​Institute for Simulation and Games as Methods of Engaging Students (IS-GAMES)

The purpose of this institute is to bring play and fun into the classroom thereby facilitating a greater enjoyment of learning and better retention of the material.

Mission

The Institute for Simulations and Games as Methods for Engaging Students at Central Michigan University promotes the use of games, simulations, and play in learning. The use of games facilitates an active-learning agenda with a high level of student engagement. The goal is to have the students learn course material while simultaneously building skills in leadership, public speaking, critical thinking, problem solving and analysis.

Purpose
 
Children often learn skills faster through play than most other methods. Somewhere between childhood and becoming an adult our society has made learning a chore rather than a pastime. Go to any college campus and you will find students constantly learning through play. In a game of ultimate Frisbee, for example, college students will learn new ways to throw a Frisbee to help their team win. The purpose of this institute is to bring play and fun into the classroom thereby facilitating a greater enjoyment of learning and better retention of the material.
 
Goals

• Make learning fun
• Promote leadership
• Broaden student experience
• Apply information into real world problems
• Promote interdisciplinary
• Learn through informal settings/play
• Understand complex problems
• Understand human agency, choice, and contingency

Contact Information

Dr. Jonathan Truitt
Director, ​Institute for Simulation and Games as Methods of Engaging Students (IS-GAMES)
(989) 774-2668, truit1jg@cmich.edu