by Mary Jo Podgurski
1996, 110 pages paperback EP9910

Are you tired of teaching the same information, week after week, series after series, in the same dry manner? Try some of Mary Jo Podgurski's "games" to enrich your teaching and enhance learning in the classroom. This book has games for teaching childbirth, puberty, sexuality, parenting, and breastfeeding education, as well as ideas for teaching professional workshops or large groups.

For those intimidated by using games as a teaching tool in the classroom, the author uses her introduction to explain why games make learning more fun for clients and educators. According to the author, "games allow for interaction, growth and student involvement." They increase retention by allowing students to actively participate in their learning, teach communication skills, and can add a lighter side to complicated curricula.

The book is easy to read and well-organized. Descriptions and explanations are brief and to the point. Each game includes subject, target population, age suitability, necessary props, and time need to play the game. An overview and list of behavioral objectives sets the stage, followed by directions and helpful hints in a section called "educator tips."

An example of a game that I have used in class is "What Would YOU Do?" This game is appropriate for all age groups and requires very little preparation. Cards with possible scenarios that involve pregnancy, labor and birth are prepared by the educator for both expectant mother and support person. Cards are distributed and discussion follows for each scenario. Variations such as switching roles and using dyads for discussion are offered to make this game successful for any group, large or small.

I encourage all educators to use alternatives to lecture in the classroom. Games Educators Play will give you some of the tools necessary to begin making changes in the way you teach and the way clients learn.

Reviewed by Mae Shoemaker, BA, MSEd, ICCE, Sudbury, Massachusetts USA