Course Syllabus

Course Information
(course number, course title, term, any specific section title) ED 5344 Chess in the Elementary
School Curriculum
ED 5344 0T1 11308
Fall 2006

Professor Contact Information

(Professor’s name, phone number, email, office location, office hours, other information)Dr. Alexey Root,
940-484-2265, aroot@utdallas.edu, GR2.240 (administrative assistant's office)--her name is Michele
Dunavin and her phone is 972-883-2057, office hours by appointment.

Course Pre-requisites, Co-requisites, and/or Other Restrictions

(including required prior knowledge or skills)
No prerequisites.

Course Description 3 semester hours. A consideration of methods for using chess to

teach problem solving, math, and reading skills in the elementary classroom, based
upon the curricular model developed by McNeil.

Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes The student will read and discuss with the
instructor and classmates theories of curriculum and the role of chess in K-12 schools. The
student will interact with a classmate through a chess game, exchanging chess moves and
information about the course either in person, by phone, or by email.
The student will create two lesson plans that combine educational goals and chess subject
matter. The student will teach those two lesson plans and then reflect on the teaching to
look for what went well and what could be improved.
In addition to the above objectives, which are shared with ED 4358, graduate students in
ED 5344 will complete two extra 100 point assignments not required of ED 4358 students: a
paper and a project. The ED 5344 paper requires graduate students to analyze and critique three
chess curricula. The graduate student project is individualized. Students propose a project for
their own situations (for example an elective chess class for their school) and develop a proposal
for implementing that project. Thus the graduate students are doing more work, and more
advanced work, than the undergraduate 4358 students.

Required Textbooks and Materials

Chess for Dummies (1st or 2nd edition) by James Eade, Chess for Success by Maurice

Ashley, and Children and Chess: A Guide for Educators by Alexey Root. Check out or

Course Syllabus Page 1

 buy a literature book to read during Unit Five. Course texts are on reserve at the UT-

Dallas library. Course texts are available for sale at the UTD bookstore, Off Campus

books, and through online book retailers. Students also receive a Your First Lessons in

Chess© CD, available from UTD General Studies, Michele Dunavin

<dunavin@utdallas.edu> or (972) 883-2057.

Suggested Course Materials for graduate students in ED 5344

Students should choose three chess curricula from the following to evaluate for their paper
and to inform their project.
First is the list on library reserve for ED 5344. Following that is a list of other resources I've
compiled.

Open/Close All Folders | Help Opening Documents

Title Primary Author Format Size (KB)

Check This, Mate: Chess Moves Kids (in
American School Board Journal, vol. 182, Adobe Acrobat (PDF) 405 KB
pg. 38-40, 1995)
Checkmate: Capturing Gifted Students'
Web/OPAC Link -
Logical Thinking Using Chess
Chess as a Way of Improving Object
Relationships in Narcissistic Teenagers (in
Gaines, Larry Web/OPAC Link -
Adolescent Psychiatry, vol. 25, pg. 187,
2000)
Chess: It's Your Move (in Teaching Pre-K-
Web/OPAC Link -
8, vol. 32, pgs.64-5, 2002)
Chess: Just a Game or Rules of Society?
(in Curriculum Review, vol. 39, pgs.8-10, Web/OPAC Link -
2000)
Teaching Beginning Chess Skills to
Web/OPAC Link -
Students with Disabilities
Teaching Chess to Young Children (in
Adobe Acrobat (PDF) 257 KB
Young Children, vol. 55, pgs. 33-4, 2000)
The Chess and Mathematics Connection:
More than Just a Game (in Mathematics
Adobe Acrobat (PDF) 678 KB
Teaching in the Middle School, vol. 9, pgs.
246-50, 2004)

A Chess Analogy: Teaching the Role of Adobe Acrobat (PDF) 356 KB

Course Syllabus Page 2

Animals in Ecosystems (in American
Biology Teacher, vol. 50, 1988, pgs. 160-2)
Teaching Ecology by Chess (in Journal of
Biological Education, vol. 21, pgs. 181-4, Adobe Acrobat (PDF) 533 KB
1987)
It's Your Move: Offering Seminars to Teach
Strategy Games (in Gifted Child Today Adobe Acrobat (PDF) 170 KB
Magazine, vol. 17:3, pgs. 26-7, 1994)
How to Teach Chess in the Public Schools:
A Course Outline (ED 229302)

For the sites listed below, students will be evaluating whether the claims are well-

presented, convincing, and logical. For software and books, the student will be playing

through their chess examples and deciding whether the chess content is presented

clearly. The student will also be deciding if educational claims made on the packaging or

in the introductory sections of the software and books are supported by their curricula.

