Board Games as Educational Media: Creating and Playing Board Games for Acquiring Knowledge of History

Abstract

The paper presents qualitative research in creating and using board games as educational media in history teaching. The research was conducted during a course of the History of Schooling in Serbia (Belgrade University), with 58 pedagogy students divided into two groups (13 game-designers and 45 evaluators) and a subject teacher. Students were engaged in project-based learning with the assignment to create, play and evaluate board games. Following these activities, students presented their views on the possibilities of board games application in history teaching within focus groups. Students-designers pointed out that creating a board game was a challenge that required sophisticated intellectual and emotional engagement and that they had acquired knowledge of history through problem-solving. They perceived the teacher as an initiator and facilitator in the learning process. Student-evaluators argued that the games had helped them in acquiring and revising the knowledge from a new and unusual perspective.