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Can
a card game really improve our pupils'
performance in school?
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The educational
benefits
of Minibridge are still to be categorically proven. But various
sources and
statisitics
and growing anecdotal
evidence strongly
suggest that it is only a matter of
time before this proof is found.
In
the meantime we can suggest the
following as a summary of some of the principle features of Minibridge
and their probable link to key
skills
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Element
of
Minibridge
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Counting
Cards / High Card
Points
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Arithmetic
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Playing
with a Partner
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Teamwork
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Effective
Card Play Strategy
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Sequencing
Logical Thinking
Lateral Thinking
Problem Solving
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Explaining
and Justifying
Actions
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Language
and
Communication
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Obtaining
Best Possible
Outcomes
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Concentration
Focus
Working Memory
Handling Data
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Adhering
to Rules of Play
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Self-Discipline
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So
what will it cost us to have Minibridge delivered
at our school?
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As a result of the English Bridge Union securing national funding for
free combined Pupil and Staff Trainings and teaching materials, from
September 2008;
nothing. See the Minibridge
Promotion Pack.
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We
are interested but have no funding. What do you
suggest?
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Sign
your school up
to take advantage of the national funding
now available.
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Our
school has no Bridge-playing staff members -
does that mean we cannot use Minibridge?
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Minibridge is specifically designed to be accessible to
all.
The
fundamentals of the game can
be taught in one morning to pupils aged 8 and over. This gives instant
access to the game itself and to the complementary activities available
on the Teachers' CD. The CD is supplied when training is carried out
under the English Bridge Initiative and can be used for two
years
on a free trial.
No
previous Bridge playing
experience is necessary. Incorporated into the CD is a Teachers'
Workbook which can be downloaded for print or viewed on screen and
which will guide the novice teacher through all the various uses and
applications of both the game and the Teachers' CD.
It is necessary under the terms and conditions of the funding to
provide access to the vital new resource: the Teachers'
inter-active CD.
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I
have no card playing skills.
How am I qualified to supervise my children playing Minibridge?
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Minibridge is an activity. It is not a field of study. You are
qualified to supervise them playing Minibridge just as you are
qualified to supervise them swimming or playing football without
actually being able to do either of these activities yourself.
They will
learn as they play. The personal and
educational benefits will accrue far more from the opportunity to
practise (just as in swimming or football) than from direct teacher
input. This is the
ultimate in pupil-centred learning.
In case of
requiring specific tasks for more
gifted pupils, the Teachers' CD
will provide problem solving exercises and quizzes for a more
coordinated learning programme.
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What
Differentiation does Minibridge permit after
Training?
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Minibridge will allow differentiation along the following lines:
For
the less gifted:
(a)
Basic
Problem Solving in
the classroom
(b)
Basic Counting and Sequencing
(c)
Language and Communication for
S.E.A.L (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning)
(d) Working Memory
Exercises with degrees of speed/difficulty in-built
(e) Coping with educational difficulities such as:
Dyslexia
Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder
Short-Term
Memory Deficit
Emotional
or Behavioural
Difficulties
For
the more gifted or
enthusiastic
(c)
Advanced
Problem Solving
in the classroom
(d) Progression
towards
Bridge
(e)
Inter-class or Inter-School local,
regional or
national Competition
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Do
you have more detailed information on
Curriculum Links for Minibridge?
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Yes, we have a detailed report
which you can
download on the elements of Minibridge and how they can be tied in to
curriculum requirements in Maths and English at primary level. We are
also preparing a report on the S.E.A.L relevance of Minibridge. to be
uploaded early in 2010.
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Minibridge
- Bridge : What is the Difference?
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Bridge has a complex preamble to the card play (the Auction), which is
based in a language or system of calls or announcements that requires a
substantial period of time to learn (several years in many cases) and
whose complexity puts many children off even trying it. There is a
complicated scoring system which also takes time to learn.
The equivalent in Minibridge of the Bridge Auction is a simple preamble
in which players count up and announce their High
Card Points
and work out the targets for each team from a simple list of Trick
Targets.
The scoring
system could not be easier: the winners in the card play score one play
point and play another deal.
In
the play of the cards,
Minibridge and Bridge are
the same game.
This means that Minibridge gives virtually instant access to the world
of problem
solving
at
Bridge as well as allowing a smooth transition
into Bridge.
This
also means that Minibridge
allows the full range of educational
benefits
which accrue essentially from the play of the
cards.
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What
about the danger of addiction to Minibridge or
gambling?
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This is unheard of so far and extremely unlikely to happen. For many
reasons.
Firstly,
those who become addicted
to anything tend to have addictive personalities. Minibridge might
possibly save this type of person from finding an addiction elsewhere
in less educational or socially acceptable ways.
Secondly,
Minibridge is an educational
resource
of immense potential as well as a key stepping stone to Bridge, a mind
sport of the highest order. Gambling at such an activity is about as
likely as gambling at Chess or Scrabble!
Thirdly, Minibridge is also a social game. Gamblers tend to be
anti-social types who are more interested in the thrill of winning or
the risk of losing than making friends or challenging their brain power
in team or partnership games.
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