To make a very obvious statement, most students would prefer to play video games than study for a test. As a parent, this will probably not come as much as a surprise to you. But when you think about it, it’s amazing how much energy and dedication children and teenagers put into their games. They often spend hours mastering new skills, solving problems and overcoming obstacles. They work tirelessly and enthusiastically, quitting only when their goals are achieved.
If only they could put as much effort into their school work, right?
Instead of dismissing this as natural, I think it's about time we start looking closer at popular video games, like Battle Royale and Rocket League, and what exactly makes them so engaging to children. By looking at the way children like to work, play and learn within video games, its possible to learn a lot about how we can make their schoolwork and homework more enjoyable, engaging and productive. This field of thought is commonly known as Gamification. Gamification is a teaching technique that uses game design and game mechanics in order to make education more engaging and successful. Gamification recognises that there is something special about the way in which people play games, than can be used to enhance the education experience. Most students love playing games because:
-They are interactive
-They progress from easy to difficult in a coherent way
-They reward you for your hard work
-The more you play, the more experience you gain
They can also play online with their friends using hosting for FiveM RP and other similar games, making it socially rewarding as well as mentally stimulating. You might think your kids aren't social, but actually, they're sat in their room talking to ten of their friends whilst they try to defeat a villain together. When we look at it like this, the appeal of video games no longer looks so mysterious. We start to think "Why can't we use these ideas in teaching and learning? Why can't schoolwork and homework be this engaging?"
The answer is, they can!
At Spectrum Tuition, we take Gamification seriously. Each tutor has their own unique way of making their classes as interactive, engaging and rewarding as possible. Tutors use sticker charts, incentive systems, and student awards to make sure students are excited about their time in class.
But what can you, as a parent, do?
Think about ways in which you can Gamify your child's homework. Here are some ideas.
1. Establish an incentive system in which your child accumulates points by doing homework or improving their grades. Even if the incentive system is just symbolic, your child will associate hard work with positive feelings of achievement.
2. Make a note of your child's "high scores", such as how long it takes them to answer 20 times-tables questions, and then encourage them to try to beat their score next time. This encourages students to be competitive with themselves.
3. Link achievement to rewards. For example, if your child does all their homework and study for 5 weeks in a row, take them to a movie. This gives them a long-term goal to work towards.
4. Emphasise progress. Remind your child how much they have learned and how much progress they have made. You may use a chart to show the increase in their quiz scores over time. Alternatively, you can have a set of goals that you can gradually tick off together to show that their hand work is paying off.
5. Set the right level of difficulty. When setting study goals with your child, make sure that their goal is not too easy, but not too hard. A good goal is one that your child will have to work hard to achieve, not one that is impossible. If it's too easy, your child won't feel challenged; if it's too hard, they are likely to give up.
[fblike url="facebook.com/spectrumtuition" style="standard" showfaces="false" width="450" verb="like" font="arial"]
[twitter_follow username="spectrumtuition" language="en"]
