Beyond the Dice

Early last spring, Dr. Bullock asked CTE Instructor Sandy Cloud what classes they needed to offer in the Business CTE program for the upcoming 2023-24 school year.

“It had become apparent to me that some of our students were still struggling to connect with people after the isolation of the pandemic, so we decided to offer a class that would develop business skills via table games, with an emphasis on networking,” Cloud said.  

In the class, students have learned to play Hearts, Cribbage, Wavelength, Ultimate Banking Monopoly, and Catan so far. 

The games familiarize the students with a standard card deck, teach strategy and mental math and help them learn to test how they communicate ideas.

Students are also building valuable networking skills such as asking questions, giving directions and inclusive conversations. 

Students in the class have shared how the class has improved their social skills and communication skills, and one even shared how it became apparent to them since taking the class that their family has different game rules than everybody else! 

“I was surprised at my own assumptions about student’s experience with games,” Cloud said. “Most students in the class didn’t know that an Ace can be high or low; a Joker and a Jack are not the same; or that the order of face cards is typically Jack, Queen, King. In our warmups, we are learning to shuffle – which is really hard to do!”