CHESS GAME AS PEDAGOGICAL STRATEGY FOR TEACHING: CASE STUDY IN CHEMISTRY DEGREE

Contemporary pedagogy is not only related to psychology and sociology disciplines, but also to disciplines such as neurodidactics, cronopedagogy and new technologies. Within this pedagogical environment, the professor should play an efficient and effective role providing and managing technological, didactic and psychological resources. To deal with this issue, there are several conceptual educational models which offer different multidisciplinary aspects (e.g. “Technology Pedagogy Content knowledge”-TPCK- or, in Spanish EAAP “Estilos de Aprendizaje y Actividades Polifásicas” -Learning Styles and Multi-phase Activities-). Casanova and co-authors (Casanova, Parra and Molina, 2017) have recently introduced a new conceptual model to manage efficiently throughout pedagogy based on a chess game representation of an actual educational reality according to the interpretive teaching approach. This model, that uses gamification as a tool for the professors, aims to answer the requirements of the teaching formative training strand facing side effects in a strategic way. In this contribution, the development of the model is presented for an actual and specific educative reality and the results of its application. The educative reality is referred in this work to “Inorganic Solids” subject, that is taught in the second course, second quarter from the Degree in Chemistry of Alicante University.

This subject is particularly identified after a detailed study obtained from the experiences and results of the last three courses of “Inorganic Solids” delivered by professor J.M. Molina, by two main issues:
i) the early inclusion into the course (second course) because of its conceptual complexity;
ii) the great demotivation that students show thought to have two origin points: demotivation itself when starting the second quarter after battling with some first year subjects, without success (something usual in a high percentage of students) and discouragement acquired during the subject pursued due to its complexity.

In this study sequential steps have been taken as it is shown next. First, educative reality of the subject has been studied, within the programme context in general for the Degree in Chemistry. In second place, that reality has been modelled throughout chess game and interventionist strategies have been designed based on the 12 principles of neurodidactic to perform with the students. Afterwards, these strategies have been outlined into good practices and teaching methodologies with two basic characteristics: some were arranged with the students and others activities were developed holding a surprise factor. The results analyses have been done throughout evaluation of grades results in objective tests and from a student’s satisfaction survey. Nowadays grades are in fact superior to those of previous years same dates, and besides, students achieve a great deal of satisfaction with methodologies applied through the developed planning. We can conclude that due to the great results encountered, chess game is endorsed as an efficient method and strategy model that enables quick and effective performance for professors which faces educational issues in a complex dynamic classroom.