Games engage children and adults. They are a powerful learning tool. Engagement is important in education because the more an individual becomes involved the greater his interest and he learns more about the subject. Unfortunately the engagement trajectory in American education seems to angle downward as the student’s grade level rises. A recent study shows the following dismal statistics:
- 76% of elementary students find school engaging.
- 61% of middle school students find school engaging.
- 44% of high school students are engaged in learning
We would be willing to bet that an even higher percentage of Kindergarten kids are engaged than any of the above. Why? Because they are having fun learning while they are playing games. And I think Jane McGonigal, author of Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World
That isn’t much of a stretch. Think how focused children get when playing games. It becomes their reality.There is no reason the same emotional focus that engages children completely in games cannot be used in the educational environment. Where once rote learning was required of a child, today’s students need a chance to be creative. Creativity takes more than facts, it requires the stimulation of a whole gauntlet of emotions from wonder to joy. None of which is apt to be engendered by simply listening to a teacher pontificate.
Robots, like games, are fun and children love them. Robots keep kids interested. Keeps them engaged. With a teacher’s guidance our RobotsLAB BOX is a powerful tool that will keep kids engaged for hours in higher math. Interacting with the robots will teach them more about math than any amount of boring homework.
Learn how you can bring to life quadratic equations using robots, and make this abstract concept alive:
