observed our rowdy group of chess players after
school. She commented that she was happy they were simply off their electronics for
awhile. Before her observation, I had not considered that playing chess after school would
also mean these students were not engaging in less productive or harmful activities. I
appreciate her observation, and look forward to additional insights of other educators as
this experiment continues.

Proposed Methods

Detailed outline of proposed project activities with timeline

UDL and TPACK

One reason this program has been successful in a short amount of time is that it follows the
principals of Universal Design for Learning. Students are learning, practicing, collaborating
and sharing in a game they all enjoy. They have multiple means of representation
expression, and engagement. They currently practice PACK with a small component of
technology. Students have integrated pedagogical learning content knowledge. They have
taught one another the skills of chess. We have learned that introducing technology
through online gaming, online tutorials and videos has not detracted from their in-person
collaboration, I am confident that an online resource that brings all different groups
together will fulfill the tenants of TPACK.

Career Advancement
Once I have accumulated all of this information in an online platform for learning and
collaborating, I can share the results with other librarians. My success will come when the
program is duplicated at another school, thereby multiplying the effect of the lessons given
to a relatively small number of students in-person. Just as the students I have taught
directly have then taught their friends, an online learning center can spread our program
farther than can be done alone.

Our county offers days of professional learning throughout the year. I can offer this
educational experience to other schools as a presenter during these sessions.

Conclusion
What began as a few chess boards in library has become a vibrant community of players
willing to learn and teach. These students have overcome challenges of autism, poverty and
being raised by extended family. Learning chess has been empowering; their teachers
report less absences and higher participation in courses. The addition of an online presence
will aid in their communication and show other students/administration what they are
capable of accomplishing.

Resources

Baron-Cohen, S. (1997). Mindblindness: An essay on autism and theory of mind. A Bradford

Book from Learning, Development, and Conceptual Change, Cambridge: MIT Press.

Berkman, R. (2004). The Chess and Mathematics Connection: More Than Just a Game.
Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 9(5), 246-250. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/41181906

Braun, L. (2012). Youth Matters: Space: The New Frontier. American Libraries, 43(9/10), 48-
48. Retrieved October 29, 2017 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23280817

Dossin, L. (2017). Future Ready Librarians. Retrieved October 28, 2017, from
http://futureready.org/program-overview/librarians/
Nicholson, S. (2008). Reframing Gaming. American Libraries, 39(7), 50-51. Retrieved
October 29, 2017 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25650027

Gunes, G. & Tugrul, B. (2017). Is chess just a game, or is it a mirror that reflects the child's
inner world? International Journal of Research in Education and Science (IJRES), 3(2), 438-
451
DOI: 10.21890/ijres.327902

Hong, Saahoon; Bart, William M. (2007). Cognitive Effects of Chess Instruction on Students
at Risk for Academic Failure International Journal of Special Education, v22 n3 p89-96 2007

Lapinski, S. (2002). All the Right Moves. ASEE Prism, 12(2), 26-29. Retrieved October 29,
2017 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/24160572

Mazza, M., Mariano, M., Peretti, S. et al .(2017). The Role of Theory of Mind on Social
Information Processing in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Mediation Analysis.
Journal of Autism Development Disorders 47: 1369. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3069-5

Nicholson, S. (2013). Playing in the Past: A History of Games, Toys, and Puzzles in North
American Libraries. The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy, 83(4), 341-361.
doi:10.1086/671913

Pagnotti, J., & Russell, W. (2012). Exploring Medieval European Society with Chess: An
Engaging Activity for the World History Classroom. The History Teacher, 46(1), 29-43.
Retrieved October 29, 2017 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/43264071

Piaget, J. (1975). The child's conception of the world. Totowa, NJ: Littlefield

Shelton, B. E., Satwicz, T., & Caswell, T. (2011). Historical Perspectives on Games and
Education from the Learning Sciences. International Journal of Game-Based Learning
(IJGBL), 1(3), 83-106. doi:10.4018/ijgbl.2011070106

Shin, J., Seo, E. Hwang, H. (2016). The Effects of Social Supports on Changes in Students'
Perceived Instrumentality of Schoolwork for Future Goal Attainment
Educational Psychology, v36 n5 p1024-1043 2016
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2015.1072135

Subramanian, M., Ahn, J., Fleischmann, K., & Druin, A. (2012). Reimagining the Role of School
Libraries in STEM Education: Creating Hybrid Spaces for Exploration. The Library Quarterly:
Information, Community, Policy, 82(2), 161-182. doi:10.1086/664578

Note 1:
A Grandmaster is the highest achievement level of International Chess. Our students now
follow Maurice Ashley, the first black international chess grandmaster as if he is a sports
star. Mr. Ashley speaks of how learning chess as a child lifted him out of an impoverished
childhood in Jamaica. http://mauriceashley.com/ Mr. Ashleys personal story resonates
with many of the male students in our school.

Note 2:
When teaching chess at the elementary level, the IT and I at our school analyzed various
chess applications before adding it to student iPads. We needed to find an app that would
not introduce malware into the system, as well as prevented online play. I have shown the
default chess app available to high school students on their Mac Books, but many are now
also watching actual famous chess game replays on Youtube.