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Levelling up: you don't need money or privilege to be a chess champion
Comment by SAL McKEOWN, freelance journalist and commissioning editor
Old men with furrowed brows sitting outside cafes somewhere in Central Europe, contemplating their next move against their opponent. If this is your image of chess it is time for an update. The Queen's Gambit alerted
many viewers to the magic of chess. With an audience of 62 million in its first 28 days online, it quickly became the most popular original show on Netflix. Monthly internet searches for 'chess' went up 189% in November 2020. At Bett 2022 in March, ChessKid was featured on the Promethean
stand and was one of the highlights of the show. The software looked stunning on Promethean's massive touch screens. Like the old men in cafes, it drew large crowds of interested spectators who came for a quick look and stayed to learn more.
What chess teaches Many families and schools discovered the ChessKid website during lockdown. The software takes beginners of all ages and through its online lessons gives them a thorough grounding in all the moves. Above all, with its animations, puzzles and games, it is good fun. Teachers don't need to know how to play as there are video lessons,
a classroom planner with a week-by-week guide of chess educational objectives, quizzes and activities. Sessions could be run by a teaching assistant or volunteer as an after school club but the company is keen that teachers begin to use ChessKid during curriculum time. In Aarhus in Denmark 482 students in primary schools had an hour of
chess on a Friday instead of their normal maths lesson. Research proved that boys showed the most dramatic improvement and that classes improved mathematical thinking and concentration for all children. Tereza Pribanova who works for ChessKid believes it can also help
with behaviour: 'Children can be impulsive. Chess gives them tools to think about positive decisions and the consequences. It also helps with building children's resilience: emphasis is put on losing graciously and being a good team player. It helps with confidence too. Some pupils who have had negative experiences at school find that chess gives them the reward they have not found in the classroom.'
The great leveller In Eastern Europe many children learn chess even before they start school and countries such as Georgia and Azerbaijan do exceptionally well in international competitions. Refugees and asylum seekers who arrive in a country with no knowledge of the language can showcase their ability through chess. Eleven year old Tani Adewumi, a Nigerian refugee who moved to the USA with his family, won New York State Chess Championship while living in a refugee centre. Children can now play against Tani's bot on ChessKid. Companies are finding that chess clubs are a good proving ground
for new talent. In Oslo, under the umbrella of Business Meets Chess & Kids, companies sponsor clubs in deprived inner city areas and young people who show exceptional potential can be offered a scholarship to business school. It seems that chess is proving to be an excellent alternative to the Old
Boys' Network!
Getting out of the classroom
With warmer days approaching, in her regular column this month STEMtastic! founder KIRSTY BERTENSHAW urges you to get your students out of the classroom.
Learning outside the classroom has many benefits – from increasing physical health, increased access to oxygen rich air, enhanced mental and spiritual health and a fresh perspective on learning. There are many ways to use the outside space of the school for learning for free while still experiencing the benefits of outdoor learning. Even changing the routine of sitting in the same seats each day can be invigorating to staff and students. But, of course, leaving school grounds comes with a cost. Health and safety should be considered before leaving the classroom, making sure a first aid kit is available, inhalers, EpiPens, sunhats, sunscreen and any inhalers that might be needed, and limiting time in direct sunlight. You should also communicate with other staff so multiple classes don’t try and use the same outdoor areas at once. Outside areas are particularly useful for science lessons. Streamlining
can be investigated using paper to build an object to fly, and then test it outside where there is space to test the object. Maybe try designing egg parachutes to be dropped out of a window while the group watches outside and observes the results. Bug hunts are great for students of all ages, whether to explore different species, estimate populations or construct food webs with the species found. The concept of size can be difficult to explain, especially when talking
about the solar system or atoms. Use the outside space and spread out students to show the distances between planets. Even better, use fruit to represent the sizes of the planets on the same scale as the distances. Pocket microscopes are fairly cheap and quite robust, so can be carried outside to examine the surfaces of leaves and bark close up. Stomata may be identified underneath leaves depending on the conditions and the magnification of the microscopes. Soil and rocks are fantastic mixtures to examine under microscopes, and differences will be observed in different areas. Branching keys or statement keys could be used to identify anything from types of plant in the school field to rock types around the school site. Accurate data collection and data handling are vital parts of science
and maths. Using the outside areas for observations is a great way to encompass these skills into lessons. Observations of the weather can be made regularly. Wind speed can be measured using homemade barometers using plastic cups and pencils. Air pressure can be measured using a balloon and a jar, and rainfall measured each day. This data can be collected, presented in different ways and analysed writing a conclusion and perhaps even predicting the coming weather. Tree surveys are also a way to collect data, comparing circumferences of the trees and calculating mean, median, mode and range values. Creative writing tasks can use the outside space for inspiration, describing different areas of the school site or different weather experienced. Some schools have bandstand areas which are great for reading in the warmer weather, increasing students’ oxygen intake and providing respite from the busy day while still practising skills. Drama and music also work well in outdoor spaces. What can students
hear outside? What sounds can they make with what is found outside the classroom, e.g., tapping trees or shaking leaves. Mini plays can be performed outside, much like Roman amphitheatres. Any subject can use the outside space to have an information hunt,
perhaps issuing clues to students on where information can be found. Students can have clipboards and worksheets to fill in on their journey. Just remember to secure the information on windy days so students can still find it!
Kirsty is the founder of STEMtastic, an education consultancy with a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths
www.stemtastic.co.uk
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www.education-today.co.uk
May 2022
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