Abstract:

The biggest problem in contemporary curricula is a constant influx of information and formation of new disciplines/subjects that on the surface would require the addition of separate subjects into curricula. There is not that big a difference what level of curriculum we are dealing with at that. As a consequence, we are facing the danger of fragmenting the study process as a whole, over-saturating it with a growing amount of facts and eventually forcing the students into superficiality.

One of the possibilities to deal with the abovementioned issue is to combine two forms of active learning — exploratory learning and simulation and modelling game.

Insofar as simulation games are by nature models that often have metaphorical connections with real-life situations, it is possible to link different disciplines such as music, mathematics, social studies, history etc. with one another via the bundle of connections offered by a simulation game. For the same reason, it is possible to use and/or combine regular existing games, be they board games or computer games, for obtaining complex skills.
An element of playfulness adds an emotional excitement that is necessary for overcoming the routine accompanied by the acquiring of information, especially in the case of tedious study tasks made so by their mandatoriness.

This article provides an overview of the possibilities in the context of Estonian education for enriching the subjects of art and art history with an element of playfulness and the possibilities of tying gaming with other subjects in curricula of basic and secondary education levels.

Keywords:

Simulation and gaming, education.