Giving Compass' Take:

· Writing for Education Dive, Linda Jacobson talks about game-based learning and explains that games are also assisting district leaders see different perspective when making district-level decisions.

· How are game-based approaches used in decision making? How do games show different perspectives?

· Here's how game-based learning is changing the way we teach.

A former state governor, some Los Angeles-area business leaders, and a variety of parents, educators and community members gathered at a Beverly Hills, California, home recently to cut 4% from a school’s budget.

They could trim classroom aide positions, but not if it’s past the deadline to lay off personnel, an educator in the group noted. They could bring in volunteer tutors, but a parent questioned whether those individuals would have the proper training and be dependable. Or, they could cut equipment and materials, but another participant reminded everyone that some funds are restricted.

“You want to keep the cuts away from the classroom as much as possible,” a school board member said.

The budget challenge, however, wasn’t a real one — it was part of a game developed by researchers at the RAND Corporation to help those who focus on such issues in reality in considering multiple perspectives when making decisions.

“Let’s Improve Tanner High School,” which includes a range of funding, achievement and school culture-related challenges, has been played in Washington, Pittsburgh and now Los Angeles, and the researchers would eventually like to make it widely available. The principal of the fictional Tanner High has gone on leave, an assistant administrator is serving as acting principal, and the participants’ charge is to provide advice on key policy issues. The group that makes recommendations considered by the others to be the most promising is declared the winner.

Read the full article about game-based learning by Linda Jacobson at Education Dive.