HARVARD DISCUSSES MIND SPORTS IN CURRICULUM

Harvard Law School today hosts an innovative discussion on the role Mind Sports can play in education.

Led by Professor Charles Nesson, the event entitled “Bringing Mindsports into the Classroom and Beyond: A Workshop on Curriculum Design and Civic Education”, brings together competitors, leading game masters, scholars, researchers, students, and others to discuss the potential of ‘strategic games’ and ‘games of skill’, such as chess and poker, on educational practices and venues, including schools and libraries.Also participating, in what is the first event of its kind, are members of the Harvard Law School Library, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, and the MIT Media Lab, as well as representatives of the United States Mindsport Association.

At the heart of the workshop will be a focus on developing a curriculum for use in a variety of school settings, as well as the associated online tools and resources employed to achieve that. These include customizable syllabi, tutorials with masters, innovative teaching as well as guidance to teachers and librarians on exactly how to implement mind sports in the classroom.

Participants will be asked to consider where the notion of being a strategic thinker, and a ‘player in the game’ can inform and transform understandings of citizen engagement. The effects this could have on a curriculum are sizable, geared towards learners in both traditional and non-traditional settings.

To that end, the resulting curriculum will be geared towards learners in traditional and non-traditional venues, including classrooms, libraries, and other centers of civic engagement and learning, with the goal of teaching and enhancing the principles and practice of active citizenry.