Why Should Learning is Fun

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Why Should Learning is Fun
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• Learning can and should be fun. This is not just
  a moral position, but a scientific one too.
• When you learn a new thing, or get a surprise,
  there is a shot of a chemical messenger in your
  brain called dopamine. Dopamine is famous among
  neuroscientists for its involvement in the reward
  and motivation systems of the brain.

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• Learning something new triggers a chemical
  release of the same kind as cocaine, albeit in a
  much more subtle manner. As methods of getting
  your kicks you can perhaps compare it to the
  difference between walking up a hill yourself or
  being strapped to a rocket and blasted up -
  slower, harder work, but a lot more sustainable
  and youre in a better state to enjoy the view
  when you get there.
• One of the many negative things about the
  misconception that education is about
  transmitting content is the idea that any fun you
  have is taking time away from proper learning,
  and that proper learning shouldnt be fun.

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• Rather than fun being a relief from learning, or
  a distraction from it, for most of our history,
  before school, learning had to be its own
  motivation. Brains that learnt well had more
  offspring, and so learning evolved to be
  rewarding.
• In lots of teaching situations we focus on the
  right and wrong answers to things, which is a
  venerable paradigm for learning, but not the only
  one. There is a less structured,
  curiosity-driven, paradigm which focuses not on
  what is absolutely right or wrong, but instead on
  what is surprising. A problem with rights and
  wrongs is that, for some people, the pressure of
  being correct gets in the way of experiencing
  what actually is.

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• You can try this for yourself, either in any
  teaching you do, or any learning. Often we will
  get blocked at a particular stage in our
  learning. A normal response is to try harder, and
  to focus more on what were doing right, and what
  were doing wrong. Sometimes this helps, but
  sometimes it just digs us further into our rut.
  The way out of the rut is to re-focus on
  experiencing again.

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• Ill give you an example from one of the two
  things I know best about teaching - aikido, the
  Japanese martial art. Aikido involves some quite
  intricate throws and grappling moves. Often a
  student is so intent on getting through the move,
  and on trying hard to get it right, that they
  become completely stuck, repeatedly doing
  something that doesnt work, and usually too
  fast. Even if you say or show explicitly the
  correct movement, they cant seem to get it. In
  this situation, one teaching technique that we
  can use is to tell the student to stop trying to
  do the move correctly, and instead do it
  deliberately wrong. Try pushing over this way to
  the left, Ill say, Now try the opposite over
  to the right. Now try high, or low. Which is
  easiest? By removing the obligation to get the
  move correct I hope to give permission to the
  student to just experience the effect they are
  having on their partners balance. Once they can
  tune into this they can figure out for themselves
  what the right thing to do is, without me having
  to tell them.

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• However you do it, if you can get out of the rut
  of right and wrong you free up a natural capacity
  for experience-led, curiosity-driven learning.
  Soon youll be flying along again, experiencing
  the learning equivalent of the joggers high, and
  all thanks to that chemical messenger dopamine
  and a brain thats evolved to find things out for
  itself, and feel good while doing it.
• Ways to Make Learning Fun for Different Age
  Levels

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• Early Childhood Education
• Young children learn best when they are having a
  good time in a safe environment. Play-based
  learning is crucial at a young age. Learning
  through games allows young children to build
  critical skills in areas such as math and reading
  while not even realizing they are actively
  learning. Even so, learning through fun
  activities, active play, and games breeds
  positive attitudes towards learning and school.
• In addition to learning basic academic skills,
  young children will also develop social and
  emotional skills through sharing and cooperating
  with other children during these activities. Some
  activities that you can incorporate into learning
  include rhyming games, singing songs, alphabet
  blocks or magnets, drawing/painting/play
  dough/colouring, counting games, math
  manipulative, sorting objects, etc.

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• Elementary Grades
• There are lots of opportunities to make learning
  fun in the elementary classroom - for all subject
  areas. With the advancement of classroom
  technology, there are tons of resources to help
  get students actively participating and enjoying
  learning. By including hands-on activities in
  formats such as learning stations, cooperative
  learning groups, centres, and think-pair-share,
  students can actively participate in groups to
  learn, solve problems, and have fun.
• Incorporating technology into the classroom also
  provides a myriad of ways to make learning fun
  for students. Using iPads, computers, or SMART
  Boards allows for learning to become hands-on and
  game-like. Virtual field trips, classroom apps,
  and technology to motivate reading and learning
  games are all great ways for students to actively
  learn while having fun.

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• High School Students
• Learning at this age can quickly become
  difficult, boring, and tedious if not enough
  effort is put into making learning active,
  engaging, and fun. There is no reason that more
  difficult material cant be taught in fun ways.
  It just takes a little bit more creativity.
• Teenagers still enjoy a good game, group project,
  or problem-based learning activity that allows
  them to participate actively and changes up the
  lecture-based learning atmosphere. For instance,
  you can make test review fun by utilizing games
  like jeopardy, trivial pursuit, sink or swim, or
  head of the class. Teenagers love competition,
  and this is an excellent way to get students
  excited about reviewing valuable content.

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• Science Classroom
• The science classroom offers lots of great
  hands-on learning opportunities to engage older
  students. Exciting experiments can be done
  everywhere from inside the school lab to outside
  on the school grounds keeps learning fun. Math
  can be made more enjoyable by having students
  actively solve problems by creating real-life
  learning situations, or by having students solve
  equations of everyday objects or situations.
• English and Social Studies
• English and social studies courses can
  incorporate technology, group projects,
  role-playing, guest speakers, presentations, etc.
  For instance, have students conduct a Shakespeare
  play, re-enact historical events, or have
  students research and prepare for a debate.

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ThankYou

• Kalvi International Public School
• 134, A R Hospital Road,
• KK Nagar,
• Madurai 625020
• Email ID helpdesk_at_kalvigroup.com
• Website https//kalvischools.com/
• Ph no 91-9500710004