The Relationship Between Classroom Chess Instruction And Verbal, Quantitative, And Nonverbal Reasoning Abilities Of Econ

1. The Relationship Between Classroom Chess Instruction And Verbal, Quantitative, And Nonverbal Reasoning Abilities Of Economically Disadvantaged Students Joseph W. Eberhard, Ed.D.

2. Introduction

3. Introduction Equity, Efficiency, and Excellence: “despite widespread public devotion to these values as abstract goals, their ultimate fulfillment is virtually impossible... at their roots, the three desired conditions are inconsistent and antithetical” Guthrie, J., & Reed, R. (1991). Educational Administration and Policy: Effective Leadership for American Education. 2nd ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, p. 26.

4. Introduction Equity, Efficiency, and Excellence: Efficiency as a means to achieve Equity, promoted as an Excellence in education movement. Result: Marginalization Harris, D., ed. (1995). Multiculturalism from the Margins: Non-dominant Voices on Difference and Diversity. Westport, Conn.: Bergin & Garvey.

5. Introduction Efficiency Contradicts Equity Standardized curriculum and exams require all students to conform to that standard, regardless of socio-economic background, resources, or learning styles. (in most cases that means white, middle/upper socioeconomic learning styles, resources, and standards). McNeil, L. & Valenzuela, A. (1998). The harmful impact of the TAAS system of testing in Texas: Beneath the accountability rhetoric. The Civil Rights Project, Harvard University.

6. Introduction Efficiency Contradicts Equity The high stakes nature of standardization in Texas compounds the problem for economically disadvantaged students: “behind the rhetoric of rising test scores are a growing set of classroom practices in which test-prep activities are usurping a substantive curriculum.” McNeil, L. & Valenzuela, A. (1998). The harmful impact of the TAAS system of testing in Texas: Beneath the accountability rhetoric. The Civil Rights Project, Harvard University, p. 2.

7. Introduction • Efficiency Contradicts Equity • Two curriculums, two pedagogies, have developed: • a streamlined curriculum for economically disadvantaged students • an enriched curriculum for middle/upper socio-economic students. • McNeil, L. & Valenzuela, A. (1998). The harmful impact of the TAAS system of testing in Texas: Beneath the accountability rhetoric. The Civil Rights Project, Harvard University, p. 2-3.

8. Introduction Efficiency Contradicts Equity If streamlined curriculum reduces the enrichment needed to develop cognitive processes, then providing enrichment opportunities for cognitive development would be an important step in educating children from poverty. Enrichment programs are still most “accessible to middle and upper-income families.” Cotlin, L. (May 1999). Enriching children’s out-of-school time. ERIC Digest, p. 3.

9. Problem A problem facing low income school districts is how to comply with the high-stakes testing standards mandated by the legislatures, while at the same time providing an enriched curriculum that develops the problem-solving skills economically disadvantaged students will need for academic achievement.

10. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of chess instruction on the verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal reasoning abilities of students identified as economically disadvantaged. Schools with predominantly low-income populations might be able to solve the standardization dilemma with the inclusion of chess instruction as a heuristic enabler for improving the problem-solving skills of children from poverty.

11. Importance of the Study No studies previously exist to investigate the impact of chess instruction on the problem-solving abilities of economically disadvantaged students.

12. Review of the Literature • The Dilemma for Schools with High Percentages of Economically Disadvantaged Students • Constructivism: Social Context Problem Solving • Chess and Problem Solving: From Psychologist’s Lab to Educator’s Classroom

13. Review of the Literature Constructivism Cognitive Development and Social Context Redefine perception of how students learn and how that learning is measured. “Knowledge is personally constructed and socially mediated.” Connection between cognitive development and social context. Windschiltl, M. (Apr 1999). A vision educators can put into practice: Portraying the constructivist classroom as a cultural system. School Science and Mathematics, 94 (4), 189-196.

14. Review of the Literature Constructivism Cognitive Development and Social Context Enriched environments have an unmistakable effect on brain development. Bruer, J. (Nov 1998). Brain science, brain fiction. Educational Leadership, 56 (3), 14-18. Enrichment promotes higher-level thinking. Cotlin, L. (May 1999). Enriching children’s out-of-school time. ERIC Digest.