The list which follows contains my current suggestions. I'm open to Web sites,

software, articles, and books that you bring to my attention as well.

Web sites:

USCF's Chess in Education Committee

http://www.thechessacademy.org/USCF_Chess_Education_Committee.htm

Chess Kids Academy

http://www.chesskids.com/

America's Foundation for Chess

http://www.af4c.org/

Chess-in-the-Schools

http://www.chessintheschools.org/

UTD Chess Team

http://chessweb.utdallas.edu/index.html

Chess Education: Why Chess is Awesome

Course Syllabus Page 3

http://library.thinkquest.org/10746/reasons.html

National Scholastic Chess Foundation

http://www.nscfchess.org/nscfmiss.htm

Berkeley Chess School

http://www.berkeleychessschool.org/

Success Chess Schools

http://www.successchess.com/

Software:

Think Like A King®

http://www.schoolchess.com/

Chess School for Beginners

http://products.convekta.com/197/2/

Maurice Ashley Teaches Chess

Assignments & Academic Calendar

(Topics, Reading Assignments, Due Dates, Exam Dates)
Each Unit takes around 2 weeks if the students take ED 5344 on the 16-week schedule. Each unit takes one
week if the students take ED 5344 on the 8-week schedule. There are no exams in the course. Please note
that in weeks where there are not reading assignments that there are other types of assignments: playing
chess with a classmate, teaching a chess lesson, etc. And since this course is online, every week the
students read my "lecture" for the Unit online. Most lectures are about 8 Word pages long.
All assignments must be completed by Monday midnight at the end of the Unit.
Unit One: Meeting classmates, learning chess, and buying course texts.

Reading Assignment: Play through the entire Your First Lessons in Chess© CD.

Unit Two: Playing chess and selecting your chess students.

Reading Assignment: None.

Unit Three: Lesson Plan One (rough draft), chess rules, chess history and Ashley

Discussion postings, graduate student work assigned.

Reading Assignment: Chapters 1 and 8 of Children and Chess: A Guide for

Educators. Part I and Part II of Chess for Dummies (up to page 152 in the 1st

Course Syllabus Page 4

edition, and up to page 175 in the 2nd edition). Chess for Success up to page 54.

Graduate students begin reading the library reserve and other Web sites listed

above under suggested reading.

Unit Four: Lesson Plan One (final draft), flow Discussion posting.

Reading Assignment: Chess for Success (pages 55-106) and Children and Chess: A

Guide for Educators (Chapter 2).

Unit Five: Reflection One, competition and chess game Discussion postings.

Reading Assignment: Ashley (pages 107-186), Root (Chapter 3), and Eade (part IV).

Unit Six: Lesson Plan Two (rough draft), chess in literature and teaching styles

Reading Assignment: Read Chapters 4 and 5 of Children and Chess: A Guide for

Educators. Read a literary work (or a small portion of a literary work) in which

chess is featured.

Unit Seven: Lesson Plan Two (final draft), life lessons/planning and MI Discussion

postings.

Reading Assignment: Read Ashley (page 187-203) and Root (Chapter 7) Read Root

(chapter 6) and two multiple intelligences (MI) Web sites.

Unit Eight: Reflection Two, Course Evaluation, graduate paper and project due.

Reading Assignment: None.

Grading Policy
(including percentages for assignments, grade scale, etc.)
Each Unit is worth 100 points. Thus, for graduates, 1000 points is the highest possible grade.
Here are the points broken down by Unit, and then the grading scale for the entire

course.

Unit One: Meeting classmates, learning chess, and

buying course texts.

Course Syllabus Page 5

This unit is comprised of six assignments, listed below with their point values. The pages
in the online module provide greater detail for each of the assignments.

