Chess Kenya Federation : The Primary School Chess Curriculum and Instruction

Fred Sagwe :  Head of Schools:Chess Kenya Federation
Chess in Education 
The Competency-Based Curriculum gives special focus to individuals talents and interests as opposed to performance in summative national examinations. That cause competition, trauma and trepidation to the little children.
Parents and teachers want students to develop critical-thinking, problem-solving alongside  digital skills  so that they will be better prepared for the future jobs. It is true that children would love to play a lot in their young age. Involving in physical exercises, games, and sports activities make their body stronger and healthier. If the game of chess is also taught to the children, their brain would also be exercised and the children will become a healthy one – both physically and mentally, filled with confidence.
Chess As a Tool
A 2010 study published in Bensor research and Therapy   found that kids who lack problem-solving skills may be at a higher risk of depression and suicidality.Additionary; the researchers found that teaching a child’s problem-solving skills would improve mental health.
A child  mental health is just as important as her/his physical health, particular when it comes to behaviour and academies. Young people, who watch too much TV during their formative years would, grow up to be “less cognitively sophisticated and less civically minded” than their peers who had access only to public broadcasting and local stations during that period.
A matter of opportunity: Every hour you spend watching TV is an hour you aren’t reading, playing outside or socializing with other kids. Hence decline in cognitive skills and civic engagements. That may have long-term effects on what kind of person you will become
Blooms Taxonomy
At the heart of the ideals of HOT (Higher Order Thinking) and  Blooms's Taxonomy is the goal to improve every child’s cognitive development and critical thinking skills. No game or sport marries itself more naturally to the missions better than chess. Inherent in the game of chess is the demand that a student or player remember what he or she has learned at the board, understand and then apply the proper approach to the repeating tactical and positional patterns present, and the use that knowledge to properly analyze, evaluate, and calculate their way to a victory
Chess as a Game
Computer chess  provides opportunities for players to practice even in the absence of human opponents, and also provides opportunities for analysis, entertainment and training. Now, teaching children the game of chess and encouraging them to play the game with fun has become much easier, thanks to the advancement of technology and the increased use of the Internet. Online chess helps children learn the game in a playful way with innumerable puzzles and tutorials.
                                                                             
These benefits of chess are fully in line with the General Intents of Kenya National Education  goals; therefore chess can be used as an “educational  and health tool”.
Programs to encourage and stimulate interest in STEM subjects and chess should begin at an early age. The benefits of chess are undisputed, chess paying has been shown to be strongly correlated with higher grades in both math and English, and in tests measuring critical thinking, and creativity.

The   European Parliament   has expressed its favourable opinion on using chess courses in schools as educational tool (Binev, Attard-Montalto, Deva, Mauro, &Takkula, 2011) and, similarly, the  Spanish Parliament has approved the implementation of chess courses during school hours and in the curriculum .
In 2012, the European Parliament made a declaration about introducing the Chess in Schools (CIS) program in the education systems of European Union member states.

Education is critical in promoting political, social and economic development of any country. It is expected to provide all-round development of its recipients to enable them overcome prevailing challenges and therefore play effective roles in their immediate society. Provision of education is the surest way of creating equity in society by bridging the gap between the haves and the have-nots.

Chess is one of the most powerful educational tools available to strengthen a child’s mind. It’s fairy easy to learn how to play. Most six or seven year olds can follow the basic rules. Some kids as young as four or five can play. Like learning a language  or  music an early start can help a child become more proficient. Whatever a child’s age, however ,chess can enhance concentration,patience,and perseverance, as well as develop creativity,intuition,memory,and most importantly ,the ability to analyze and deduce from a set of general principles ,learning to make tough decisions and solve problems flexibly.

In  one study  conducted in primary schools in Aarhus,Denmark ,in 2013 ,weekly math lessons were replaced with chess-inspired lessons .The students actually ended up performing better in math.

Children who spend longer than two hours a day in front of a computer or TV are more likely to suffer psychological difficulties than other youngsters, a UK study suggests. Researchers said they also found that physical exercise did not make up for too much time. The University of Bristol study, published in Pediatrics, involved more than 1,000 children aged about 10.Its lead author said a two-hour screen limit per day was a sensible guideline.


This research and various case studies are all in tandem with the Kenya Vision 2030 ,the Big Four Agenda ,especially on matters well-being and a healthy nation. And the new envisaged Competency – Based Curriculum .By using chess as a social, healthy and education tool.




