Game activity methods
Currently, the scientific literature on the theory of gaming activity practically does not describe methods of gaming activity.
Let's consider the methods developed by A. M. Novikov and D. A. Novikov in “Methodology” (2007) proposed a classification of methods. The authors highlight theoretical and empirical methods from a set of gaming activity methods. And within these groups: Method-operations and method-actions.
Theoretical method-operations are considered as mental operations: Analysis and synthesis, comparison, generalization, specification, etc. On the one hand, they are formed in childhood, including during play activities; on the other hand, play activities are carried out with their help. In addition to the operations of logical thinking, the operations of the theoretical method of gaming activity can also include (perhaps conditionally) imagination as the mental process of creating new ideas and images with its specific forms of fantasy (creating implausible, paradoxical images and ideas) and dreams (as creating images of what is desired).
Theoretical and methodological action, such as the analysis of epistemological systems, theories as a method, etc., is practically not implemented in gaming activities, with the possible exception of such complex games as chess.
Empirical methods include primarily observation and experiment. In this case, the experiment is considered by the authors not in the scientific sense, as a strict procedure of scientific research, but as a synonym for experience, as an attempt to implement something, to make some changes in the external environment. Observation and experiment in this sense are two sides of the same coin. Observation is like searching for an answer to the question “what is happening?” Experimentation is “what will happen if you do this and that?” A child breaks toy structures and toys - this, according to the authors, is a natural manifestation of an exploratory reflex aimed at learning the properties of objects. Children's pranks of older children - blowing something up, setting it on fire, slapping it, etc. - also experiments characteristic of this age. Finally, competitive games: who is stronger? Who is faster? who is smarter? These are also experiments in the form of tests. Even when a person plays alone, for example, plays solitaire, this is also a test for himself - “will I succeed or not?”
Exercises are also considered as a method of playful activity. As you know, training is based on repeated repetition of certain movements and actions to form and improve skills and abilities. The child is ready to repeat a pleasant gaming activity many times, improve his skills and consolidate his success. When an action becomes a habit, a daily routine, the child loses interest in it - the action is mastered and consolidated.
Design in gaming activity is the creation of various structures. First there are “pastry cakes” made of sand, “construction” of houses, pyramids from bricks, then games with all kinds of building blocks, and later - creation of models of airplanes, ships, etc.
The example method is used in almost all collective games related to the performance of certain actions. So, as an example they can serve: an example of the actions demonstrated by the leader; behavior of adults and peers; images of heroes from books and films, people of different professions, etc.
Imitation (imitating someone or something, trying to reproduce something exactly). From infancy, a child imitates adults in everything - facial expressions, gait, pronunciation of words, etc. Later, imitation develops into a role in children's role-playing games. Imitation is often used as a method in theatrical games, plays, drama, pantomime, etc.
Methodology for using gaming techniques
In the system of classes in visual arts
The uniqueness of the use of gaming techniques is largely determined by the tasks of directing visual activities, and the peculiarities of the combination of so-called educational and creative tasks. Depending on which of them occupy the leading place, all classes in the teaching methods of preschoolers are conventionally divided into three types: classes on imparting new knowledge and initial familiarization with methods of representation; classes aimed at exercising the application of knowledge and developing skills,
and, finally,
creative activities.
A wonderful idea about the need for a rational combination of learning tasks and the development of creativity in any lesson was put forward and formulated by the talented scientist and teacher E.A. Flerina, who noted that in every educational lesson there should be an “outlet” for creativity, and in every creative lesson there should be be elements of learning.
All the gaming techniques we have highlighted can be used in all types of activities. The difference will only be in the features of their application, determined by the leading tasks of the lesson.
The specifics of using gaming techniques are also influenced by their place in the structure of the lesson. According to the stages of artistic and creative activity, three parts of the lesson are clearly defined: the first part,
during which they organize the process of forming the design concept;
the second
is the process of its implementation and
the third
is related to the analysis and evaluation of children's work. Each of these parts is aimed at solving specific problems. Their originality also influences the originality of the application of game teaching techniques. Let's consider gaming techniques in different structural parts of all types of classes.
Speaking about the methodology, special attention should be paid to the need for systematic application of game-based teaching techniques. How is it shown?
