Thursday, January 18, 2007
Economic Game
I conducted an economic game with my classes, in an attempt to inject some fun, laughter and interest in Geog in general, and also to help them apply their Econ Geog concepts in a make-believe but somehow realistic situation.
They were divided into groups of 6, representing countries from USA, Japan, Brazil, India, Tanzania and Uganda. I distributed materials to them, according to the real countries' wealth and resources. The aim of the game was to generate as much income as possible by cutting out shapes, with values pegged to them.
Some countries only had lots of paper, but others had stationery but only a piece of paper. The idea was to get them to realize how and why international trade takes place. In the process, they discover concepts of international division of labour and exploitation (when 'Uganda' worked for 'Japan' out of desperation, and earned a small fraction of their income), comparative advantage (when 'USA' traded with 'India' because of its paper), protectionism (when 'USA' guarded its stationery (technology) closely to prevent 'Brazil' from catching up), open-door policy (when Japan realised it had to trade with the poorer countries to increase its wealth), trade alliances (when both African countries merged to compete against the wealthier countries), diversification of resources, etc.
Through it all, there were loads of laughter and excitement. This was especially so when the World Bank announced the fluctuation in prices of the different shapes, according to demand and supply. It was hysterical when civil war, terrorism, contracts, bidding and auctions, foreign ministers engaged in meetings, cheating and bribing, bargaining and even bankrupcy taking place in certain classes! It was truly a riot conducting the game! *grin*
My kind of class... Heh.
But fun aside, the arrogance of the developed countries and the desperation of the poorer countries were more than evident. The role of the state was also played out when in particular classes, Brazil emerged the winner despite its wealth, and in others, USA's wealth was just slightly ahead of Tanzania and Uganda.
I got the students to reflect on the game and apply Econ Geog knowledge to it. It was truly enjoyable to just read their individual reflections. Most common descriptions of the lesson was "enriching, interesting, fun, enjoyable, interactive, fresh". And one which totally made me fly to the skies.
"I never know what to expect when I enter the Geography room for tutorials now on Thursdays. Miss _____ (you) have this tendency to create tutorials which are far more surprising than any other tutor. Especially for a subject like Geography, in which it causes confusion in my already twisted mind, with the frequency similar to me breathing in oxygen, it never fails to amaze me what fun the tutorials have always been."
Hmmm, I quoted it here so that I will not forget that the effort I have put in have not been wasted. To have the kids learn something (be it tangible or not, be it values or content knowledge) while having fun, and to have an experience that they can reminisce on with a smile on their face in the future, and/or having touched their lives in a special way is possibly what motivates me, and what I strive for in teaching.
Ok, byebye...
They were divided into groups of 6, representing countries from USA, Japan, Brazil, India, Tanzania and Uganda. I distributed materials to them, according to the real countries' wealth and resources. The aim of the game was to generate as much income as possible by cutting out shapes, with values pegged to them.
Some countries only had lots of paper, but others had stationery but only a piece of paper. The idea was to get them to realize how and why international trade takes place. In the process, they discover concepts of international division of labour and exploitation (when 'Uganda' worked for 'Japan' out of desperation, and earned a small fraction of their income), comparative advantage (when 'USA' traded with 'India' because of its paper), protectionism (when 'USA' guarded its stationery (technology) closely to prevent 'Brazil' from catching up), open-door policy (when Japan realised it had to trade with the poorer countries to increase its wealth), trade alliances (when both African countries merged to compete against the wealthier countries), diversification of resources, etc.
Through it all, there were loads of laughter and excitement. This was especially so when the World Bank announced the fluctuation in prices of the different shapes, according to demand and supply. It was hysterical when civil war, terrorism, contracts, bidding and auctions, foreign ministers engaged in meetings, cheating and bribing, bargaining and even bankrupcy taking place in certain classes! It was truly a riot conducting the game! *grin*
My kind of class... Heh.
But fun aside, the arrogance of the developed countries and the desperation of the poorer countries were more than evident. The role of the state was also played out when in particular classes, Brazil emerged the winner despite its wealth, and in others, USA's wealth was just slightly ahead of Tanzania and Uganda.
I got the students to reflect on the game and apply Econ Geog knowledge to it. It was truly enjoyable to just read their individual reflections. Most common descriptions of the lesson was "enriching, interesting, fun, enjoyable, interactive, fresh". And one which totally made me fly to the skies.
"I never know what to expect when I enter the Geography room for tutorials now on Thursdays. Miss _____ (you) have this tendency to create tutorials which are far more surprising than any other tutor. Especially for a subject like Geography, in which it causes confusion in my already twisted mind, with the frequency similar to me breathing in oxygen, it never fails to amaze me what fun the tutorials have always been."
Hmmm, I quoted it here so that I will not forget that the effort I have put in have not been wasted. To have the kids learn something (be it tangible or not, be it values or content knowledge) while having fun, and to have an experience that they can reminisce on with a smile on their face in the future, and/or having touched their lives in a special way is possibly what motivates me, and what I strive for in teaching.
Ok, byebye...
# posted by Banana Saviour @ 1:17 PM 
