CHALLENGE can be motivating


No glasses at hand? LISTEN HERE

I was attending a MOOC recently and I came across the phrase "HARD FUN." What does that concept bring to your mind?

Before going deeper into it, I gave it several minutes of thought and came to the conclusion that challenge can be motivating and fun. 

When I started reading about the concept more in detail I discovered a great way of motivating students: by presenting them with a problem. However, we must be careful there:  the problem must challenging enough to make them want to solve it and feel a sense of achievement once they've finished the activity, but easy enough so that they don't feel frustrated or demotivated. 

 As educators, we must build a safe environment where  participants can explore and take risks, a place where they can feel free to make mistakes. Allow tem to try new ways of solving old problems, to learn collaboratively, to participate actively. 

What do you think?

*The educator who coined the concept HARD FUN was Dr. Seymour Papet and he originally applied it to computer science and coding. However, his ideas can be replicated in any educational setting.

. 

http://dailypapert.com/hard-fun/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why do so many parents oppose to their children celebrating HALLOWEEN in the classroom?

Image
No glasses at hand? LISTEN HERE Halloween is probably one of our favourite celebrations. We have this one chance to put on our best black dress and a conical crown, maybe some accessories and make-up as well. And we can dance around the cauldron without anyone suspecting of our true identity. The truth is, not only teachers but also the majority of children and teens absolutely enjoy Halloween and all the activities around it.  Be it the games, the sweets or the costumes, they do look forward to this celebration. Paradoxically, many parents seem not to like it much as they consider it against their national traditions.  What do you do when parents show their discomfort about Halloween celebrations? My word has always been the same: when we teach English, we teach much more than just a language. We attempt to create an open mind regarding different cultures. Besides, it is a great opportunity to discuss the cultural background and history of this and other celebrations as well....
Read more

How to make warm-up activities effective

Image
  As discussed in the previous entry, warm-up activities need to be short and straight to the point and we need to plan a way of processing the information which receives focal attention during the activity. Another important aspect to consider for these activities is motivation.   One major theory was proposed by Ausubel (1968), who pointed out that all human beings are moved by six inner drives that construct motivation. These are described in H.D. Brown’s   "Principles of Language Learning and Teaching" (1997:169) ·          The need for exploration , for seeing “the other side of the mountain,” for probing the unknown ·          The need for manipulation , for operating –to use Skinner’s term- on the environment and causing change ·          The need for activity , for movement and exercise, both   mental and physical ; ·   ...
Read more