Firstly,
in the direction of children's play techniques in the classroom: from motivation through setting goals and objectives to stimulation and execution of actions (perception, design, image, ongoing monitoring and evaluation) to obtaining and analyzing the result (graphic, silhouette or plastic image).
Secondly,
while maintaining a holistic approach to managing children’s activities in the classroom, the variability of this methodology depends on a number of factors:
- type and type of activity (images from memory, from imagination, from nature);
— age group;
— content of the image (subject, plot, decorative);
- type of visual activity (modelling, applique, drawing);
—
individual characteristics of children.
At the beginning of any type of lesson, before forming a plan for a future drawing (modeling) in children, it is very important to offer them an effective motive for visual activity. In this case, the activity of preschool children increases significantly, which leads to an increase in the quality of assimilation of the proposed knowledge and skills. Socially oriented motives (drawings for mothers, fathers, grandmothers, etc.) are effective and most consistent with the meaning of artistic activity. But it must be taken into account that children’s visual capabilities are limited and therefore their imperfect drawings and crafts are needed by a small circle of people. Therefore, it is advisable to invite children to draw for toys, fairy-tale characters, etc. However, in no case should one formally use gaming motivation; the conditions under which this motivation will be effective must be observed. Otherwise, the children will not perceive or formally accept the goals and objectives of the lesson. For example, the teacher dramatizes a situation: a duck and a chicken are running in a clearing near a river, looking for the runaway chicks and ducklings. They are worried about whether a hawk has dragged them away, whether the chickens have drowned in the river, or whether they have gotten lost in the thick grass. The hen cackles and tells how nice her chickens were, and the duck’s ducklings are (a description of the characteristic features is given). It is very important for children to take part in a play situation, to evoke in them sympathy and empathy for the grief of others. In this case, they accept the game task with interest: help the corydalis and mother duck find the scattered chicks and ducklings, “collect” them (draw them) in a green clearing, and the ducklings can also be in the river.
No less sympathy is evoked in the children by Mashenka, who is sad at the window, who really wants to go into the forest for a Christmas tree, but the trouble is: she has neither a warm fur coat nor a hat (drawing in the middle group on the topic “Girl in a long fur coat”). The children happily accept the task of “dressing” the little girl Mashenka warmly, perform the drawing with feeling, showing creativity, play in the drawing and, which is very valuable, enrich the image with new details. (Lena K.:
“I’ll paint my girl’s sleeves so that her hands don’t get cold.”
Lena D.:
“I’ll put on my gloves.”
Zhenya K.:
“And mine... will have a hat and bows like this.”)
When using gaming techniques in the classroom to offer children motives for activity, the teacher needs them not only to understand and accept the gaming task (which essentially coincides with the visual one), but also to fulfill the requirements for image quality. The mother duck will not recognize the duckling if it looks like a chicken; the girl Mashenka will not be able to go into the forest if she is not dressed warmly. Therefore, the gaming technique should make children want to perform work of the required quality, while reproducing given methods of depiction or showing invention and creativity in finding their own.
Children need to know what can happen if they don't complete a task. (A girl will not be able to go into the forest if she is poorly dressed, or she may freeze; without a Christmas tree she will be sad to celebrate the New Year, etc.) That is, the presence of emotional and intellectual experience in children allows them to accept the motive, goal and conditions for achieving it . Such experience must be formed in advance; during the lesson it is only “revitalized” with the help of gaming techniques. The younger the children, the more they need to actualize such experience directly in the classroom. Under this condition, the requirements for the image and for the children’s activities, formulated in the tasks, become relevant and important for them, since only their fulfillment makes it possible to achieve the desired game goal, formalized in the motive.
Thus, game teaching methods, creating game motives that are close in content to socially oriented ones, ensure that children accept the goal (to complete an image), are active in achieving it, and are aware of the educational content proposed for mastering. The combination of learning and focus on others is, as B.M. Teplov, one of the most important features and great difficulties of pedagogical work in artistic education. Game techniques help solve these problems in unity.
Game techniques can be used in the first part of the lesson to organize indicative and exploratory actions, for example, the perception of the depicted object1. In the process of examining objects, the technique of playing with toys is used. If children are expected to be very active, it is important for the teacher to conduct a conversation not so much between the characters, but between the characters and the children, or only with the children, based on the game characters. During such a conversation, the teacher, together with the children, examines the depicted object and recalls similar signs in other objects similar to this one. For example, during a drawing lesson on the topic “Ducklings and Chicks,” a situation is staged: a chicken and a duckling are walking on the grass, a sparrow flies to them and chirps:
- Chiv-chiv, how similar the brothers are to each other!
- We are not brothers! - the chicken and duckling squealed, - we are not alike at all!
-Who are you?
- Eh, you don’t know how big it is. Guys, tell me what our names are. Me?..
- Chick! - the children say.
- What about me?
- Duckling!
Sparrow asks the children: “How do you recognize them? I really want to make friends with them, but I don’t distinguish them at all.”
Children look at the toys and tell the sparrow (based on the teacher’s questions) how a chicken differs from a duckling. If the guys have any difficulties, the chicken (duckling) “himself” tells about himself, asks to run his finger over the body to correctly determine the shape, or invites: “Dima, go touch the duckling’s beak with your finger, and now mine. How else are we not alike?” In the process of playing with toys in this way, the examination process necessary for the image takes place. Situation options can be changed.
1. Next, we consider the specifics of using gaming techniques in classes where children practice applying knowledge and methods of activity.
In such classes (in the first part), it is useful to involve children in showing ways of depiction. In this case, you can additionally use the technique of playing with an unfinished image. For example, a technique for playing out a plot in a lesson on applique on the topic “The flowers bloomed in the flowerbed.” The teacher plays out the demonstration to the child, accompanying it with the word: “The sun is warming, one petal has blossomed tenderly, then another... This petal has grown less than the others, probably the sun did not warm it enough. Let it grow up too, make it bigger... This is the kind of flower that has bloomed... It seems to me that it even smells like it’s alive.” That is, children not only actively perceive ready-made information and a method of action, but also analyze the image, suggesting options for improving it.
By explaining the methods, the sequence of the image, you can play with the drawing being performed using toys. The center of the game is the image being created, and the toys are the means of play. For example, during an appliqué lesson, a child shows a bunny who is planning to build a house for himself, how to put up walls so that the house is not crooked, what size square should be used to make a roof so that it does not fall and crush the bunny, etc. In another applique class, the children are presented with a silhouette of a “bus body.” The teacher says: “A fox and a bear are standing, waiting for another bus, but they don’t want to go on this one. Why do you think?” The bus is unfinished. The children suggest what needs to be done so that the bus is ready and can carry passengers, and show where to attach the wheels so that they do not fall along the road. Lisa entered the bus: “No, no, I won’t go on this bus, it’s dark inside, and I can’t see which stop I should get off at.” The teacher suggests thinking about what else needs to be done, how to cut and glue the windows evenly, etc.
Using the technique of playing with the drawing being performed (application), the teacher can easily explain and show the methods of depiction, maximally activating children's experience, training preschoolers in the application of knowledge and skills in relatively new conditions. Children, as a rule, are very attentive, emotional, active, their remarks indicate a “living”, aesthetic perception of the drawing being performed: “A bird has flown in,” “A flower has grown.” Such figurative perception is, according to scientists, an indicator of a creative attitude to work. At the same time, it is associated with the assessment of technology and work literacy. It is very important that children first of all pay attention to those visual and expressive means that determine the quality of the image necessary for the subsequent playful use of children's works, and at the same time are highlighted by the teacher as necessary for assimilation.
Showing methods of depiction, methods of action can be non-game, but in any of its forms it is advisable to use another type of game technique in the first part of the lesson - by playing with the finished image
(display result). The purpose of acting out in this part of the lesson is to consolidate the proposed play motive of the activity; revitalization of the image; preliminary assessment of one of the work options and, on this basis, prevention of possible errors, clarification of the task. So, during a drawing lesson on the topic “Chickens are walking in the meadow,” the crested hen calls the newly drawn chicken to peck the grains: “Where, where, where did you run? What happened to you, poor thing? How are you going to peck the grains? Your beak is big and blunt, but my chickens have sharp beaks. Maybe you're a duckling and not a chicken? The teacher asks the children: “How should you hold the brush to paint a chicken’s sharp beak?”
Such playing out in the first part of the lesson in order to evaluate the preliminary result helps children remember and independently reproduce the desired image method.
In cases where the first part of the lesson uses a performance of a finished or partially completed (during the display) image, the children’s activity is especially high. Before starting the image, they repeat the rules of work. For example, in work on the topic “Flowers in a flowerbed,” the children did not glue the petals well. The teacher depicts how the wind is blowing, the petals are falling, and are about to fall. A bee is flying, but it doesn’t land on an ugly flower! To the question: why? - the children answered: “He’s afraid to get his wings dirty.” It will stick!” After this, the guys remember the rules of work: “To prevent the wind from tearing off the petals, you need to press them tightly with a napkin; so that the petals are not dirty, you need to use a little glue,” etc.
Thus, in the first part of the lesson, the combination of gaming techniques can be different: playing with depicted objects and toys, plot-pictorial game with an unfinished image, playing with a completed image (the result of showing methods of drawing, appliqué).
In the second part of the lesson, the process of implementing the plan is guided. It is always associated with the teacher’s assessment of the methods and results of children’s activities. All tasks of the lesson are solved mainly in individual work with children. In this case, it is advisable to use the play on the drawings, and the advice, instructions, questions of the teacher, as it were, complete this play out: “If you want your boat to sail quickly, make the bow even sharper, you cut little, such a boat does not cut the water, does not move, worth the place. The sea is quiet, there is no wind, and the sail of your boat is tilted, it’s about to fall and capsize the boat, what should you do to save it?” In this case, play activities using toys can distract children. Focused on the image, the guys perceive this play as a hindrance. Practical play is permissible in cases of “stagnation”, passivity, when the child does not know what to do next, considers the work completed or is tired, has lost interest in the image. For example, a child glued only two flowers, one of them with a small number of petals, asymmetrical, and finished the work. The teacher brings a “butterfly” and says: “A butterfly flew in and sat on a flower. The chamomile has grown white, even petals. Did the wind tear off the petals on this daisy? Why only two flowers grew? Perhaps this flower bed was poorly watered. I’ll fly and look for where a lot of flowers have grown.” In a situation where a child is actively searching for ways to depict, when difficulties arise, a verbal play action is sufficient: “What a beautiful duckling is running to the water, in a hurry, and this one is catching up!” It’s difficult for him to catch up: he’s grown big, but his legs are thin and small. How can you make them thicker?”
Such playing out of an unfinished image helps in an interesting way, to unobtrusively give a current analysis and assessment of the image being created, to help the preschooler see its expressiveness and weaknesses; ensure that the child voluntarily accepts adult advice.
When performing the image, children gain courage and confidence in their abilities. This is especially clearly expressed in the behavior of usually timid, shy children, who often repeat: “But I can’t!”, “But I can’t do it.” The play motive of the activity proposed by the teacher and accepted by the children creates a seemingly pleasant prospect for the practical use of their drawings. Children's works become a means of achieving game goals, so children become liberated, and the fear of the complexity of solving visual problems disappears.
In the third part, the teacher sets the following tasks: to “revive” the image, help children see the strengths and weaknesses of their work, and strengthen the desire to engage in visual arts. One of the important tasks of this part of the lesson is to teach children methods of analysis. In a complex of different methods and techniques, it is important to use the technique of playing with the finished image. The subsequent playful use of the work is due to play motivation at the beginning of the lesson, and therefore children look forward to this analysis game. The game application of the activity product should be such that its advantages, weaknesses and their reasons are revealed. This gaming technique introduces children to the depicted situation and creates a feeling of participation in events. Play actions can be indicated by a word or imitate the external drawing of real, productive actions; they are often performed with objects, toys, and drawings. Analysis occurs on the children’s own initiative long before the general viewing organized by the teacher. First, this manifests itself in the assessment of the drawing of the neighbor at the table, then the first images displayed on the stand.
Thus, in classes in which children are trained to apply acquired knowledge and methods of action, all types of gaming techniques are used in a wide variety of combinations with each other and with other teaching techniques.