                                                                                      Image Credit : Vanderbilt University

Chess has always spoken the language of Blooms ‘Taxonomy and Higher Order Thinking, and we help bring this to life to the curriculum. These initiatives have been conducted because  chess is considered an effective educational tool able to improve not only mathematical skills, but also other academic skills such as reading and general cognitive abilities such as concentration and intelligence, and even children's heuristics and habits of mind (Costa &Kallick, 2009). Critically, efforts to promote chess in schools take for granted that chess skill transfers to other domains.

Chess is a two player strategy board game with 64 squares arranged in an 8 X 8 grid; the game is played by millions of people worldwide. Chess is a cheap and tactical game, and is claimed to develop the part of the brain responsible for planning, judgment and self control, and even to help prevent dementia.



                                                                                       Image Credit: Chess Kenya Federation

The benefits of teaching chess to children –in building skills, resilience and self-esteem have been shown through empirical research done over a period of time. In numeracy, reading and processing of data.
Chess is a thinking game, it is a fair game in that the player is responsible for the fate of the game and there is no other thing intervention in the game either in the form of luck or in the form of chance. And just like the subject of  Mathematics : thinking, concentration, problem-solving and analytical abilities are the pre-requisites for the game of chess as well. And the good thing is that these good skills are taught in a fun way. Children enjoy the game and as part of their play, they learn these good skills.
Chess provides an active learning environment where the students do most of the work .The students use their brains, think about ideas, solve problems and immediately apply what they learn. Learning chess is fast, fun, supportive and attractive. In this respect chess is an important tool in active learning.
Research
Researches on chess proved that this sport helps chess playing individuals develop mental capacities like creativity, critical thinking, decision making, problem solving and usage of time all of which play a role in their success.
A Canadian study in 1992 confirmed the Venezuela findings when a group of first grade chess students significantly outperformed their peers in math, both in problem solving and comprehension. Looking specifically at Quebec, some years back their math scores were the lowest in the country. Chess became a school subject and now the children in Quebec have the highest math scores in Canada.

Chess has also been shown to foster critical and creative thinking. Dr Ferguson’s four-year study (1979-83) analysed the impact of chess on students’ thinking skills in the Bradford Area School District in the United States (grades 7-9). These students were already - 14 - identified as gifted, with intelligence quotient (IQ) scores above 130. Using two tests (Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal and the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking) Ferguson (1995, pp. 4-6) found that after spending 60-64 hours playing and studying chess over 32 weeks students showed significant progress in critical thinking. He further found that chess enhances “creativity in gifted adolescents.” He concluded that “it appears that chess is superior to many currently used programs for developing creative thinking and, therefore, could logically be included in a differentiated program for mentally gifted students”.

 Playing chess, however, is not only valuable for developing the skills of gifted children. Average and even below average learners can also benefit. Chess teacher Michael Wojcio (1990) notes that “even if a slow learner does not grasp all of [the strategies and tactics in chess], he/she can still benefit by learning language, concepts, and fine motor movement.” During a program run by Dr Ferguson from September 1987 to May 1988 all members of a standard sixth grade class in rural Pennsylvania were required to take chess lessons and play games. This class had 9 boys and 5 girls. At the start of this study students took IQ tests, producing a mean IQ of 104.6. Students then studied chess two or three times per week while playing most days. They were also encouraged to participate in tournaments. After this intensive chess instruction a group of seven boys managed to finish second in the 1998 Pennsylvania State Scholastic Championship. Significantly, at the conclusion of the study tests showed a significant increase in both memory and verbal reasoning skills, especially among the more competitive chess players (Ferguson 1995, pp. 8-9).

Chess has even been shown to raise students’ overall IQ scores. Using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children a Venezuelan study of over 4,000 second grade students found a significant increase in most students’ IQ scores after only 4.5 months of systematically studying chess. This occurred across all socio-economic groups and for both males and females. The Venezuelan government was so impressed that all Venezuelan schools introduced chess lessons starting in 1988-89 (summarised in Ferguson 1995, p. 8)
Why does chess have this impact?
Why did chess players score higher on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking as well as the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal? Briefly, there appear to be at least seven significant factors:

·         Chess accommodates all modality strengths.

·         Chess provides a far greater quantity of problems for practice.

·         Chess offers immediate punishments and rewards for problem solving.

·         Chess creates a pattern or thinking system that, when used faithfully, breeds success. The chess-playing students had become accustomed to looking for more and different alternatives, which resulted in higher scores in fluency and originality.

·         Competition. Competition fosters interest, promotes mental alertness, challenges all students, and elicits the highest levels of achievement (Stephan, 1988).

