Let us invite you to a game of Monopoly.
A story on the benefits & dangers of Activity-Based Learning- and why Morphoses is the perfect place for anyone to experience it.
If you’ve ever played Monopoly with your child, you might have noticed that after playing for a while, they tend to improve… until you don’t have to pretend that you lost, cause you actually did! In the beginning, the child may not understand all the rules or face difficulties investing money- and by no means can remain patient during the game. After a few weekends of practicing, they might surprise you with their patience, strategic thinking and problem-solving skills; counting, communicating, and making arguments to close a deal like they’ve been playing for years! It’s all about the soft skills enhanced in the process- just by playing a game.
Imagine if this was the general approach in learning environments.
Let’s start with the basics. Activity-based learning is simply the process of learning by doing. As opposed to asking kids to simply listen and take notes, activity-based learning encourages students to actively participate and shape their own learning experience, through practical activities such as problem-solving and independent investigation. According to Bett, the global community for education technology, the future of pedagogy is relying greatly on innovation, personalised learning and shifting focus on the engagement of learners. How can all aspects of the aforementioned, ambitious vision be achieved? The answer seems to be simple, yet challenging: through activity-based learning.
Given an instructor who is well-educated, imaginative, and passionate about engaging the students, online — as well as offline-classes can transform into a fun environment, where everyone acquires, or enhances (soft) skills, while enjoying themselves and making new friends along the way.
So, how do we do this?
Monopoly tip 1: get houses ASAP.
According to STEMmates, some activity-based learning benefits include retaining a bigger amount of information and therefore improving one’s memory, encouraging independence and inquisitive thinking, supporting social development- and the most important one, encouraging them to express themselves in different ways and, eventually, shape their own identity.
Now it is pretty clear why we offer online courses on soft skills with activity-based learning, right?
Monopoly tip 2: orange or expensive properties are the REAL deal.
Oh, here comes the bad news…
Can activity-based learning have a dark side as well? Have you ever been so excited about activity-based learning, that you booked soccer, tennis, guitar and French lessons for your child - oh, and why miss this new cooking club and chess team? The more, the merrier- no?
No.
If you can’t answer the following simple question, then you might need to reconsider your child’s extracurricular activities:
Is it difficult to arrange a playdate? If you answered “oops..yes” don’t worry… It happens. We want to expose our children to as many different experiences and activities as possible, to develop their character and discover what they enjoy doing.
The common mistake is that we believe that all kinds of activity-based learning can be positive learning experiences. Here’s the catch! If the learning experience is not constantly and thoroughly tested through an implementation-and-assessment process, (i) involving both the instructor and the students, (ii) getting feedback, and (iii) adjusting whatever aspect needs to be reconsidered- then we don’t make a change.
And in Morphoses, we aim to make a change.
What do we do? We play… Monopoly! And we chose our moves wisely. Morphoses incorporates frameworks such as the UDL Guidelines, in order to improve and optimise teaching and learning. Our team has also developed the implementation-and-assessment process necessary to ensure the ultimate quality when it comes to the activities used to offer learners opportunities that are both meaningful and challenging.
So… bring your children to play Monopoly with us. We can’t wait!