15. Review of the Literature Constructivism Cognitive Development and Social Context Impoverished Environments As a result of a lack of enriched experiences many children from poverty enter the school system deficient in problem solving abilities and language skills. Gratz, D. (May 2000). High standards for whom? Phi Delta Kappan, 681-87. Students from poverty begin school at risk of academic failure. Leroy, C. & Symes, B. (2001). Teachers’ perspectives on the family backgrounds of children at risk. McGill Journal of Education, 36 (1), 45-60.

16. Review of the Literature Constructivism Cognitive Development and Social Context Verbal Skills “If children have limited opportunity to learn language, organize perceptions, and develop other higher order cognitive processes, their ability to solve problems and think independently is negatively affected.” Leroy, C. & Symes, B. (2001). Teachers’ perspectives on the family backgrounds of children at risk. McGill Journal of Education, 36 (1), 45-60.

17. Review of the Literature Constructivism Stipek and Ryan: Motivation versus Cognitive Competency “Significant SES differences were found on all eight cognitive assessments given, including tests of basic reading related and number skills, problem solving, creativity, memory, and language skills.” Disadvantaged children on a trajectory of low academic achievement and all of the negative social and personal outcomes that are associated with poor school performance.” Stipek, D., & Ryan, R. (1997). Economically disadvantaged preschoolers: Ready to learn but further to go. Developmental Psychology, 33, 711-23.

18. Review of the Literature Constructivism Cognitive Development and Social Context Alvidrez and Weinstein: When socioeconomic status was controlled, preschool teachers’ perceptions of I.Q. significantly predicted G.P.A. and S.A.T. scores fourteen years later. Alvidrez, J., & Weinstein, R. (Dec 1999). Early teacher perceptions and later student academic achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91 (4), 731-46.

19. Review of the Literature Constructivism Cognitive Development and Social Context The deficiencies that developed from the culture of poverty should be addressed in the manner in which they developed… Socially

20. Review of the Literature Constructivism Values of the Culture of Poverty Entertainment oriented: protective mechanism Spatial learning style Compression: Compression is a phenomenon of low income culture where various strategies are applied to keep an individual from advancing socially or economically.

21. Review of the Literature Constructivism The Value of Games Play Therapy to Learning Through Play Play is considered to be a significant component of cognitive and social development. Meckley, A. (1994). Shared knowledge of play events in young children's social play construction. In Jean-Pierre Rossie (ed.), Play, Communication and Cognition, Communication and Cognition, 27, (3) p. 247-374, Communication & Cognition, State University of Ghent, Ghent, p. 287-300.

22. Review of the Literature Constructivism The Value of Games Games meet the entertainment orientation of economically disadvantaged students. Games are a social endeavor.

23. Review of the Literature Constructivism What Kind of Game? Gobet and Simon: pattern identification played key role in problem solving. Gobet, F., & Simon, H. (1992). Pattern recognition makes search possible: Comments on Holding. Psychological Research, 63, 204-208. Leamnson: problem solving should be hands-on. Leamnson, R. (2000). Learning as biological brain change. Change, 32 (6), 34-40.

24. Review of the Literature Constructivism What Kind of Game? Years of research by psychologists using chess to study memory, decision making, expertise, problem solving, etc., suggests that the game of chess requires or promotes the cognitive abilities discussed thus far. Chess is a hands-on, spatially oriented game in which pattern identification is essential to success.

25. Review of the Literature Chess and Problem Solving Chess and Cognitive Development Beyond the studies of psychologists, chess and cognitive development has been more extensively researched than chess and social skills.

26. Review of the Literature Chess and Problem Solving Chess and Cognitive Development Horgan: used chess to study the ability of children to think clearly. She found that children worked from a global focus toward detail, while adults worked from detail focus to global. Horgan, D. (1987). Chess as a way to teach thinking. Teaching Thinking and Problem Solving, 9 (3), 4-9. Tinajero and Fernanda: field independent students outperformed field dependent students in academic achievement. Tinajero, C. & Fernanda, P. (Jun 1997). Field dependence-independence and academic achievement: a re-examination of their relationship. The British Journal of Educational Psychology, 67, 199-212. Smith and Sullivan: Use of chess to move students from field dependent to independent. Smith, J., & Sullivan, M. (1997). The effects of chess instruction on students’ level of field dependence/independence. A Paper Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research Association, Memphis, TN. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. 415257).

