You can use a game, such as Snakes and Ladders, to check learning in a more fun way than a simple quiz. This is useful when you want to spend some time on socialisation for the group. To progress in the game, students have to answer questions, these could be declarative knowledge (where there is a correct answer), such as what is the minor 7th above Bb?, or a value statement, such as how would you deal with an angry audience member at a cancelled gig?
• Write revision questions relating to learning that has taken place in the module. You will need 17 questions. They don’t all need to be factual, some could be value judgements – for example, What is your opinion of the decline in popularity of X? or Give two reasons why X isn’t a good idea. Add the questions to the question spreadsheet (see below). The questions are required for boxes: 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 13, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 32 & 33. NB If a question is already answered by a player, you can challenge the students to ask a supplementary question or come up with an alternative answer. Or the next player is just lucky and already has heard the answer.
• You may want harder questions for those at the foot of a ladder or near to the end
• Print off the questions and a game sheet for each group. You will also need a counter per player (e.g. a small coin) & a dice (or virtually flip one: freeonlinedice.com)
• Put students into groups of three or four. Ask them to discuss the learning for the module.
• Each group now plays the game – the time required will depend on the difficulty of the questions, but will last approximately 30 minutes.
• Don’t give the students the answers – they will have to decide as a group if the answer is correct or not and ask for clarification if needed.
• Have a plenary to discuss the learning.
ADD ONS
Before playing the game, you could ask each group to write their own questions (or some of them) and then swap with another group. This will help to reinforce learning and give them a revision opportunity.
This can work well with large groups.
Students can play this in breakout rooms with the png of the board screen shared and the questions downloaded from the VLE.
Students can socialise whilst checking learning in a relaxed, collaborative way.
RESOURCES
The game (with instructions for students and tutor): www.musostudy.com/resources/1MM/snakes-ladders.pdf
Question sheet with space to write in the questions: www.musostudy.com/resources/1MM/snakes-ladders-qs.xlsx
Image for use on slides etc.: www.musostudy.com/resources/1MM/snakes-ladders.png
