The Learning Game: Teaching Kids to Think for Themselves, Embrace Challenge, and Love Learning by Ana Lorena Fábrega

Author:Ana Lorena Fábrega [Fábrega, Ana Lorena]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Education, Teaching, Subjects, Learning, Child, Development
ISBN: 9781804090091
Google: 2PvKEAAAQBAJ
Amazon: 1804090093
Publisher: Harriman House
Published: 2023-09-04T18:30:00+00:00

Both scenarios focus on helping kids practice their writing, but the second is likely to work much better. The task is framed as a chance to play a game, not coercing kids into doing work.

Third, select the right level of difficulty. For the creative writing challenge, you could adjust the required length, number of characters, or the difficulty of the vocabulary words. You want to design the game so that it’s neither too easy nor too hard. You don’t want them bored or frustrated. You want them focused, excited, and a little puzzled.

Fourth, create a reliable feedback system for them to learn from failure. This system could be very simple. You could have them read their story to you and then share your thoughts. Sometimes, the most effective way to offer feedback is to ask them a question: “What do you think would make your story better?” Kids are often their own best critics. Most importantly, make sure they do not experience some type of neglect when their story doesn’t meet your standards. Even a little bit of shame will sour the experience, discouraging them from trying again. The point is to create an environment where kids keep iterating so they have plenty of chances to make progress.

Fifth, set an authentic reward. As we’ve discussed, rewards can hurt flow if they’re not designed carefully. Let’s say you pick the reward of an extra 20 minutes of iPad time if your child writes a good story. In this case, the story and the reward are disconnected. As a result, they’ll struggle to really learn because they’re distracted by something else. However, let’s say they’re writing a story about grandma. In that case, a good reward would be a special trip to see grandma and read her their story. This incentive encourages deep engagement in the project rather than distracting from it.

With these five principles, we can flip learning on its head. Instead of creating boring or frustrating tasks for kids, we can create genuine games that connect to their interests, encourage them to dive deep, tackle real challenges, learn from trial and error, and feel authentic satisfaction from their efforts.

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