For the past two weeks, a 10 piece 3 dimensional abstract building game has been the centre of intense and unexpected learning in my classroom.
The game has 3 players, 2 are blindfolded. The third player is the class who must remain silent throughout the game.
We began the game with a discussion of empathy. I was surprised at the number of students who could define empathy. Clearly, the emphasis on character education in our province has begun to take hold.
The premise of the game is simple enough. While the two players are blindfolded, a third player builds a structure for one of the blindfolded players. That player must describe the structure to the other blindfolded player who must build it. The atmosphere throughout this game was intense. Sometimes the entire class sat silently, completely absorbed (and frustrated) watching for as long as 30 minutes until the builders experienced success. This has been, without question, the most powerful tool for teaching communication that I have ever come across.
At the end of two weeks, I asked students to reflect on what the experience of 21Toys had been like for them, as well as what they had learned about communication, empathy, and what it must be like to be blind. Below are a few of their responses.
The experience of playing the game 21Toys and watching someone else play was extremely different as when you were playing the game you were in control and experimenting was an option. This was an amazing experience as you were placed in a blind person's shoes and I believe your thinking process was different. Although one of your senses was disabled, your mind thought ideas through more thoroughly resulting in a different perspective on things. Overall I benefited from
The game has 3 players, 2 are blindfolded. The third player is the class who must remain silent throughout the game.
We began the game with a discussion of empathy. I was surprised at the number of students who could define empathy. Clearly, the emphasis on character education in our province has begun to take hold.
The premise of the game is simple enough. While the two players are blindfolded, a third player builds a structure for one of the blindfolded players. That player must describe the structure to the other blindfolded player who must build it. The atmosphere throughout this game was intense. Sometimes the entire class sat silently, completely absorbed (and frustrated) watching for as long as 30 minutes until the builders experienced success. This has been, without question, the most powerful tool for teaching communication that I have ever come across.
At the end of two weeks, I asked students to reflect on what the experience of 21Toys had been like for them, as well as what they had learned about communication, empathy, and what it must be like to be blind. Below are a few of their responses.
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