1. Within three days of course access, you must establish a UTD email account, and
notify the instructor of your UTD email. (10 points)
2. Within five days of course access, your UTD email must also be the email you list
with the UT TeleCampus. (10 points)
3. Post on the Discussion Board: Self-introduction (30 Points)
4. Play through the entire Your First Lessons in Chess© CD, available when you
register from UTD General Studies. (20 points)
5. Email me a summary of what you learned from the CD, and what you liked and
didn't like about it. (30 points)
6. Buy the course texts, Chess for Dummies (1st or 2nd edition) by James Eade,
Chess for Success by Maurice Ashley, and Children and Chess: A Guide for
Educators by Alexey Root. Check out or buy a literature book to read during Unit
Five.

Unit Two: Playing chess and selecting your chess

students
This unit is comprised of three assignments, listed below with their point values. The
pages in the online module provide greater detail for each of the assignments.

1. Play at least 5 moves of chess with a classmate.

2. Post on the Discussion Board: The game score with your classmate for moves 1-5
in algebraic notation. (50 points)
3. Email the instructor from your UTD email account to whom you will teach two
lessons of chess. (50 points)

Unit Three: Lesson Plan One (rough draft), chess rules,

chess history and Ashley Discussion postings, graduate
student work assigned
This unit is comprised of three assignments, listed below with their point values. The
pages in the online module provide greater detail for each of the assignments.

1. Email the instructor a rough draft of your Lesson Plan One. (40 points)
2. Post on the Discussion Board: What you've learned from Part I and Part II of
Chess for Dummies; Thoughts on Ashley's life history. (30 points; 30 points)
3. Graduate Students only: Email instructor topics for research paper and project.
(10 points; 20 points)

Course Syllabus Page 6

Unit Four: Lesson Plan One (final draft), chess rules,
flow Discussion posting
This unit is comprised of two assignments, listed below with their point values. The
pages in the online module provide greater detail for each of the assignments.

1. Email the instructor the final draft of your Lesson Plan One. (60 points)
2. Post on the Discussion Board: Compare readings on the topic of flow. (40 points)

Unit Five: Reflection One, competition and chess game

Discussion postings.
This unit is comprised of three assignments, listed below with their point values. The
pages in the online module provide greater detail for each of the assignments.

1. Email the instructor your Reflection One of how the teaching of Lesson Plan One
went. (40 points)
2. Post on the Discussion Board: Post the notation of your chess game with your in-
class opponent. If your opponent has already posted the game score notation, then
you should post your post-mortem comments and/or game annotations. (20
points)
3. Compare what you learned about competition and tournament chess from Ashley
(pages 107-186), Root (Chapter 3), and Eade (part IV). (40 points)

Unit Six: Lesson Plan Two (rough draft), chess in

literature and teaching styles Discussion postings,
graduate student work rough drafts.
This unit is comprised of four assignments, listed below with their point values. There is
a fifth assignment for graduate students. The pages in the online module provide greater
detail for each of the assignments.

1. Email the instructor a rough draft of your Lesson Plan Two (40 points).
2. Read Chapters 4 and 5 of Children and Chess: A Guide for Educators (0 points).
3. Post on the Discussion Board: Read a literary work (or a small portion of a
literary work) in which chess is featured. Explain how you would meet one or
more reading objectives using excerpts from this work. (30 points)
4. Post on the Discussion Board: What do Sunil Weeramantry and Stephen Shutt
show us about teaching chess in the classroom? Make analogies to your subject
matter field (college major) and how it is taught in K-12 schools. (30 points)
5. Graduate Students only: Submit either a rough draft or an outline of your paper
(20 points). Your final draft will be a maximum of 8 double spaced pages long, so

Course Syllabus Page 7

 the rough draft should be roughly that same length. Submit a summary of the
steps you've taken so far in your project, and email me. (10 points)

Unit Seven: Lesson Plan Two (final draft), life

lessons/planning and MI Discussion postings
This unit is comprised of two assignments, listed below with their point values. The
pages in the online module provide greater detail for each of the assignments.

1. Email the instructor the final draft of your Lesson Plan Two. (60 points)
2. Post on the Discussion Board: Three topics (40 points, total)
3. Read Ashley (page 187-203) and Root (Chapter 7) and post regarding what chess
can teach people about life. (15 points)
4. Post your own story (or that of your chess student or students) about how life
skills have improved because of chess. (10 points)
5. Read Root (chapter 6), visit two multiple intelligences (MI) Web sites, and
comment on multiple intelligences. (15 points)

Unit Eight: Reflection Two, Course Evaluation,

graduate paper and project due
This unit is comprised of three assignments, plus a fourth lesson for graduate students,
listed below with their point values. The pages in the online module provide greater detail
for each of the assignments.

