Chess in Education

Every last Wednesday of the month ChessPlus holds a Discussion Group meeting for chess educators to share and discuss their experiences, ideas, and knowledge on different topics related to Chess in Education. The event is supported by the European Chess Union.

Discussion Group Meetings allow participants to share their knowledge and expertise on a particular topic regarding Chess in Education. Participants can learn from each other and gain new insights through different perspectives and experiences.

Wednesday, 31st May 2023 from 17:00 - 18:30 London time

(Don`t forget to check your time zone!)

Oliver Conran (UK) - Principal I Scholastic Chess Hong Kong

• How can we best recognise and respond to students' individual needs in the classroom?
• What are the best practices for addressing divers skill levels?

Oliver Conran studied for a BA in Business Studies from Thames Valley University and is the principal of Scholastic Chess, a provider of school programs based in Hong Kong and organiser of monthly scholastic tournaments. Oliver is an adult improver in chess himself, a chess enthusiast and has a strong belief in the power of educational chess.

Mikkel Nørgaard (Denmark) – Chief Learning Officer I Danish Scholastic Chess 

• In what ways do you see the game of chess could be beneficial to mental health?
  

I’ve been one of the12 full-time employees with the Danish Scholastic Chess for 13 years. I manage a number of projects the organization has with the Danish government, municipalities, foundations etc. Among those are “The Day of Scholastic Chess” which takes place every year in February. This year, 47.000 students took part and 313 schools were involved. I will be speaking about another project of ours: “The brain on the curriculum” which involves 49 schools and +1,000 special needs pupils aged 6 – 17.

Using the methodology of mini-games and alternative chess variants, “The brain on the curriculum” explores how scholastic chess might enhance learning capabilities, self.-efficacy and awareness of mental health with special needs pupils aged 6 – 17. The project runs 2021 – 2024 all over Denmark. The pupils challenges vary between social problems, cognitive challenges and various psychiatric diagnoses. I will be presenting samples of the material that has been developed and outline the theory and practise of how the project works. I’ll also present key insights from the half-way evaluation which was recently concluded.

Other ECU/ChessPlus events:

• ECU101 - The SMART Method to Teach Chess
• Chess and Strategy Games in the Classroom