In classes for communicating new knowledge, as well as creative ones, gaming techniques are used, but the uniqueness of the central tasks of these classes determines the features of combining gaming techniques with others. Thus, in classes on communicating new knowledge and forming new ways of depicting, in the first part they use a story, an explanation, and the teacher showing ways of action. Playing with an object or toys for the purpose of examination is often used. Due to the fact that these classes are usually examined, in the words of N.P. Sakulina, “standard subject” (the first of a group of typical ones), great activity belongs to the teacher. The process of examination, highlighting the external signs of an object is carried out in the process of dramatized actions, conversations between game characters, the teacher and the characters. For example, Petrushka comes to the children’s lesson and says that he really wants to see what the children will draw today. Having learned that the children will draw cucumbers in the garden, he boastfully says: “Well, it’s very simple, I can do it!” Parsley takes a brush (the teacher holds a toy in one hand, the other takes Parsley’s brush and hand and draws). “It’s very simple: I put paint on the brush so that the paint doesn’t drip, the brush doesn’t cry, and I paint... once - and a cucumber, another cucumber. Ready!" Educator: “No, Parsley, this is not a cucumber, it’s more like a green apple, a tomato... Children, what else does it look like?”
"Why?" - Petrushka doesn’t understand. “Guys, what shape of cucumber did Parsley draw? Round! You didn't look at it and that's why you drew it incorrectly. Look, Petrushka, what shape it is: one side is long, then it is rounded, again the long side is rounded again. Oval shaped cucumber. Parsley, run your finger over the cucumber yourself, and you guys see if he’s doing it right, and lead along with him.” Parsley traces the contour, naming the features of the shape, is glad that he has learned to recognize it correctly, and expresses a desire to see if the children can do it as well as he can. Then the teacher shows how to draw oval-shaped cucumbers: “Listen, Parsley, you guys too, I’ll tell you a secret: to make it easier to draw cucumbers, you need to draw the pencil in the same way as you did with your finger: first the long side, rounded, then the long side again.” …" etc. In this case, the gaming technique helps to solve a complex of problems: to perceive the originality of the shape of an object; to warn children about a typical mistake that occurs in the initial stages of mastering the image of a new, but similar to another shape. Children are brought to an understanding of the need for examination, to establish an important, as research by T.S. Komarova has shown, connection between the examining gesture and the formative movement. The gaming technique arouses interest in the subject of the image, better understanding and desire to complete the task.
In cases where the teacher gives a demonstration of the method of depiction, you can use the technique of acting out and the created image for the purpose of explanation, focusing on the methods of action. For example, a teacher accompanies a demonstration of how to draw a tree with the words: “A tree is growing... a thick branch has grown, but another one is growing. When I tilt the brush a little, like this, I get a thick branch. She tilted the brush and an even thicker branch grew. And now little branches will grow. Tell me, how should I hold the brush so that those little branches grow? So she grew up... another one...", etc.
When guiding the process of creating an image in this type of lesson, direct teaching techniques occupy a large place: additional demonstration, explanation, advice
and, if possible
, indirect methods and questions.
It is also advisable to use drawings. Initial mastery of image methods always causes difficulties for children. When children are focused on a new task, they should not be distracted by playing. It is more appropriate to play with verbal rather than practical actions, since this does not distract children from the task and allows you to unobtrusively, intelligibly correct the child’s actions. If the child is distracted and has forgotten about work, you can use toys.
When analyzing and evaluating drawings in this type of lesson, they usually use a play on finished children’s works. The didactic purpose of these gaming techniques is to help the child see the quality of the work, the quality of mastering a new method of depiction in close connection with the perception of expressiveness. In this case, it is especially important that the play actions be varied in content and form, since with typical mistakes it is difficult for the teacher to avoid monotony in assessments. For example, children in the middle group drew cucumbers in the garden beds. They do not immediately grasp the image of an oval shape, and not everyone can achieve a smooth, rounded line. The teacher, evaluating the drawings, was suddenly surprised: “The mouse ran from the garden, probably gnawed on the cucumbers.” And indeed, the “bitten” cucumbers “grew” in the beds; the children themselves found them and showed them. Then the teacher and the children found cucumbers that the sun did not warm well, and they grew crooked. The children “picked” green, juicy, smooth cucumbers and treated them to Cheburashka, etc.
