Обучение по средством игры, игровая технология.

УДК 371

GAME-BASED LEARNING AND GAME TECHNOLOGIES

Aloyan Lusine

Teacher

Secondary school of Tsakhkadzor

Republic of Armenia,Kotayk Province, Tsakhkadzor

[email protected]

Aleksanyan Armine

Teacher

Basic school N11 of Hrazdan

Republic of Armenia, Kotayk Province, Hrazdan

[email protected]

The article presents the role and characteristics of interactive game technologies in learning. Any pedagogical technology has means to activate the learners. Game technologies are not exceptions, and they make the learning process more active, effective and interesting.

Key words: learning process, education, teaching, game techniques, game technologies, educational games.

Обучение по средством игры, игровая технология.

Алоян Лусине Нориковна

Учитель

Средняя школа города Цахкадзора Котайской области,

Республика Армения, Цахкадзор

[email protected]

Алексанян Армине Врежовна

Учитель

Օсновная школа N 11 города Раздана Котайской области

Республика Армения, Раздан

[email protected]

В статье представлена роль интерактивной игры в учебном процессе и ее особенности. Каждая педагогическая технология включает в себя средства, которые активируют учебную деятельность обучающего. К этому ряду относятся и игровые технологии, по средствам которого учебный процесс превращается в наиболее активный, результативный и интересный.

Ключевые слова: учебный процесс, обучение, игровые вымыслы, игровые технологии, учебные игры.

“Children live with games; they learn through games, think while playing, count by playing. Games are the guaranty for children.”

V. A. Sukhomlinsky

Games help to develop the attention of children, to foster cooperation; the communication skills of learners develop through games.

Games create unconstrained environment during classes, give an opportunity to all students to take part in the class, promote the responsibility of learners towards tasks, and provide an opportunity for freedom of speech. Nowadays schools have set serious goals to promote learners and integrate them into the learning process.

To achieve these goals and to make classes more targeted, we suggest to developed and run the teaching process through game techniques. This kind of teaching helps the teacher to make the learning process interesting and effective. Children, and in general learners, are easily being integrated in the environment of game activities; the more diverse is that environment, the more attractive it is. Game activities comprise games and exercises that develop the nature of the subject, the abilities to identify, compare and contradict its characteristics. Games allow learners to also identify real phenomena from the unreal ones; they develop the ability of self-control, the speed of reaction, the music skills, etc.

Games activate children at class. The class should not be divided into teaching and game playing, but rather the latter should be dissolved into the teaching process, thus achieving the learning goals with and through games. Games help the teacher to motivate the shy children to be active as children feel free when they are playing. Children are given an opportunity to freely express their thoughts and opinions.

Games develop critical thinking among students; they make the classes lively and raise the interest to study the subject. Games develop the thinking of students, raise their intuition, help them to easily get oriented, besides, they have a positive impact on the memory of students.

Many teachers conduct their classes, by teaching the topics through games, especially in the primary school. Those whose learning is based on games, grasp the teaching material even without realising that (e.g. a foreign language course). In the speaking classes of a foreign language course (at the primary school), the curriculum should be accompanied by game simulations, taking into consideration painting, singing, and reciting as well. Besides the conventional methodologies of teaching a foreign language, these are techniques that give an opportunity to study the language effectively and easily. Games should not be complicated, and they should correspond to the age and the level of knowledge of students. Game exercises, as well as interesting exercises that facilitate the learning of the new material, are applied to encourage students to put their knowledge into practice. An example is illustrated below:

1. A number of geographical names that end with the initial of the new word to be learnt, are written on the blackboard.
2. The names of a number of countries are written on the blackboard. The students should write down words and phrases describing those countries, as well as sightseeing places in those countries.

The group that would write down more words will win the game.

Based on the content of the teaching material, games can be applied in different subjects.

Music games create great opportunities for children to develop their music skills. Depending on the content of the game, children are able to understand, feel and value music, as well as react to it, by expressing their emotions. Various game activities, accompanied by music, facilitate the understanding of music. Due to those activities, children better understand the nature, content and structure of a piece of music, they are able to identify its separate parts and make their movements in line with it, by harmonising them with the beginning and end of that piece. Playing such games requires the children to focus their listening abilities. Games that are structured well in terms of their methodology, contribute to the step-by-step understanding of the teaching material, they also give a rise to the sense of responsibility among children.

Teaching with game techniques has found a wide application since 2003 when James Gee highlighted the impact of the importance of games for cognitive development. Since then, there has been a tendency to conduct teaching based on game techniques. Such teaching emphasises and reflects the teaching materials in the games, that is of great importance as in that case the teaching becomes useful and pleasant. The wonder world of nature, games, music and tails that used to surround children before their being enrolled in schools, should not be shut down with the doors of the school. A child will sincerely love the school and his/her class, only if the teacher manages to maintain the joy that the child has had before coming to school. That is why, while conducting the teaching in the primary schools, teachers should organise game simulations frequently as games make the teaching attractive and make children focus their attention on the topic.

Educational games are encouraged to be organised especially in primary schools. Teachers should take into account that the rules and content of the games should be understandable for children, the content of the games should correspond to the level of knowledge of students; games should be concise and have specific goals, the numbers and duration of games should be balanced. It is possible to educate and discipline children with the help of games. From a range of games designed for separate phases of the class, the teachers can single out those educational games that correspond to the topic of the class or to the previous topic with the aim to deepen its understanding and to revise it. As Joanne E. Oppenheim stated, ''Whenever the game becomes pleasant, the learning process simultaneously becomes pleasant, too.''

Conclusion. Thus, games as teaching methods, are not only effective but are considered to be the driving force of learning and teaching. Games contribute to the raising of the effectiveness of class. Teaching through game techniques can change the whole process, on the one hand making the learning more interesting and effective, and on the other hand deepening the knowledge and making it more generalised.

To summarise the above mentioned viewpoints, we can state that it is possible to encourage and develop creative abilities among students through educational games.

References

1. Y. V. Yuzbashyan, A. Sh. Mkrtchyan, Music games in primary schools, Yerevan, Luys, 1986, p. 310.
2. M. A. Kalugin, Development games for 1-4 grades, Yaroslavl, 2016, p. 82.
3. S. A. Mukhina, A. A. Solovieva, Contemporary innovative technologies of teaching, Moscow, 2008.
4. A. P. Paniphilova, Innovative pedagogical technologies, Moscow, 2011.
5. Educational game, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_game (last accessed 12/02/2020).
6. Game-Based Learning, http://edtech2,boisestate.edu/evangelinebeaver/502/conceptmap.html (last accessed 12/02/2020).

Aleksanyan A.V., Aloyan L.N.,2020