27. Review of the Literature Chess and Problem Solving Chess in Schools Frank: Interested if the ability to learn chess was due to spatial aptitude, perceptive speed, reasoning ability, creativity, or general intelligence. He concluded that the ability to play chess well relied on a large number of aptitudes that work together. Frank, A. (1974 ). Chess aptitudes. (S. Epstein, Trans.). Unpublished doctoral dissertation, National University of Zaire.

28. Review of the Literature Chess and Problem Solving Chess in Schools Christiaen: Use chess to test Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development (or intellectual maturation). Christiaen enriched the students’ environment with chess instruction. After one year, the chess group progressed further than the no chess group. Christiaen, J. (1976). (Epstein, S. translator) Chess and cognitive development: An experimental psychological study of youths at the end of primary school period. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Gent National University, Gent, Belgium.

29. Review of the Literature Chess and Problem Solving Chess in Schools Venezuela Study: 4,266 second graders received chess instruction for four and a half months. The purpose was to investigate the impact of chess on the development of intelligence as measure by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Most students showed an increase in intelligence quotient. Gonzalez, R. (Fall 1989). Ministering intelligence: A Venezuelan experience in the promotion of cognitive abilities. International Journal of Mental Health, 18 (3), 5-18.

30. Review of the Literature Chess and Problem Solving Chess in Schools Ferguson: Test for relationship between chess instruction and critical thinking and creative thinking. Chess group improved significantly on Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal. Chess group increased significantly on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Ferguson, R. (1986). Developing critical and creative thinking through chess. Report on ESEA Title IV-C project presented at the annual conference of the Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education, Pittsburgh, PA, April 11-12, 1986.

31. Review of the Literature Chess and Problem Solving Chess in Schools Ferguson: Tested memory and verbal reasoning of a self-contained 6th grade classroom before and after one school year of chess instruction. Student scores were compared to national norms. The experimental group demonstrated significant improvement in both memory and verbal reasoning. Ferguson, R. (1988). Development of reasoning and memory through chess. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, LaSalle University, Mandeville, LA.

32. Review of the Literature Chess and Problem Solving Chess in Schools New Brunswick Chess in Mathematics: 437 fifth graders were tested after being placed into one of three groups. Group A received traditional math in first and second grade, Group B received problem solving instruction beginning in second grade, and Group C received chess enriched math curriculum beginning in first grade. Group C scored 21% higher on the problem solving portion of the Province’s standardized math exam. Ferguson, R. (1995). Chess in education research summary, paper presented at the “chess in education – a wise move conference” at Borough of Manhattan Community College. January 12-13. (Article #1) U.S. Chess Federation, Scholastic Department.

33. Review of the Literature Chess and Problem Solving Chess in Schools Margulies: Studied reading improvements after one and two years of chess instruction for third and fourth graders in New York. The Degree of Reading Power Test was used as the dependent variable. A comparison of the 22 chess players to 1,118 non-chess players demonstrated statistical significance. Margulies, S. (1992). The effect of chess on reading scores: District nine chess program second year report. (Article #5) U.S. Chess Federation, Scholastic Department.

34. Review of the Literature Chess and Problem Solving Chess in Schools Liptrap: Four year study on the relationship of chess instruction and Texas Learning Indexes. Results indicated that chess playing students scores increased twice that of non-chess playing students for reading and mathematics. Students in the study attended a middle/upper socioeconomic campus. Liptrap, J. (Mar 1998). Chess and standard test scores. Chess Life.

35. Review of the Literature Chess and Problem Solving Instruction and Transfer Rifner: A study to determine if children who learned problem solving skills from playing chess could transfer the skills to poetic analysis. Pre and posttests consisted of twelve variables associated with academic achievement. Conclusion: “inter-domain transfer can be achieved if teaching for transfer is an instructional goal.” Ferguson, R. (1995). Chess in education research summary, paper presented at the “chess in education – a wise move conference” at Borough of Manhattan Community College. January 12-13. (Article #1) U.S. Chess Federation, Scholastic Department.