In creative classes in the first part, playing with toys is used to explain a creative task, to evoke a desire to come up with and complete a drawing in your own interesting way. For example, sad Ivanushka comes to a class on drawing a fairy-tale bird. The teacher asks: “What, Ivanushka, aren’t you happy that you hung your little head?” They learn that the king needs to catch the Firebird, but Ivanushka has never seen the miracle bird. Children tell what it might look like. “Don’t be sad, don’t worry, Ivanushka, we will help your grief.” The teacher offers to “catch” and give Ivanushka a beautiful fairy-tale bird. He will take the most beautiful and fabulous one to the king. Children draw a bird on sheets of paper decorated in the form of a beautiful cage (so that Ivanushka does not burn his hands, so that the bird does not fly away). Thus, the play technique in the first part of the lesson stimulates the creative activity of children.
When guiding the implementation of a plan, there is no fundamental difference in the gaming techniques used compared to other types of activities. The teacher uses advice less often, questions and encouragement more. Game techniques formulate the posing of questions (“Are there only birch trees growing in your park?”), figurative characteristics of children’s works (“Wow, what a beautiful bird has arrived... It shines like the sun, even your eyes close”). The point of using them is to “introduce” children into the depicted situations, into the image, to direct the children to find their own ways of depicting, and to maintain interest in the activity.
When analyzing and evaluating creative works, the same play techniques are used as in other types of activities, but they are aimed primarily at analyzing and assessing the diversity, uniqueness of images, and the degree of expressiveness in close connection with the means used by the child. “Children, let’s stand quietly... let’s see what the sparrows are doing. Oh, how clumsy... Why can't he take off? But this one got ruffled and offended. Why? Where is the most mischievous sparrow? and so on. The clown, for whom the children drew circus dogs, finds out what they like to do and chooses the most dexterous and skillful ones to perform with them in the circus.
The above methodology for using gaming techniques can be used to guide the visual activities of children in all age groups. This is due to the fact that modern education of children of all ages presupposes a single path: from imparting new knowledge and familiarization with new methods of representation to exercising in their application and developing generalized skills and abilities. That is, such skills and abilities that you can independently use to depict various objects and phenomena, while being able to choose the most suitable ones from the available methods. On this basis, children are led to find their own ways, developing their creative abilities in every possible way.
Game techniques in optimal combination with other teaching methods and techniques have a beneficial effect on the development of the individual, his creative potential, artistic abilities, moral and aesthetic development of children, increase preschoolers’ interest in visual arts and stimulate amateur forms of its manifestation, when the child himself performs visual arts. problems and tries to solve them. At the same time, children show courage and confidence in their abilities.
CHAPTER IV
The state of play activity of modern preschoolers
The features of the play of modern preschoolers were studied in the work of E. O. Smirnova and O. V. Gudarev “Play and voluntariness in modern preschoolers.” Based on the levels identified by D.B. Elkonin, the authors tried to evaluate the content of the play of modern children of three age groups: middle (from 4-5 years old), older (5-6 years old) and preparatory (from 6-7 years old). At a specially designated time, a small group of children (four to five people) was invited to play any game in a familiar kindergarten room. Each child's type of play activity was assigned to one of the levels of play and categorized as an action role, a story role, and a relational role.
The results of observations showed that the majority of modern children aged 4-6 years reduced the game to simple, uncomplicated actions and individual remarks addressed to a partner. The highest stage of play development, when role relationships are clearly expressed and the child’s behavior is connected with partners (play relationships), occurs only in some children after 5 years.
The next question that was investigated in this work is: how does a decrease in the level of play affect the formation of one of the most important new formations of preschool age - arbitrariness.
The work of Z. Manuylenko (1948) [2] is often cited as proof of the leading role of play in the formation of voluntariness. In this work, the indicator of volitional behavior was the time of maintaining a posture of immobility demonstrated in the game (when performing the role of a guard) and outside the game (at the request of an adult). The results showed that during the heyday of role-playing games (age 4-5 years), the time to maintain a pose in a game was more than three times higher than the same indicator in a non-play situation. At the age of 6-7 years, these indicators converge due to the rapid growth of non-playing volitional qualities, and the time to maintain a pose in play and non-play situations is almost comparable.
In this work, the playing role acts as an external means that establishes the zone of next development, which then “rotates” and is internalized. Thus, voluntariness is transformed into a personal ability that does not depend on the current situation.
