Guest Post by Dr. Shannon Dean
Dr. Shannon R. Dean is an Assistant Professor at Texas State University in the Student Affairs in Higher Education (SAHE) program. She holds a Ph.D. in counseling and student affairs administration from the University of Georgia. Her research interests include student development and learning, multicultural consciousness, and teaching pedagogies.
Snapshot
Type of interaction: Group, Face-to-face
Type of activity: In-class, Synchronous
Engaging students around difficult topics such as race, gender, socioeconomic status or other social identities can be a daunting and yet, crucially important task. In an increasingly diverse university setting, it is critical for faculty to encourage meaningful dialogue around difficult and controversial topics as faculty prepare students to engage in a diverse world. That said, finding meaningful activities to enhance learning can also be challenging.
In my course, I use a simulation game to engage students around these topics. Below, I will discuss the game and how I utilize it to further conversations around diversity.
The Game: Barnga
Barnga is a simulation game created by Sivasailam Thiagarajan (Thaigi Group, n.d.) as an attempt to highlight various cultural and communication differences between individuals and groups. The simulation is done in silence, which also heightens students’ awareness of their emotions and discomfort during the game. The card game essentially places students into three (or more) groups with different rules to the same card game. Then, at the end of each round, the individual who has won the most tricks moves to another group as does the individual with the least number of tricks.
- Place students in groups of 4-5
- Each group has a deck of cards including Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 – other cards are discarded
- in one group the Ace is high, for another the Ace is low
- The idea of the game is similar to spades where the highest card or trump wins the trick
- The rule sheets can be accessed through the Thaigarajan store or other online venues
See this video for an idea of what the game looks like in action.
Barnga Video Screenshot
Implementation
In my hybrid class, I’ve used this simulation to discuss race, cultural communication, and socioeconomic differences. When using it to discuss class and socioeconomic differences, you can put the class into groups where one group is sitting at the front of the class. This group is provided with snacks. The second group sits at tables, but with no snacks. The last group is at the back of the room, often sitting on the ground, if space and ability allow. Since the activity is done in silence students will often find themselves stewing in their emotions and frustration as they move from group to group and realize the rules are not the same for everyone.
The beauty of this activity is not in the activity itself, but rather in the rich dialogue that comes from the reflective discussion after the activity is complete. Typically, I start with asking them to identify what happened in the game and their initial emotions. Then as the conversation progresses, I make sure to ask questions about how this relates to real life – what kinds of rules exist for various groups. How easy or difficult is it to succeed when you do or do not know the rules of a group, identity, or society? These questions spur students into thinking more deeply about their own group membership within various identity groups, as well as what it is like to be another engaging with their group or vice versa.
To me, this activity creates more meaningful discussions when the students know each other – at least a little. However, it has also been powerful for students meeting for the first time. The idea is that students engage in meaningful conversation around diversity topics. This simulation helps them better understand complex topics that are often difficult to grasp until confronted with them more tangibly.
Reference
Thaigi Group, n.d., Barnga: 25th anniversary edition. Retrieved from: http://www.thiagi.com/thiagi-store/barnga-25th-anniversary-edition?rq=barnga