Students created board games that would help elementary and middle-school students learn about either the physics of electricity, or science or math concepts that are relevant to their grade level.

In order for the Game Board project for work, it was critical to design lessons based on knowledge of how individual students learned, taking into account all of their needs. In practice this meant doing the following:

• Group students by shared interest, topic, or ability for assignments.
• Assess students’ learning using formative assessment.
• Manage the classroom to create a safe and supportive environment.
• Continually assess and adjust lesson content to meet students’ needs.

During the process of creating their board games, student teams followed the following key principles:

• Members work interdependently and work towards team goals
• Members collaborate together and use their talent and experience to contribute to the success of the team
• Members are encouraged to offer their skills and knowledge, and in turn each member is able contribute to the team’s success

The students began this project by critiquing one of the most iconic board games in history: monopoly.

After studying what makes the visuals and gameplay of Monopoly “work”, students focused on the task of creating a similarly engrossing game that would also help players to understand a key math or science concept. Once they had a clear plan for gameplay, students added lights and circuitry in order to enhance the experience.