Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) for Everyone: CHARM-EU CBL Card Game

Get familiar with Challenge-based Learning in an accessible and engaging manner through an interactive game.

Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) is widely recognised as an innovative pedagogical approach for situating learning and fostering a wide range of student competencies, yet it can be time-intensive to design and often difficult to explain to those unfamiliar with it. To address this, CHARM-EU has developed an interactive, card-based game that introduces the core principles of CBL in an accessible and engaging manner.

This activity is a way to explain and show students, educators, administrators, and members of the public to experience a simplified version of the CBL process. Using a short 10 minute short card game, participants identify a challenge, consider relevant stakeholders (Transdisciplinary perspectives), reflect on available resources, and propose potential solutions. The game provides an entry point to the CBL mindset while offering insight into how CHARM-EU students and staff engage with complex challenges.

Challenge-Based Learning in 10 minutes

The CHARM-EU Challenge-Based Learning Card Game is designed to provide an introductory experience of CBL, particularly for those encountering it for the first time.

In just a few steps, participants:

Select a global challenge card (e.g. Zero Hunger, Sustainable Cities, Climate Resilience).
Choose stakeholder cards who could help address the solutions (e.g. students, local communities, policymakers).
Pick resource cards that might be needed (e.g. money, technology, cultural knowledge).
Sketch or write their solution and post up on a board.

The game culminates in a collective display of ideas, illustrating a central principle of CBL: addressing complex global issues requires collaboration, diverse perspectives, and creativity. Even within ten minutes, participants can engage in critical thinking and collaborative problem-solving, reflecting the essence of the CBL approach.

When can you use the game?

The card game can be used at public engagement events, student learning activities in the classroom, and for staff training. The cards can be used as is, or be modified to specific themes (e.g. AI, Water, Food). They can also be adapted for schools, youth groups, or community activities who want to experiment with challenge-based learning.

CHARM-EU Educational Principles covered