Chess in the Schools and Communities Conference (CISCCON)
Held at the University of Aberdeen (30th August – 1st September 2007)
Background Information
This first Chess in the Schools and Communities International Conference (CISCCON) brought together researchers, policy makers, educators and other practitioners from across the world to share ideas and expertise in developing chess in schools. Themes of social capital, resilience, mentoring and educational theoretical work underpinned the conference presentations and workshops. These can be found on this website, thanks to the co-operation of the speakers, presenters and participants.
The conference was organised by a small group which included project staff from Aberdeen’s Chess Development Project, Scottish Junior Chess, in alliance with the University of Aberdeen’s Rowan Group in the School of Education. This was co-ordinated by Dod Forrest, principal community learning officer with Aberdeen City Council and the driving force behind the inception of the Aberdeen Chess in Schools Project.
The Keynote speakers:
- Susan Polgar (Chess Grandmaster and former World Champion)
- Jonathan Rowson (Chess Grandmaster and former British Champion)
- Fritz Gaspard (Chess-in-the-Schools, New York)
- Virginia Morrow (Reader at the Institute of Education, University of London)
- Kate Philip (Senior Research Fellow, University of Aberdeen)
- Janet Shucksmith (Professor in Public Health at the University of Teeside)
- Ferdinand Gobet (Professor Psychology and Director of the Centre for the Study of Expertise at Brunel University.
- Fernando Moreno (Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland, USA)
- Dr Steven Tobias, Steve Carrol and Harry Poulton (James Cook University Townsville, Australia)
A further 20 presentations from researchers, policy makers and practitioners formed the basis for a choice of 4 parallel sessions over the 2 day period of the Conference. Parallel session presenters travelled from the USA, Australia, India, Italy, France, Corsica as well as the rest of the UK to deliver a range of diverse perspectives on Chess and Education.
Presentations
Links are to presentations in Word, Powerpoint and PDF format.
- Dod Forrest and Tony Glendinning
Understanding of Improved Cognition and Literacy Within a Framework of Social Capital - Fernand Gobet
What does research into chess expertise tell us about education? - Fernando Moreno
Using Chess in a Counseling/Mentoring Approach for Students - Fernando Moreno
Teaching Life Skills Through Chess - Jerry Nash
Coordinating the Five Communities: Strategies to Introduce Chess as an Educational Tool - Kate Philip
The chess coach: what can we learn from mentoring as an educational process? - Malola Prasath, Malola Priya S, Gowtham Kumara, Kamala Lochan
A Stable Room Mate Framework for Deploying Chess Measurably in Schools - Malola Prasath T S, Radha Raghavan, Malola Priya S, IM Sundarajan Kidambi
Synergies of Analysis of Visually Impaired with Synthesis of Thought Processes in Chess - Malola Prasath T S, Ganapathy Krishnan H, Malola Priya S, Seshadri KR
Chess in Schools: Moving Towards Unified Framework of Learning - Craig Pritchett
Promoting more chess in schools – Chess Scotland’s challenges - Roberto Rivello
Chess: a game to grow up with – Chess in the Schools of Piedmont Research - Alexey Root
Integrating Chess in the Curriculum - Jonathan Rowson
What Might Chess Teach Us About Learning? - John Roycroft
The educational potential of 'oracle' chess endgame databases - Janet Shucksmith
Considering the whole child in ‘Chess in Schools and Communities’ - Steve Tobias, Steve Carroll, Harry Poulton, Sam Grumont
Chess: Just a game or a powerful teaching strategy for learning mathematics