36. Review of the Literature Chess and Problem Solving Instruction Schiff: A study to determine the impact of chess instruction on chess skill. The results indicated statistically significant improvements of chess skill as a result of instruction. Schiff, S. (1991). Chess strategies: A course of study designed as an introduction to chess thinking. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Columbia University Teachers College.

37. Review of the Literature Chess and Problem Solving Chess in the Classroom How should instruction be delivered? Lin: “there is a strong agreement among researchers that strategy training should be conducted in a supportive social environment.” Lin, X. (2001). Designing metacognitive strategies. Educational Technology Research and Development, 49 (2), 23-40.

38. Review of the Literature Chess and Problem Solving Chess Class Within a classroom setting, the problem solving skills of chess have the best opportunity to become habits of mind for economically disadvantaged students and transfer to other academic subjects.

39. Review of the Literature Conclusion • Verbal, quantitative measurements have been focus of past studies. • Literature on chess in education has not addressed the educational needs of economically disadvantaged students. • Sample sizes of most studies have been too small for reliable statistical analysis. • Social context of learning has not been directly addressed.

40. Methodology Research Design Sample Description of Instruments Data Collection Data Analysis

41. Research Design • Quasi-experimental • Experimental Group: Classroom chess instruction • Control Group: Keyboarding class • Counselor monitored mortality due to transfers • 3 chess teachers and 1 keyboarding teacher • “Think Like A King” as curriculum

42. Research Design, continued… Four Pretest-Posttest CogAT Verbal Reasoning Test CogAT Quantitative Reasoning Test CogAT Nonverbal Reasoning Test Naglieri Nonverbal Abilities Test

43. Research Design, continued… The use of two nonverbal tests to measure changes in problem-solving abilities was intended to increase the legitimacy of the nonverbal results for economically disadvantaged students.

44. Sample Target population: Economically disadvantaged students in South Texas Accessible population: 900 middle school students(located in Region 2) Experimental Chess Group: 60 students (41 economically disadvantaged) Control No Chess Group: 93 students (55 economically disadvantaged) Note: The Experimental Group had 67% economically disadvantaged students, a percentage consistent with the campus and South Texas at large.

45. Description of Instruments Cognitive Abilities Tests (CogAT) Verbal and Quantitative These two sets of tests measure developed abilities from in and out of school experiences that “enable him or her to learn new tasks or solve problems when instruction is absent or incomplete.” Thorndike, R., & Hagen, E. (1986). Cognitive Abilities Test: Examiner’s Manual, CogAT Multilevel Edition, Form 4. Chicago: The Riverside Publishing Company, p. 5.

46. Description of Instruments Continued... Nonverbal Cognitive Abilities Tests (CogAT) This set of tests does not correlate to academic success as much as the verbal and quantitative tests, but “is more useful…for obtaining an accurate assessment of the cognitive development of students who have difficulty with reading or for whom English is not the first language.” Thorndike, R., & Hagen, E. (1986). Cognitive Abilities Test: Examiner’s Manual, CogAT Multilevel Edition, Form 4. Chicago: The Riverside Publishing Company, pp. 6-7.

47. Description of Instruments Continued... Naglieri Nonverbal Abilities Test (NNAT) NNAT: pattern identification, serial reasoning, spatial visualization Used for measuring general ability as a “predictor of scholastic achievement” for students “from diverse cultural and language backgrounds.” Harcourt Brace Educational Measurement. (1997). Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test: Multilevel Norms Booklet. San Antonio: Harcourt Brace, p. 8.

48. Data Analysis Raw scores from all tests were converted to Scale Scores, considered more suitable “for studying change in performance over time.” Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows, Version 10.0 was used for data analysis Harcourt Brace Educational Measurement. (1997). Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test: Multilevel Norms Booklet. San Antonio: Harcourt Brace, p. 13.

49. Data Analysis continued... The paired t test was used to compare pretest and posttest means of all three CogAT Tests and the NNAT, testing for significance beyond the .05 level. The two-way ANOVA was used to evaluate the difference between change of performance levels between groups and for the interaction between subject effects beyond the .05 level.

50. Presentation and Analysis of Data