·         A learning environment organized around games has a positive affect on students’ attitudes toward learning. This affective dimension acts as a facilitator of cognitive achievement (Allen & Main, 1976). Instructional gaming is one of the most motivational tools in the good teacher’s repertoire. Children love games. Chess motivates them to become willing problem solvers and spend hours quietly immersed in logical thinking. These same young people often cannot sit still for fifteen minutes in the traditional classroom.

·         Chess supplies a variety and quality of problems. As Langen (1992) states: “The problems that arise in the 70-90 positions of the average chess game are, moreover, new. Contexts are familiar, themes repeat, but game positions never do. This makes chess good grist for the problem-solving mill.

·         It’s a remarkable universal language, as it bridges the gaps of language, gender, sex, age, economics, education and Persons Living with Disabilities (PWD).

·         It’s used as an education and health tool to aid learning processes.

·         Used  as a tool to teach autistic learners

·         Reaches boys and girls regardless of their natural abilities or socio-economic backgrounds. Given these educational benefits ,chess is one of the most effective teaching tools to prepare children for a world increasingly swamped by information and ever tougher decisions.

·         It can be taught by using both offline and online resources and materials. That's usage of ICT / computer learning centers in schools and the communities.

·         It in calculates the fundamental knowledge and skills like :creativity, problem solving,communication,entrepreneurship,collaboration ,which are needed to prepare pupils and students for the 21st century ,regardless of their ultimate field of study and occupation.
Education Benefits
But the  educational benefits of chess aren’t just for the game’s grandmasters.  Chess can combat many challenges we face today: fractured attention, indecisiveness and a shortage of grit and discipline brought on by too much screen time. Technology has forever changed the way we live, learn and play. Our children have insatiable appetites for fast-paced, action-packed entertainment, and it often feels as though we are watching powerlessly as their patience and critical-thinking skills suffer.


A child who is introduced to chess at a young age is likely to do better in school for years to come. Research shows that playing chess improves a child’s thinking, problem-solving, reading, and math scores. Educators and chess experts generally agree the second grade is the ideal time to introduce children to chess, although some as young as four or five may be ready to learn and play.

If children were taught this noble game at their tender age and encouraged to play the game, they will perform better in their academic career and outshine others – this is a finding of a research study. Many countries have introduced the game of chess as part of their school curriculum and have made it a subject or game that each child should learn and play regularly.

Chess education has a substantial positive effect on analytical thinking skills which are important in math, engineering, and physical sciences .The impact is particularly strong among girls.
STEM
Chess involves strategic, tactical, and spatial reasoning along with abstract and concrete thinking. It trains students to think and plan ahead, quickly and carefully consider multiple options, and inculcates in them the importance of winning and losing graciously. Chess can be easily added into any school curriculum, either as a side activity, extra-curricula or as a curriculum enhancement.

Winka Academy in Kenya is the only school in the entire country and East and Central Africa offering scholastic chess. At the academy, chess is taught like any other subject and is allocated more time in the timetable, mathematics and other subject scores improved during the duration of the pilot study.

Over 30 nations including Armenia, Brazil, China, Venezuela, Italy, Israel, Russia, Spain and Greece,  chess is part of the country’s national curriculum. Since 2011, all children in Armenia from six to eight years old have had compulsory chess lessons.
European Parliament
These initiatives have been conducted because  chess is considered an effective educational tool able to improve not only mathematical skills, but also other academic skills such as reading and general cognitive abilities such as concentration and intelligence, and even children's heuristics and habits of mind (Costa &Kallick, 2009). Critically, efforts to promote chess in schools take for granted that chess skill transfers to other domains.


Chess as a tool for education and health ,also supports  and links the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs) :  No Poverty , Zero Hunger , Good Health And Well-Being ,Quality Education , Gender Equality ,Decent  Work And Economic ,Reduced Inequalities  Growth ,Peace ,Justice And Strong Institutions and partnerships For The Goals.

We highly recommend chess as a tool for improving the social skills of those with autism  ,as well as for academic and cognitive benefits it provides.


This   research  and case studies are all tandem with the Kenya vision 2030,usage as a social tool,the Big Four Agenda as therapy for mental health and autism  and the  new envisaged  Competency-Based Curriculum .Which nurtures talent .