1. Email the instructor your Reflection Two of how the teaching of Lesson Plan Two
went. (50 points)
2. All students email the instructor what they liked and didn't like about ED 4358 or
ED 5344. Be specific in your suggestions for what to keep and what to change.
(50 points)
3. All students submit the online evaluations of the course via UT TeleCampus.
4. Graduate Students only: Submit your final drafts of your paper and your project
(70 points; 70 points).

Grading Scale:

Graduate Students (ED 5344):

900-1000=A

800-899=B

700-799=C

600-699=D

Course Syllabus Page 8

Below 599=F

Course & Instructor Policies

(make-up exams, extra credit, late work, special assignments, class attendance, classroom citizenship, etc.)
Each unit is valued at 100 points. Because the course is 8 units long, and there are two extra

100 point assignments for graduate students, the highest possible score for unit completion is

1000 points. Most assignments within each 100 point unit are worth 10-60 points. Late

assignments are penalized 5 points per day late. Deadlines are indicated by the Course

Calendar. You must finish all assignments listed within a unit by midnight of the last day of

that unit. The two extra 100 point assignments for ED 5344 are broken down into 30 points

for preliminary planning/drafts and 70 points for final drafts.

The undergraduate ED 4358 grading scale is based on 800 points, and the

graduate ED 5344 grading scale is based on 1000 points.

Field Trip Policies

Off-campus Instruction and Course Activities

Off-campus, out-of-state, and foreign instruction and activities are subject to state law and
University policies and procedures regarding travel and risk-related activities. Information
regarding these rules and regulations may be found at the website address
http://www.utdallas.edu/BusinessAffairs/Travel_Risk_Activities.htm. Additional information is
available from the office of the school dean. Below is a description of any travel and/or risk-
related activity associated with this course.

Student Conduct & Discipline

The University of Texas System and The University of Texas at Dallas have rules and regulations
for the orderly and efficient conduct of their business. It is the responsibility of each student and
each student organization to be knowledgeable about the rules and regulations which govern
student conduct and activities. General information on student conduct and discipline is contained
in the UTD publication, A to Z Guide, which is provided to all registered students each academic
year.

The University of Texas at Dallas administers student discipline within the procedures of
recognized and established due process. Procedures are defined and described in the Rules and
Regulations, Board of Regents, The University of Texas System, Part 1, Chapter VI, Section 3, and
in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities of the university’s Handbook of Operating
Procedures. Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the

Course Syllabus Page 9

 Dean of Students, where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules and
regulations (SU 1.602, 972/883-6391).

A student at the university neither loses the rights nor escapes the responsibilities of citizenship.
He or she is expected to obey federal, state, and local laws as well as the Regents’ Rules,
university regulations, and administrative rules. Students are subject to discipline for violating the
standards of conduct whether such conduct takes place on or off campus, or whether civil or
criminal penalties are also imposed for such conduct.

Academic Integrity

The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and academic honesty. Because
the value of an academic degree depends upon the absolute integrity of the work done by the
student for that degree, it is imperative that a student demonstrate a high standard of individual
honor in his or her scholastic work.

Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts or omissions related to
applications for enrollment or the award of a degree, and/or the submission as one’s own work or
material that is not one’s own. As a general rule, scholastic dishonesty involves one of the
following acts: cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or falsifying academic records. Students
suspected of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary proceedings.

Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other classes, and from any other
source is unacceptable and will be dealt with under the university’s policy on plagiarism (see
general catalog for details). This course will use the resources of turnitin.com, which searches the
web for possible plagiarism and is over 90% effective.

Email Use

The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value and efficiency of communication between
faculty/staff and students through electronic mail. At the same time, email raises some issues
concerning security and the identity of each individual in an email exchange. The university
encourages all official student email correspondence be sent only to a student’s U.T. Dallas email
address and that faculty and staff consider email from students official only if it originates from a
UTD student account. This allows the university to maintain a high degree of confidence in the
identity of all individual corresponding and the security of the transmitted information. UTD
furnishes each student with a free email account that is to be used in all communication with
university personnel. The Department of Information Resources at U.T. Dallas provides a method
for students to have their U.T. Dallas mail forwarded to other accounts.