The experiments described above were carried out in the middle of the last century, when the quantity and quality of gaming activities was much higher. Do these models still exist today? To answer these questions, an experiment was conducted in which the technique of 3. V. Manuylenko was used. In order to bring the plot of the game closer to modern conditions, children were offered not the role of a security guard, but the role of a “security guard protecting the bank from fraudsters.” The essence of the role-playing game has not changed, but the content of the role has become more clear. Otherwise, the experimental situation, the ages studied, the observed indicators and their processing exactly repeated Manuylenko’s studies.
However, the data of preschoolers of the 21st century were radically different from the results of children of the middle of the last century. In Fig. Figure 1.3 shows the dynamics of volitional behavior in and outside of play among preschoolers of two generations. The presented graph clearly demonstrates a number of significant differences in the stage of development and dynamics of volitional behavior.
Firstly, modern preschoolers have significantly lower absolute indicators of volitional behavior. Even in the preparatory group, our children cannot hold a pose for more than 3 minutes, while their peers of the previous generation could hold a motionless pose for an average of 12 minutes. These differences clearly indicate a decrease in the ability to self-control and manage one's own behavior.
Pros and cons of using gaming techniques
Gaming techniques in the classroom are certainly beneficial. Students are involved in the process of studying the subject, they can often apply their knowledge in practice or with their own minds reach certain conclusions written in the textbook. If the game is designed for a long period and involves several stages (iterations), students will happily rush to class to find out the continuation of the plot, strengthen their position in the game, or simply win back. In general, high emotional involvement and joy in the process make it easier to memorize material and increase motivation to study.
However, to create games that have all of the above properties, the teacher must spend a lot of effort and time, because simply including stars instead of grades or videos instead of lectures in the educational process will not give a long-term effect and the required level of involvement, and a high-quality game requires elaboration of the plot, adaptation of the rules to suit specific audience, development of game artifacts (cards, cards, chips, awards, videos).
The disadvantages include the lack of time within the educational process. 40 minutes of a lesson does not allow for a full game with analysis of the results (the recommended duration of games is 1.5-2 hours).
The teacher needs to give an introduction to the topic, explain the rules, play the game, and then analyze its results and draw conclusions with the educational element; the game itself can only take 15-20 minutes. In such conditions, we can only talk about game elements in the classroom, that is, gamification.
Comment from “YaKlass”: “The high workload and the need to follow the curriculum often do not allow the teacher to allocate enough time to prepare a full-fledged game. In this case, the teacher will be helped by short tasks with gamification elements that can be painlessly implemented into the lesson. On the YaKlass website, similar tasks can be found in the “Recess” section - they are well suited for lessons at the beginning of the quarter, when children have not yet settled into a working rhythm. There are also Olympiad tasks for the preparatory round in mathematics and English for students in grades 4-6. With their help, you can learn to solve more complex problems and entertain students with interesting puzzles with elements of gamification.”
Characteristics of children's musical and play activities
Play is the leading type of activity for preschool children. It is considered in preschool pedagogy as one of the main methods of education, training and as one of the forms of organizing children's activities.
Expanding the concept of “leading activity” and emphasizing the importance of play in the development of a child, A.N. Leontiev wrote: “We call leading activity such activity in connection with which the most important changes occur in the child’s psyche and within the framework of which psychological processes develop that prepare the child’s transition to a new, higher stage of his development.” In this context, we call it “leading.” activities."
In psychology and pedagogy, there are many views on play, theories, both foreign (W. Wundt, V. Stern, J. Dewey, K. Büller, J. Piaget, etc.) and their own (L. S. Vygotsky, R. Zaporozhets, A.V. Keneman, A.N. Leontyev, F.S. Levin-Shirina, T.A. Markova, D.V. Mendzheritskaya, S.L. Rubinshtein, K.D. Ushinsky, E.I. Tikheeva, D.B. Elkonin and others).
Some games go back thousands of years (like the hopscotch game). The game is diverse not only in its content, but also in its forms and sources.
Games perform various functions in the lives of children: educational, formative, educational, developmental, cognitive, recreational, communicative, organizational, value-oriented, etc.
In the game, the child consolidates his experience of knowing the world and its changes, the child’s comprehensive development is realized - emotional, intellectual, creative. There are games aimed at mastering moral norms and rules of behavior, socializing preschool children - acquiring life and social experience of adults, developing work skills, physical, aesthetic, spiritual development, and speech development.
