Tag Archive for 'problem-solving'

Children Can Develop Skills in Problem Solving with Sudoku

Published
by
john
on June 14, 2009
in Articles, For Parents & Teachers and Tips
.

By nature, child’s mind is like a sponge when it comes to learning new things. The old school of thought is that as children reach certain ages, the way in which they comprehend new information changes in stages. However, new research has contributed to theories that demonstrate children do not learn in a linear or straight forward way as previously thought, but instead their learning varies as a result of individual factors or circumstances.

It has been shown that children in fact use many different methods simultaneously to comprehend new information and many of these strategies have been observed at a much younger age than once thought.

Once children have reached the age at which they enter school, they are prepared for developing more complicated methods of problem solving. When children reach this stage of intellectual development, in order to truly cultivate their problem solving skills it is extremely helpful to use of challenging puzzle games like; Sudoku.

The game Sudoku can be considered a logic based math game, but at first sight it appears more like a crossword puzzle due to its grid like layout. Sudoku is played on square 9 X 9 grid totaling 81 squares with each square again divided up 3 high by 3 wide sections. The game does not start off with an empty grid but instead numbers are pre-placed in chosen squares to be used as clues. It is up to the player to figure out where the remaining numbers should go.

What makes Sudoku challenging and unique is that the numbers 1 – 9 may only be used one time in each section, column or row. A decision must be made by the player as to where to place what number and in which square while still follow the rule of not repeating the order in other sections.

Many consider math the language of science and the subject is universally understood, not being bound by any language constraints, regardless of culture or geographic location. In the problem solving game of Sudoku, you solve for the grid through the use of; process of elimination and logic only. Each puzzle only has one right answer and range in difficulty from simple to very complex.

Children are able to apply many problem solving strategies through playing the Sudoku game puzzles like the “Guess and Check” method, which can be applied to so many other aspects of real world situations. Not only do these puzzles develop your reasoning and logic skills, they are great fun to play as well. There is no doubt that Sudoku games encourage creativity, they also inspire children to be more flexible in their Problem solving style.

An additional benefit to having children play Sudoku games, is that it helps foster a positive attitude regarding math and avoid any early age math anxiety that may develop, which could possibly hamper further development in this area.

Not only will the skills developed playing Sudoku benefit them in math and science, but it may also help with the problem solving skills necessary to excel in other academic areas and countless real world scenarios.

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Developing Problem Solving Skills in Children by Learning Checkers and Chess

Published
by
john
on June 13, 2009
in Articles, For Parents & Teachers and Tips
.

When young children discover the games of checkers and chess they have a head-start in developing their critical thinking and problem solving skills. Problem solving games like checkers and chess have many advantages over other types of games since they are very socially interactive (unlike video computer games that are especially popular these days.)

Having children play problem solving games like checkers and chess is a fantastic way for them to have a closer look at how their decision making determines the outcome of the game.

To convince children that they should try playing the games of checkers and chess, you might want to encourage them by suggesting that these games are a form of combat, instead of just simple game pieces and a checkered board.

The “Stop and Think” strategy of seeing things should be implemented at an early age so that children at all developmental levels can build the foundation for a lifetime of positive problem solving and critical thinking developmental skills.

Critical thinking and problem solving skills are vital at any age, and many family therapists would agree, if more people used the stop and think principal, fewer marriages would end in divorce.

A useful strategy for teaching your children problem solving skills includes the following five steps:

1. Identify the problem and have them finish the sentence; “The problem that I’m having is …..”
2. Consider 3 possible ways to remedies the problems with solutions.
3. Spent one minute for each of these options and decided if they are good or bad decisions.
4. Out of the three possible solutions, decide which one is your best option.
5. Employ your chosen option to the situation and see if it is successful.

A simple way to teach the five step strategy to young children is to apply it to the game of checkers. That way the decisions that they make in regard to the checker moves will in no way have any consequence in the real world.

