Lit Review the number of studies relating to learning to play chess - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

• ADHD (2)
• economically disadvantaged (3)
• behaviour problems (1)
• at risk of academic failure (2)
• critical thinking (2)
• creative thinking (3)
• cognitive development 11-15 year-olds (8)
• cognitive thinking 5-11 year-olds (including

mathematics) (13). Lit Review – the number of studies relating to learning to play chess and education: The main game – learning to play chess and the cognitive thinking skills of 5-11 year-olds

These three meta analyses identified lack

• f rigour as a problem:
• Gobet et al. (2006),
• Nicotera et al. (2014)
• Sala et al. (2016)

Jerrim et al. (2016) - a UK study of over 4000 students - was also critical of the lack

• f rigour in other studies

Martinez (2012)

• Examined 701 students from Grades 3 to 5
• Four groups: chess, music, both and

neither

• A limited number of variables were

examined

• The music group did significantly more

practice than the chess group

• Significant finding for fourth grade

students

• My study in 2017 included 203 students

from Grades 1-5, sorted into 4 groups: chess, music, both and neither, with many variables examined

• Ethics Committee Opt-In/Opt-out
• Some in the chess group did significantly

more chess

• There were no significant findings for any of

the study groups

• An ANOVA statistical analysis met the

assumptions and sample size criteria for the analysis technique

• Details of variables including use of the

Queensland Junior Ratings List

Piaget’s Theory of Stages of Cognitive Development

• Sensorimotor stage: birth to 2 years – the child is able to

differentiate between itself and other objects. Learning takes place via assimilation and accommodation

• Preoperational stage: ages 2 to 7 - The child is not yet able to

conceptualize abstractly and needs concrete physical situations. Objects are classified in simple ways, especially by important features

• Concrete operational stage: ages 7 to 11 - As physical experience

accumulates, accommodation is increased. The child begins to think abstractly and conceptualize, creating logical structures that explain his or her physical experiences

• Formal operational stage: ages 11 and up - Cognition reaches its

final form. By this stage, the person no longer requires concrete

• bjects to make rational judgements. He or she is capable of

deductive and hypothetical reasoning

• Sala and Gobet (2017) – Far Transfer: Does it Exist?

If a child sheds a maths lesson for a chess lesson, why should he or she be better at maths?

• Why do so many of us feel that there are academic

benefits for children in learning to play chess?

• Do all children progress at the same rate?
• How have some children become Grandmasters by

the age of 12?

• Piaget’s theory of stages of cognitive development
• Does learning chess perhaps help some students

to progress through Piaget’s stages quicker than

• thers?

200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

Progress from first rating 2004-2006 birth cohort

13 B2004 14 B2004 17 B2005 18 B2005 19 B2005 21 B2005 22 B2005 24 B2006 25 B2006 26 B2006 27 B2006 28 B2006 29 B2006 30 B2006

• If children gain improvements in

cognitive thinking skills, is it more likely to occur when they have passed the stage of complete beginners?

• Do children gain improvements in

these skills in ‘spurts’?

Please reflect for 60 seconds and make a mental note of what thinking skills, if any, that you attribute to learning to play chess, you have used most during your career to date. After 60 seconds I will ask for a show of hands.

• 1. Cognitive
• 2. Planning or Strategic
• 3. Not Sure

• Seven Australian Grandmasters and 10 former

students of Somerset College going back to the

• 1990s. The majority thought that learning chess

helped them with strategic/planning/foresight skills.

• Personal observations when talking to adult club

players over many years.

• Learning to play chess, strategic thinking and

foresight

• Ferguson (1986), Liedtka (1998), Van der Laan and

Yap (2016), McGregor (2007), Kende and Seres (2006) and Unterrainer (2006).

• Do schools endeavour to teach students skills in

strategy, planning and foresight? Do they administer tests to measure progress? Would a study in the field be useful?