Children Psychology in Education

Hi, as part of the requirement engineering analysis for a project on designing an android app to improve learning capabilities of kids, I have done the following observations. In fact to build an application for children it is very important for a system analyst or a developer to know how children think, how children behave, how children learn or in fact what is going on in their small brain : the kid psychology.

  You will definitely be overwhelmed reading this post, you will be surprised. This small people that you usually think you know are different, they have their own world apart. Of course the following points are not exhaustive.

•   They like games.

•   They like cartoons.

•   Kids are curious. They often want to make sense out of things, and find out how things work.

•   Kids like to be given a lot of freedom to learn in their own way.

•   Visuals are crucial for young children and their learning process.

•   Children learn to concentrate by doing things that interest them.  If an activity is too challenging for them, children either may choose not to participate or may stay with the activity only for a short time.

•   They are great imitators, kids like trying what they see other people doing around them.

•   A kid doesn’t not merely observe the world around him, but tastes it, touches it, hefts it, bends it, breaks it

•   They are not afraid of making mistakes, nor do they shut themselves off from the strange, confused, complicated world around them. Kids play with snakes.

•   They can also keep going for great lengths of time when they are involved in something important. If you take them away, they start screaming or say P-L-E-A-S-E.

The same goes for teachers or guardians who are expected to have certain special conducts while teaching children. Here are some important instructions for them to observe:

•   Always encourage the children, and never point out a "mistake" in their drawing.

•  Always have a sense of fun. A smile means a lot for children.

•   As teachers it is recommend to support children in developing concentration for activities of their choosing (by providing ample time for them to choose each day). At the same time, we should encourage kids to experiment and stay with activities that challenge skills they are not comfortable with.

•  Children’s moods also have an effect on their ability to focus. If a child comes to school upset, tired, or overly excited, he may be too distracted to concentrate on an activity, particularly a new or challenging one.

•   Children need frequent breaks from academic work to keep their attention focused.

•   When teaching them, we must relate new information to previous knowledge.

Tell us what you think, your experience with children !