Developmental Games

Overview 

The Developmental Games module helps children to develop the ability to imagine and to solve problems creatively, looking for their own novel solutions and learning to check that these solutions are plausible. They learn to look at a single simple feature and visualise an entire structure. They learn to consider how a given situation changes when we apply a set of rules to it.

Why are these skills important?

Creativity can unfold spontaneously but we can also foster its development. There are steps we can take that go beyond celebrating evidence of self-expression when we come across it and at the same time take care not to stifle the capacity for originality.

Creativity depends on the free flow of imagination and on flexible thinking. However, free flowing imagination and flexible thinking are most productive when we are able to direct them towards solving the tasks we set ourselves.

In addition to this, we need to develop a mindset which assumes that there can be many different solutions to problems, and that urges us to seek actively for new ways of resolving them. Last, but not least, we need to have enough confidence in our ideas to express what we think, to be able to make good use of constructive feedback yet back our own ideas in the face of opposition, and to persevere when we discover that an idea hasn’t worked as we expected.

How does this module work?

The Developmental Games module offers structured activities which encourage young children to develop and express feelings and ideas about the world in a variety of different contexts. These include looking at schematic drawings and visualising a range of possible pictures or stories; using geometric shapes to create a variety of different objects; and visualising and creating their own completed pictures based on a schematic drawing or an incomplete image. In all these tasks, a wide variety of responses are expected, with children encouraged to share their ideas, listen to others and offer feedback. A critical feature of the activities is the emphasis on encouraging children to explore a range of possible solutions to each task, either by carefully organising the materials they use or by specifically prompting them to offer several ideas.

There are also structured activities requiring practical problem solving and logical analysis. These include spotting errors in images; spotting discrepancies; matching pictures showing problems with pictures that show appropriate solutions; checking each other’s work and offering feedback; temporal sequencing; and understanding a chain of events using if/then logic.

The additional benefits of this module

As with all the Key to Learning modules, Developmental Games deliberately and systematically focuses on the key cognitive processes of symbolisation, modelling, logical analysis and creative expression.

In particular, the module emphasises language and communication skills, as well as helping children learn to concentrate, to recognise symbols and to develop the social and emotional skills they require to work cooperatively in small groups.

Overview 

The Developmental Games module helps children to develop the ability to imagine and to solve problems creatively, looking for their own novel solutions and learning to check that these solutions are plausible. They learn to look at a single simple feature and visualise an entire structure. They learn to consider how a given situation changes when we apply a set of rules to it.

Why are these skills important?

Creativity can unfold spontaneously but we can also foster its development. There are steps we can take that go beyond celebrating evidence of self-expression when we come across it and at the same time take care not to stifle the capacity for originality.

Creativity depends on the free flow of imagination and on flexible thinking. However, free flowing imagination and flexible thinking are most productive when we are able to direct them towards solving the tasks we set ourselves.

In addition to this, we need to develop a mindset which assumes that there can be many different solutions to problems, and that urges us to seek actively for new ways of resolving them. Last, but not least, we need to have enough confidence in our ideas to express what we think, to be able to make good use of constructive feedback yet back our own ideas in the face of opposition, and to persevere when we discover that an idea hasn’t worked as we expected.

How does this module work?

The Developmental Games module offers structured activities which encourage young children to develop and express feelings and ideas about the world in a variety of different contexts. These include looking at schematic drawings and visualising a range of possible pictures or stories; using geometric shapes to create a variety of different objects; and visualising and creating their own completed pictures based on a schematic drawing or an incomplete image. In all these tasks, a wide variety of responses are expected, with children encouraged to share their ideas, listen to others and offer feedback. A critical feature of the activities is the emphasis on encouraging children to explore a range of possible solutions to each task, either by carefully organising the materials they use or by specifically prompting them to offer several ideas.

There are also structured activities requiring practical problem solving and logical analysis. These include spotting errors in images; spotting discrepancies; matching pictures showing problems with pictures that show appropriate solutions; checking each other’s work and offering feedback; temporal sequencing; and understanding a chain of events using if/then logic.

The additional benefits of this module

As with all the Key to Learning modules, Developmental Games deliberately and systematically focuses on the key cognitive processes of symbolisation, modelling, logical analysis and creative expression.

In particular, the module emphasises language and communication skills, as well as helping children learn to concentrate, to recognise symbols and to develop the social and emotional skills they require to work cooperatively in small groups.