Fun Tutoring Games for Children

This is an expanding area of educational research  and there are many ways that games can be used well to help children to learn. At Limitless Learning, the fun tutoring games that we use provide access to learning for many of our students leading them to repeatedly achieve success.  

Tutoring with games, learning through play

Using games for learning has traditional roots in playing family board games at home. Indeed, anyone who experienced board games as a child can link key skills in the curriculum to the skills, they were developing through their board game playing.  

When we play a board game, we are listening to instructions, retaining information, thinking strategically: using inference, perseverance, resilience, working as part of a team, and that’s just for starters!  

Depending on the game, there may be maths skills, literacy skills or both! The key point to mention here is that we were most likely developing these skills without realising it as we were too busy playing.  

Fun tutoring games, educational games, learning games or gamification all include the learning through play approach. This is a key tool that can be used to provide additional support to children beyond their classroom experience. A one-to-one tutor using games for learning brings a different experience to playing with family or peers and allows for an ‘in the moment’ response to the child’s learning needs from an experienced educator.  

What is gamification for learning?

Gamification for learning is, quite simply, using games for learning. The foundation for this approach is to make learning fun and interactive for the learner: they are developing skills or knowledge whilst having fun! Have a look at this link to learn more.  

The Lego Foundation has a really interesting article to give you more information on how learning through play provides a strong foundation for successful learning.  

Fun Tutoring games and the use of technology for learning

Have a look at these facts about the  Generation Z ‘s digital footprint and the difference from previous generation’s daily life experience is apparent. We know that our lives have been changed by technology and our children are growing up in an ever-advancing digital world.  

Many children will choose to play games on screens, even our youngest learners. Educational apps are available to support children with their learning and can be used with an adult or independently. Through the Limitless Learning Blog, we will be sharing suggestions for apps! 

The choice made by children to use screens to develop their skills, whether they realise it or not, could be seen as a form of digital play. Just as with a board game, they are developing their listening skills, comprehension, retention and retrieval of information, while developing strategic solutions without necessarily being aware of it! They are so involved and intrinsically motivated to take part that they don’t realise they are learning. 

Playing fun tutoring games with an experienced Limitless Learning tutor brings the benefits of play to the learning experience while having the added benefit of a knowledgeable other to respond specifically to the student.  

Using games for education: How does gamification impact on learning?

Studies have shown that gamification does have a positive impact on learning outcomes for children: Minecraft is a great example of how children can develop spatial awareness through a digital game. 

We have developed our approach to supporting students of all ages through fun tutoring games. We always try to ensure that each game is matched to our student to have the greatest impact on their academic attainment and emotional wellbeing. 

Children learning through play leads to synapses and pathways in the brain being building after approximately 10 to 20 repetitions rather than the usual 400 to 500 repetitions required with more traditional approaches. 

From our research on LinkedIn, the highest-ranking skills that were sought by employers are creativity and diligent thinking. This can be supported by other educators and neuroscientists who have acknowledged that greater emphasis should be placed on creativity due to its link to strengthening the effectiveness of the brain. Scientists have found that a person’s ability to be creative can greatly affect the brain’s plasticity. This helps our brains to rewire themselves which leads to it building solid neural pathways when learning something new.  

Creative people are also acknowledged to have interlinking neurons between the left and right hemispheres in the frontal aspects of the brain which leads to more dynamic thinking. Enabling children, or even adults, to be creative can lead to imaginative responses to difficult situations; increasing this interlinking further and building overall brain capacity. 

The use of creativity and games within our learning model has proven to enhance the processing of information and encouraging memory retention. Not to be forgotten, creativity, and not just academic knowledge, is widely sought after by employers too. 

Tutoring for relationship building and memory making

Fun tutoring games provide a context for a learner to grow in many different aspects of their education. As previously mentioned, playing educational games with a one-to-one tutor gives the learner a knowledgeable other to take them beyond what they know and into a world of new information and skill development.  

As the child engages, they forget about any fear they may feel towards the skills or knowledge required to be successful within a context of play.  

Fun tutoring games remove the pressure many children feel with traditional teaching methods and create new narratives of success. The children are having a good time with their Limitless Learning tutor, building a professional bond between teacher and student while developing their confidence, skills and knowledge. These positive experiences create connections between learning and positive emotions. By providing them with fun tutoring game opportunities, they are becoming more effective learners through knowing more and remembering more.  

What have we learned?

The benefits of gamification have been discussed throughout this blog and there are many links if you want to read on and dive into the world of educational theory and research.  

We know that gamification of learning and using fun tutoring games does make a difference by: 

• Building positive connections to learning  
• Forging pathways to success 
• Building self-esteem  
• Demonstrating and showing understanding of different ways to reach potential 
• Valuing different approaches to learning 
• Enhancing information processing 
• Supporting long term retention of information 
• Learning through play 
• Having fun! 

If you’re not one to turn to academic theory to make a decision, we totally understand! We speak from a place of experience and a specialist knowledge of how to support children in their learning. This specialism comes from our training, CPD courses and our personal experience of neurodivergent learners.  

Making learning fun is our most important mission. Fun tutoring games are a major part of our approach, in both resources and in our teaching approach.  Finding ways to connect abstract ideas to reality and bring the children with us on a learning journey, whilst using fun and engaging sessions to inspire, guide and respond to each unique learner.  

Links included above: 

Dichev, C., Dicheva, D. Gamifying education: what is known, what is believed and what remains uncertain: a critical review. Int J Educ Technol High Educ 14, 9 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-017-0042-5 

Smiderle, R., Rigo, S.J., Marques, L.B. et al. The impact of gamification on students’ learning, engagement and behavior based on their personality traits. Smart Learn. Environ. 7, 3 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40561-019-0098-x 

Dr Paul Howard- Jones 

Karl Kapp 

Further Studies