Some games are aimed at developing the skills of children of any type of activity, others - at certain personal qualities (communication, perseverance, will, independence, activity), and the development of skills (general or specific).
The game was considered in pedagogy as a means of acquiring, consolidating and deepening knowledge, as a method of teaching preschoolers, its developmental significance was emphasized (E.I. Tikheeva, D.V. Mendzheritskaya, A.P. Usova, etc.).
There are studies that reveal the role of play in the development of volitional behavior (A. V. Zaporozhets, Z. V. Manuylenko, etc.), due to the child’s orientation toward the pattern of action contained in the intended role (i.e., hidden control).
Among the various types of games, didactic games are distinguished. Regardless of the type, a didactic game has a certain structure. A game used for educational purposes must contain a teaching (and educational) task, children’s play actions and the rules of the game1.
Conducting didactic games includes familiarization with the content, explanation of the course of the game and its rules, demonstration of game actions, repetition of the game in various versions with their gradual complication.
Based on the type of material used, didactic games are divided into games with objects, board games with pressure and word games.
A distinction is made between games in the classroom and in children's independent activities.
R.R.I. Zhukovskaya revealed the influence of didactic games in the classroom on children’s independent play, in which role-playing actions showed behavior options and revealed relationships between people [4].
Psychologists and educators emphasize the developmental value of role-playing play as the highest form containing enormous creative potential.
In the game, emphasizes A.N. Leontyev, there are real actions of the child (play role), but in imaginary situations. Playful activities stimulate the imagination. Games with an imaginary situation in their development turn into narrative role-playing games with rules, during which human relationships and social relationships between people are more and more clearly imitated.
A. Leontiev also considers the development of dramatization games and defines them as a “pre-aesthetic” activity in which there is a creative approach, as well as a motive for influencing other people.
D. B. Elkonin emphasizes the kinship of play with art, which makes people experience various aspects of human life and interpret them in figurative form. The role of play in the development of perception, memory, thinking, imagination, and abilities of the child is noted. In the game, the child transforms objects, and his imagination can be based on the surrounding reality.
The essence of game teaching methods
Game methods have an advantage over other teaching methods, since they are interesting to children and attract attention from the very beginning. Game methods are based on various games that evoke positive emotions that help create a comfortable psychological situation in the learning process. The use of game methods in teaching significantly reduces the cost of nervous energy and volitional efforts.
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In the process of studying the use of game teaching methods, it was found that these methods help to enhance the mental and motor activity of students. Motor activity has a positive effect on the formation of associative connections that facilitate the process of acquiring knowledge and skills. During play, a child’s perception processes proceed much faster and more accurately.
Game teaching methods have a number of characteristic features:
- The educational material or educational action acquires a conditional plan, which is transferred to the game scenario.
- The game method requires the participation of all participants in the learning process in the game, that is, both students and the teacher participate in the game, which contributes to the direct learning influence on children through comments, instructions, directions, reprimands, tips, etc.
Game methods are very diverse. Their variety depends on the type of game used by the teacher. Regardless of what kind of game is used, the method has two main pedagogical functions:
- Improving and consolidating knowledge. During the game, the child has to use previously acquired knowledge, transform it if necessary, transform it, and learn to operate with his knowledge and skills. All this has a positive impact on expanding and deepening students' knowledge.
- Successful acquisition of new knowledge and skills of varying complexity and content. During the game, most often, in order to assimilate new knowledge, the teacher uses various imaginary situations in an expanded form, using gaming equipment and corresponding game actions and roles. For example, in order to improve and expand knowledge about decorative and applied arts, games “Exhibition”, “Souvenir Shop”, “Journey to the Past”, etc. can be played.
Finished works on a similar topic
Coursework Game-based teaching methods 460 ₽ Abstract Game-based teaching methods 250 ₽ Examination Game-based teaching methods 190 ₽
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The selection of the type of games for the use of game methods in teaching depends on the age of the students, their psychological and physical development, individual capabilities and needs. Taking into account these criteria will help the teacher select truly effective games that will help enhance the pedagogical impact on students and obtain high learning results.
Thus, the role of game teaching methods in the pedagogical process is quite large. The effectiveness of these methods depends on the professional skills of the teacher, his understanding of the functions of educational games and their importance in the upbringing and teaching of children.
