Iron Rooks

Educational Rewards System

The Iron Rooks curriculum turns the process of learning chess into a game itself. Lessons are fun and energetic, and are divided into levels that build upon each other. As students Level Up, they meet new challenges and are rewarded for their individual progress. The Iron Rooks Chess Collective strongly believes that no blanket reward system is beneficial to education.

Lessons

Each of our lessons are ten minutes long and taught in the middle of the hour-long classes. This time table is important to our collective as we believe that competing with video games and television means presenting chess with creative, high energy, fun, interactive lessons that are direct and efficient.

To ensure that each lesson is productive, the students are split into subgroups respective to ability and then taught on a large demonstration board. The teacher uses their assessment of the student's abilities to select lessons specifically geared towards each subgroup. Our goal is to deliver the key points of each lesson in several different ways so that each student has a better chance of retaining the information.

We also involve our students in the lessons with the use of questions and acted out scenes to help students with perspective.

Level Up

Like levels in a video game, we challenge students to advance through each stage of our curriculum. Students have the chance to Level Up by taking a test on that last day of class. These tests resemble all of the worksheets they are given throughout the semester and ask the students to apply the lessons learned to demonstrate their progress. Passing a test earns a Level Up Badge. We also use smaller awards as motivation during the semester. Every correct answer earns a sticker called an experience point. During a game, using a topic we have taught in a lesson earns a correlated button. These mini challenges give our students incentive to apply the material that they learn and not just memorize it.

Individual Progress

The only way for chess to be an effective aid to a student's cognitive development is if they are truly learning the game. Since everyone learns at different rates, Iron Rooks has designed a curriculum that encourages progress, but allows everyone to move forward at their own pace. The energy and effort a student puts into our program has an equal output in rewards. The result is motivation, confidence, and encouragement to use the lessons learned.

No Blanket Reward System

As educators, our goal is to help students learn. Disregarding a student's effort and giving them the same trophy or prize in a blanket reward system is counterproductive. In such a system, students who are trying harder are taught that their extra effort gets them nothing in return. Inversely, the students who do not try at all learn that this is acceptable behavior and get rewarded for not putting in effort. Encouraging bad habits and deterring ambition is wrong.

Iron Rooks teaches children that hard work pays off by rewarding them with a high five, sticker, button or level up badge respective to their accomplishment. It is important to use a motivation reward system in correct proportions. Small progress warrants encouragement and a high five. Great achievements warrant great rewards and motivation for the next level.