Withdrawal from Class

The administration of this institution has set deadlines for withdrawal of any college-level courses.
These dates and times are published in that semester's course catalog. Administration procedures
must be followed. It is the student's responsibility to handle withdrawal requirements from any
class. In other words, I cannot drop or withdraw any student. You must do the proper paperwork
to ensure that you will not receive a final grade of "F" in a course if you choose not to attend the
class once you are enrolled.

Student Grievance Procedures

Procedures for student grievances are found in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities,
of the university’s Handbook of Operating Procedures.

Course Syllabus Page 10

 In attempting to resolve any student grievance regarding grades, evaluations, or other fulfillments
of academic responsibility, it is the obligation of the student first to make a serious effort to
resolve the matter with the instructor, supervisor, administrator, or committee with whom the
grievance originates (hereafter called “the respondent”). Individual faculty members retain
primary responsibility for assigning grades and evaluations. If the matter cannot be resolved at
that level, the grievance must be submitted in writing to the respondent with a copy of the
respondent’s School Dean. If the matter is not resolved by the written response provided by the
respondent, the student may submit a written appeal to the School Dean. If the grievance is not
resolved by the School Dean’s decision, the student may make a written appeal to the Dean of
Graduate or Undergraduate Education, and the deal will appoint and convene an Academic
Appeals Panel. The decision of the Academic Appeals Panel is final. The results of the academic
appeals process will be distributed to all involved parties.

Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the Dean of
Students, where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules and
regulations.

Incomplete Grade Policy

As per university policy, incomplete grades will be granted only for work unavoidably missed at
the semester’s end and only if 70% of the course work has been completed. An incomplete grade
must be resolved within eight (8) weeks from the first day of the subsequent long semester. If the
required work to complete the course and to remove the incomplete grade is not submitted by the
specified deadline, the incomplete grade is changed automatically to a grade of F.

Disability Services

The goal of Disability Services is to provide students with disabilities educational opportunities
equal to those of their non-disabled peers. Disability Services is located in room 1.610 in the
Student Union. Office hours are Monday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday and
Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The contact information for the Office of Disability Services is:

The University of Texas at Dallas, SU 22
PO Box 830688
Richardson, Texas 75083-0688
(972) 883-2098 (voice or TTY)

Essentially, the law requires that colleges and universities make those reasonable adjustments
necessary to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability. For example, it may be necessary
to remove classroom prohibitions against tape recorders or animals (in the case of dog guides) for
students who are blind. Occasionally an assignment requirement may be substituted (for example,
a research paper versus an oral presentation for a student who is hearing impaired). Classes
enrolled students with mobility impairments may have to be rescheduled in accessible facilities.
The college or university may need to provide special services such as registration, note-taking, or
mobility assistance.

It is the student’s responsibility to notify his or her professors of the need for such an
accommodation. Disability Services provides students with letters to present to faculty members
to verify that the student has a disability and needs accommodations. Individuals requiring special
accommodation should contact the professor after class or during office hours.

Religious Holy Days

Course Syllabus Page 11

 The University of Texas at Dallas will excuse a student from class or other required activities for
the travel to and observance of a religious holy day for a religion whose places of worship are
exempt from property tax under Section 11.20, Tax Code, Texas Code Annotated.

The student is encouraged to notify the instructor or activity sponsor as soon as possible regarding
the absence, preferably in advance of the assignment. The student, so excused, will be allowed to
take the exam or complete the assignment within a reasonable time after the absence: a period
equal to the length of the absence, up to a maximum of one week. A student who notifies the
instructor and completes any missed exam or assignment may not be penalized for the absence. A
student who fails to complete the exam or assignment within the prescribed period may receive a
failing grade for that exam or assignment.

If a student or an instructor disagrees about the nature of the absence [i.e., for the purpose of
observing a religious holy day] or if there is similar disagreement about whether the student has
been given a reasonable time to complete any missed assignments or examinations, either the
student or the instructor may request a ruling from the chief executive officer of the institution, or
his or her designee. The chief executive officer or designee must take into account the legislative
intent of TEC 51.911(b), and the student and instructor will abide by the decision of the chief
executive officer or designee.

These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor.

Course Syllabus Page 12