We often test our children when we ask, "Do you know the names of all the continents in the world?" instead of saying " Let us talk about continents!".
Would a child be happy and eager to be tested if the tests only exposed their ignorance or shortcomings? Would the child see the test as a fun activity or a stressful one? In fact, they begin to associate the 'whole' act of asking questions with the 'act' of testing rather than a 'fun' way to learn and explore. Which is the sad part :(.
While a certain amount of testing is definitely needed to evaluate, motivate and challenge the child, if we want them to learn more - there other ways to do so:
- Provide opportunities for the child to showcase what he/she already knows
- Engage him/her with new challenges in a positive environment to make learning fun
- Be encouraging and supportive in both cases
Do share with us other ways to make learning enjoyable for children.
Contributed by Anubha Jain, currently a learning facilitator with Sparkling Mindz. She is an MBA graduate from a premier institute and an Engineer prior to that. She also has several years of corporate experience under her belt. She has chosen to shift her career to work with children.