Making the Game
In chapter one you learned about the many definitions for the word game and the natural way that playful learning through games aligns with the neural circuitry of YOU!
While it’s true, we ARE hardwired to learn. We are also hardwired to PLAY!
As you read about how play IS learning, think about how your kids (students, children, or maybe even you) like to play each day. What are the games they choose, what do those games say about who they are and what they love?
Ready for your first level up? Download Level Up 4 from #GameOnBrainOn for some superboss level XP. Use this designed document to learn more about the kids in your class or in your home.
If you’re an educator, you may want to post this to FlipGrid and ask your students to respond to a few of these questions. (Here’s an example of what you might say, feel free to borrow this or create your own prompts.)
These questions help develop a sense of community into your learning space and give you a birds eye view into what your learners care about most.
Once you know what games they love to play, you can work to find ways to bring the play they love so dearly into your shared learning space.
If you’re a caregiver, use these questions as prompts at the dinner table to learn more about your kiddos. What is it about the games they play that keeps them coming back time and again? Is it connections to their friends, the feeling of accomplishment, a way to be someone new, or all of the above? No matter their answer you are bound to learn something exciting about your kids.
No matter if you’re an educator, caregiver, lifelong gamer, or curious bystander, these questions beg to be answered AND to bring more play into your life.
Learning about each individual’s interest in games is as unique as the neural circuitry that makes them, them!
Now it’s time to determine your role in the game.
How will you level up learning with the players in your life?
What new games could you introduce?
What games could you hack as a group and repurpose to learn something new?
More importantly, the simple act of play bring more joy to your life right this very moment?