                                                                   Image  Credit:LGM Kidula


Therefore the primary intent of the chess  chess programme is not to teach chess. The primary intent of chess education is to help with the cognitive and effective development of the individual like in other classes using chess as the tool.
Currently, chess is constituted as an extra-curricular activity by the Ministry of Education Research and Technology . A provision which has made the discipline not to grow in leaps and pounds, despite the concerted efforts the Chess Kenya Federation has put in place to make it successful in Kenya.
That:
§ Chess Kenya , humbly requests the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development  to consider to include the subject to the Physical and Sports pathway as an : core-curricular, regular class activity, an elective, enrichment and after school activity. And that Chess Kenya  Federation be invited  officially to attend  the : National  Curriculum Conference  to be held on 16th August ,2019.
§  Chess as a tool for education and health can be taught during the Physical Education lessons in the current 8-4-4  Kenyan education system, as a discipline. Since, the Physical Education is taught as subject in our schools. And be incorporated as Physical and Sports pathway in the new envisaged Competence –Based Curriculum.
§  The Ministry of Education Research and Technology to include the game in the annual and yearly Sports Calendar’s 2019/20 as part of the indoor games like table tennis and badminton. And since chess is a cheap and affordable sport, there should be establishment of chess clubs in all the private,public schools in Kenya.
§  The Kenya Institute of  Special Education adopts the  Primary School Chess Curriculum and Instruction  to as education tool for education and health  to autistic  kids and the  Persons Living With Disability in our learning schools and institutions.
§  The Kenya Literature Bureau to at least edit and publish free Primary School Chess Curriculum and Instruction  books to be used by both learners at primary and secondary levels.
§  Teacher Service Commission to at least empower two teachers (primary and secondary) to be Chess Kenya Champions to help drive the subject in their respective: schools, communities and counties.
§  Currently there is a petition pending in the Kenya National Assembly and the Senate at the Change org  , an online petition on implementing  Chess a Tool for Education and Health: The Kenya National Assembly and Senate Declaration
a.)Through an act of parliament to enact the legislation and the declaration.
b.) Create the Kenya National Scholastic Chess and Math Foundation, through an Act of Parliament to comprise the: Ministry of Education, Teacher Service Commission, Centre for mathematics and science  , KICD ,Chess Kenya Federation  and other stakeholders. In the spirit of private-public strategic partnership.
§  The Chess Kenya Federation ( has finally, submitted a draft  digital and hard copy of  the Chess Kenya Federation Curriculum ,  an improved,  edited and revised  World Chess Federation ( FIDE ) approved : Primary School Chess Curriculum and Instruction ,to the Kenya Institute and Curricular Development  , the Ministry of Education and Research Technology  and Teacher Service Commission ( quality standards departments ) as major stakeholders in the bid,to make : Chess a Tool For Education and Health in our schools and the respective communities..
§  The Chess Kenya Federation, shall help  and facilitated in offering the much needed  professional development and continuous capacity development for the pupils, students ,teachers and communities  .Via their established Chess Kenya Academies in all the counties in Kenya.
Resources:

[12.] Kasaparov Chess Foundation Africa .Benefits of Chess in Education ( http://www.kcfafrica.com/sites/default/files/research_KCFE.pdf )
[14.] Knesset. European Parliament: Chess in Schools (CIS) program Declaration ( https://knesset.gov.il/mmm/data/pdf/eng101618.pdf  )
[15.] Slide Share. A Case for ICT, Computing and Chess Redesigning the Curriculum (https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/fsagwe/a-case-for-ict-computing-and-chess-redesigning-the-kenyan-curriculum )
[16.] Google Drive .Case for ICT, Computer Science and Chess: Redesigning The Kenyan Curriculum (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8rK7nGHZhSoZ3RlM2VFNjNKM2x2X0JVXzhWVjhYOVBQLVpZ/view )
[18.] United Nations .Global Goals (  https://www.globalgoals.org)
[19.] United Nations .An evening At The UN with JuditPolgar  (https://chess24.com/en/read/news/an-evening-at-the-un-with-judit-polgar )
[20.] Chess.com .Computer Chess. ( https://www.chess.com/play/computer)
[21.] Change org.Chess a Tool for Education and Health: The Kenya National Assembly and Senate Declaration    (https://www.change.org/p/chess-a-tool-for-education-health-the-kenya-national-assembly-senate-declaration)
[22.] The Education Partners .Closing The Gender Gap in Chess ( http://blog.theeducationpartners.com/closing-the-gender-gap-in-chess )
[23.]  The Standard.Sagwe to head Chess inSchools programme
https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/sports/article/2001302581/sagwe-to-head-chess-in-schools-programme)
[24] US. First Move Chess (  https://firstmovechess.org )
[26.] BBC.Chess in education Armenia ( https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-43084816 )
[ 28.] Verywell Family. Improve childrens mental health( https://www.verywellfamily.com/improve-childrens-mental-health-4154379 )
[29.] London Chess Conference. Chess as a Mental Health Therapy ( https://londonchessconference.com/chess-as-a-mental-health-therapy )







Comments