How Can Children Learn Faster Through Games?
Introduction
Did you know that a wisely-developed game is an effective way of conveying meaningful content?
This is because games help enhance knowledge acquisition capabilities in children. Still not convinced? Let’s have a look at a few numbers:
- Research conducted by C.S. Green and D.Bavelier, ‘Learning, Attentional Control and Action Video Games’ revealed that games are an effective way of training, and help learn better and shape our attention.
- According to Talent LMS, more than 60 percent of learners in a survey identified that friendly competitions motivated them to perform better.
- Learn 2 Earn conducted a survey which showed that 97 percent of teachers stated that gamified reading platforms encouraged their students to read more.
So, this shows that games are far more powerful for children than we realize. This is because they create a safe environment where your children can experiment with their ideas.
Besides this, they are far more engaging than trivial ways of learning. Thus, stimulating your children’s interests.
How Do Children Learn Through Games?
Let’s have a look at how games facilitate faster learning.
- Games Help Make Content Interactive
With the ever-increasing information overload that children have to go through, it has become imperative to come up with ways that allow teachers to deliver content interactively. Besides this, children love games. Therefore, by incorporating games in teaching, you can make the overall learning experience interactive, hence helping students perform better.
For example, in some primary schools, geography teachers have used digital games, such as Stack the States, to make students understand maps, and learn locations of different states. Without incorporating games, students might have found it hard to learn all the locations easily.
Besides this, many teachers in the US rely on the digital game, iCivics, to teach their students details regarding the structure of the judiciary, which otherwise would have been too boring for children.
- Games Help Improve Problem-Solving Skills
Parents often consider games to be addictive, violent, and the reason for children’s anti-social behavior. But that’s certainly not the complete story.
Research shows that video games can help develop and improve problem-solving skills significantly. Similarly, according to Business Insider, people who play action-based games, such as Call of Duty, make accurate decisions 25 percent faster.
These researches show that well-designed video games have the power to enhance your child’s cognitive abilities, like problem-solving skills. This is because while playing a game, children are consistently training their brains to solve a problem and accomplish a certain task.
- Games Boost Memory
It is an undeniable fact that maintaining a healthy mind is as important as keeping your body fit. However, with so much going around, how do you keep your mind active, and memory intact.
A study by Cambridge University revealed that video games have the power to improve the brain functions of those who face early memory problems. Likewise, neurologists of the University of California identified that playing three-dimensional video games can enhance memory formation.
Therefore, if you want your children to possess a good memory, let them explore websites, like Unlimited Gamez mo, that offer a variety of games from different genes that can help boost memory.
- Games Reduce Stress Levels
Did you know that video games can actually be effective in reducing stress levels? According to a very well mind, many gamers have reported that playing video games allows them to relieve stress, and enjoy with friends. This is because games let you escape reality, and get involved in a completely different world.
Other than this, meditation is one of the most effective ways of improving your mood. And multiple studies have established that games allow your brain to meditate, thus reducing stress levels.
Still not sure how can games help reduce stress levels? Here is what you need to know:
- Games allow children to focus on the present instead of regretting over the past or thinking about the future.
- When struggling through rough patches in life, games provide children with instant gratification.
- One of the essential human needs is the expression of creativity, and games allow you to be innovative and expressive, thus making you feel positive.
- Playing games with other gamers create a virtual community that helps children build social skills, hence reducing tensions.
- Games Improve Hand-Eye Coordination
Many different games require using a gamepad or peripherals, like a keyboard or mouse for playing. This does not only engages children in the game but helps improve their hand-eye coordination considerably.
A study by the University of Toronto discovered that people who tend to play action-based video games, such as Assassin’s Creed, acquire sensorimotor tasks. Also, the study revealed that such games improve hand-eye coordination significantly of gamers compared to people who do not play video games.
This shows that gaming can positively impact in polishing your child’s sensory and motor skills, thus helping them perform better.
- Games Help Gain New Knowledge
Dale Carnegie, a famous American writer, and lecturer, once said, “People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.” And this is the reason why game-based learning has gained a lot of popularity worldwide.
According to a study by NPD, 91 percent of children in the US, belonging to the ages of 2 to 17 play video games. As a result, educational institutions have started including games in their coursework to help students learn new skills, and increase engagement levels in the classrooms.
Not sure how to integrate game-based learning in classrooms? One way of doing so is by arranging stimulation-based games. This is because it resulted in enhanced knowledge and improved self-efficiency and retention.
- Games Enhance Multitasking Skills
Multitasking is one of the most critical skills that help children not just in their academic lives, but also professional ones. However, multitasking might be a tricky feat, especially if your child tends to easily get distracted by their surroundings.
The good news is that action games often require a person to be observant. This is because gamers need to keep their eyes on the screen while moving the joystick, and keeping the time allotted in mind, in order to win. This clearly shows that gamers are good observers, and they possess great multitasking skills.
- Games Polish Leadership Skills
Arranging interactive games in classrooms can help in building a child’s leadership skills. When a player acts as a leader in the game, he or she develops effective leadership qualities and becomes confident, among others.
Apart from this, a gamer never likes to lose, so he or she manages setbacks by trying harder to win. This helps children in their real-life too when they face inevitable failures, and prepare how to go through them.
The Final Words
In a nutshell, several studies have proven that games serve as a learning gym, and allow children to develop or polish their skills, including time management and cognitive abilities. This is why parents must understand that gaming is not their children’s enemies. Instead, if used effectively, games can help children learn in faster and smarter way.