The following exercise of allowing the young student to actually make the entire checker board moves for instance, before any opponent can make a counter move. Instill in them to always refer back to the old adage; “Consider all of your options.” that type of play can prove to be beneficial by removing any anxiety they my face in a real game or real life situation.

• The first move for the young player to consider will be to choose one move after considering three potential ones.
• Make that chosen move. Once they have committed to that move have them ask allowed; “Was that a smart move or not the best choice?” If the decision is made that it was not the best choice, have them make another move.
• Once again, make that chosen move, only this time have them ask themselves; “Now that I have committed to this move, what are the options that my opponent has to counter my move?”

Its best to have the kids think in terms of considering all of their options and to slow down and really think about the consequences of these moves, feeling free to go ahead change that initial move to one that they feel is more beneficial.

A suggestion to parents might be try this critical thinking exercise with your children at home by playing the game of checkers with them and allowing them the freedom of changing their moves even after they’ve taken their hand off of the checker game piece. This training exercise is best employed if the child is age 6 or older so the full grasp the concept of critical decision making. After each game if you closely observe, you’ll see the child’s decision making skills develop and become more refined.

Now the next step is to bridge the gap between the game of checkers and real-world scenarios using the terminology from the game, Like asking; “Is this the best option or maybe we should re-think our options.”

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Doggie Daycare

Published
by
john
on June 11, 2009
in For Parents & Teachers, Game Reviews, New Games and Reviews
.

Doggie Daycare GameIf you are a dog lover like so many of us you enjoy providing a good home for Fido, but could you imagine taking care of several dogs all at once, in fact other people’s canines. You’ll find out if you are up to the task in this game simulator created for windows.
Your dear ailing Aunt Marian is in need of your help and asks you to take over all aspects of running the dog-sitting service. You begin the game on a limited budget with only $250 in the businesses account. This must cover all costs including; dog food, supplies for cleaning and grooming and dog toys to keep them from getting bored.

This is more of a small business simulator than a computer game since your duties will mirror that of an actual small business owner, incorporating the often mundane tasks of; feeding, grooming, exercising them and teaching them a few dog tricks along the way.

You are graded by the three bars that are situated next to the cage and the more favorable the score the better the business’s credibility becomes.

This is not the easiest game to navigate through and even the simplest of tasks can seem daunting at times. Even filling up the food and water dishes can seem challenging the first time through this game.

This game was created by Tivola Publishing for Viva Media and is for players 6 and up.

You can buy this Doggie Daycare Game here

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Life Is A Journey In: Crayola Colorful Journey

Published
by
john
on June 2, 2009
in For Kids & Teens, For Parents & Teachers, Game Reviews and Reviews
.

Crayola Colorful JourneyBegin your adventure through Crayola Land as either the character; Violet or Fillup. With the Nintendo Wii you can design shapes and create the scenery along the way. In simpler terms, this is basically an interactive, high-tech coloring book.

The young player begins by choosing one of three levels of difficulty; they should start of course, with the easy mode and progress as they become more comfortable with the game and using the control console. Once play has begun, the character that is chosen (Violet or Fillup) will start to move through the landscape along with the pet dog.

In this game you are not in direct control of the characters: Violet of Fillup but instead, control the environment that directly impacts them by drawing structures and objects and giving the color as you normally would do with a Crayola crayon in an ordinary coloring book.

The challenge is to keep pace with your chosen character by filling in all the objects and scenery with various colors before he or she exists that particular scene. This is accomplished by moving the cursor over a particular area to give color to.

Giving a certain color to a particular object can create a series of events like; coloring the clouds a dark color will create rain in the scene and cause the logs to float, from which you may form a bridge to cross the body of water. This is just one example of how this is a logic based game and challenges the young player to develop their critical thinking skills.

The young players, whom the game is designed for, will enjoy the bouncy background music which seems to fit well with the progression of the game. There are also amusing sound effects to fit different scenarios as you carry on in you journey.

Link to buy Crayola Colorful Journey

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