Encouraging children to learn is very often a fruitless task. Especially from an early age, the challenge is to create activities which actively engage them and appear a more interesting and exciting prospect than playing with mobile devices. The prospect of creating education-based video games is very much in its infancy and frankly the financial outlay simply is not worth the cost for many educational establishments. In which case, lesson plans need to be modified in order to adapt to children who have a very different upbringing than our own. This means looking at the environments themselves as well as the activities which take place within them in order to create a more engaging experience for children.
Students and teachers alike are beginning to agree on the fact that lecture-like lessons are simply not as effective as we once considered them to be. Studies over the past few decades have explored how students concentrate in class and why the emphasis is now on approaching teaching in a different manner. The current method is obviously beneficial to some yet it leaves the rest feeling alienated and ultimately disinterested.
Engagement:
Even for adults, trying to learn passively just is not the same as getting experience on the job. This applies even more for children, especially when they are unable to relate to a realistic scenario. This kind of teaching encourages the now well-worn phrase of; “when am I ever going to use this again?” The aim is to create environments and activities which provide context for what is being taught and engaging them in a way where they can see the value in what they are learning. The most crucial aspect in achieving this is being able to create a connection between the learner and the subject.
Creating a Comfortable Environment:
While making the surroundings as realistic as possible is important to making the subject engaging, it is important to prioritise an environment which is comfortable for students to learn in and feel safe in the knowledge that failing is simply a learning curve. One of the major issues that you can find in classrooms is a raft of distractions and once concentration is broken for the learner, it can be difficult to regain. To help dampen the number of distractions and boost the levels of learning, here at Rap Industries, we manufacture portable room dividers in a range of different materials which can be tailored to suit the subject as well as the surrounding environment itself.
Imitate Popular Entertainment to Find Success:
Considering the type of entertainment that children enjoy currently, it has perhaps never been easier to imitate it and apply it to a learning environment. From the widespread popularity of YouTube videos through to video games, a trend has emerged and it is from this that we can establish quite why they are able to engage students for so long. While the immersive experience is the first hurdle to getting children interested, it is the introduction of reward systems which keep them attached and give them motivation to continue playing. This same model can be applied to a learning environment without it obviously being a dumbed-down version of the entertainment they enjoy outside of the classroom.
First Steps to Achieving This:
An overhaul of how lessons are structured is likely to take time, especially as each subject is unique and finding an effective combination will take some testing. However, a great place to start is by creating surroundings which transport learners away from what they are used to. A great way that we’ve seen this begin to happen is by creating portable room dividers with bespoke graphic design to quite literally imitate real life environments. These not only block out visual distractions, but they create the impression that the children are no longer in the classroom but are in a more immersive learning environment.
If you are interested in finding out more about the what portable room dividers are capable of, then you can give us a call on 01733 394941 or send an e-mail over to sales@rapind.com and our advisors can explore the options with you.
