Last week, Algebra 2 students enjoyed the results of their study of Probability and Statistics as they played board games which they created themselves.
“Students created board games that were fun and challenging, where everyone had an equal chance of winning,” shared Mrs. Agajanian, Algebra teacher and Math Department Chair. “This allowed them to implement their new-found knowledge of probability and statistics.”
As part of the project students were required to brainstorm five ideas for a new type of board game, that they would like to manufacture and sell. They made sketches of the board game and devised the set of rules. After this, students had to think through the items they would need to create their game and the cost of each item. Once the total cost was reached they decided on a selling price and calculated profit on each game that sold.
“This project gave the students a chance to practice experimental probability, doing an experiment and comparing the results with the theoretical probability, what mathematically should happen,” continued Mrs. Agajanian.
“Making their own board game gave the creative students a chance to show off their talents, and the math involved allowed the academic students to show their aptitude. This, coupled with a day of playing the games with their friends, excited the students to want to learn the concepts so their game would be popular.”
Additionally as part of the project, students explored this career field of game creation and researched what it would be like to have a job in this industry. They also had to write a compelling, clear paragraph regarding the final plan for their game.
“Students were allowed to use any theme in their board game, so you could see certain students’ personalities shine,” shared Mrs. Agajanian. “I love teaching Algebra 2, because many of the concepts can be used/seen in ‘real life’ so students see a purpose to all the challenging concepts!”