Learning Apps: Engaged or Thinking? Rethinking How Children Learn

Your Question, My Lens

YOUR QUESTION: That’s really nice to hear about techniques that work for folks with a special needs. With learning apps that have a lot of rewards and things and buttons to push, I’ve heard that it helps keep ADHD children, for example, engaged. What’s your experience tell you about this please?

QUICK ANSWER:

Thank you for bringing this up.

While learning apps certainly show longer periods of engagement with an activity compared to staying physically engaged in a learning activity without a digital device, there is a lot to unpack here.

First of all, unfortunately, apps and screen time in general have a genuinely addictive aspect and can affect neurodevelopment in children—especially the prefrontal lobe. The so-called instant gratification loop triggers chemical releases similar to those found in gambling or drug addiction. Dopamine desensitization keeps children hooked, requiring more dopamine maintains engagement; suppression of melatonin negatively impacts sleep cycles; and the combination of cortisol and adrenaline release (to name just a few) activates the fight-or-flight response, resulting in spikes in anxiety and irritability.

  Source: Photo by julien Tromeur< on Unsplash 

Exciting rewards, flashing buttons, colors, and sounds can all be powerful attention grabbers. In a way, we could say they are effective prompting methods to get children going. Personally, though, I am interested in awakening the brain from within, rather than relying on external over-stimuli. The less external stimuli here is, the more internally activated and aware the brain can become. I am interested in thinking, actively working brains so that children can grow beyond their limits.

I find that under the right conditions, and at the right time, learning can happen almost instantaneously—even the skill of reading for example. When it truly makes sense to the child, reading skills can develop in as little as two weeks. This tends to happen when there is a genuine, organic desire to use reading as a vehicle for understanding, and when it is functionally linked to the child’s interests. This is something I observe repeatedly.

Drills are not necessary; I would even go further and say they are often undesirable. They lead to automation, and automation reduces awareness and active thinking. The more time we spend in this state, the more it becomes our brain’s default mode (Think of you driving your car to the store, or brushing your teeth). However, the right conditions and opportunities are crucial for a child to turn opportunity into possibility.

 

This raises an important question: are we more interested in children spending longer periods engaged in a prompted activity? We learn what we get—and this is exactly what is learned: I am prompted, so I act. I am not prompted, so I don’t. Or are we interested in setting them up for learning that comes from within, where they have agency? The distinction that being engaged does not mean necessary thinking is critical. Children who struggle to set up the conditions for their own learning are especially vulnerable, making the distinction between mere engagement and true thinking all the more important. It is up to us to decide which route to take.

What is remarkable, though, is that when brain potential is ignited in an organic way to facilitate thinking, and when the learning switch is on, outcomes are seen across all areas—cognitive, emotional, and physical. True learning is global. A parent may report improved digestion, new responses, greater awareness of the world and the people in it, a willingness to try new foods, etc.

One final point: if a child disengages from an activity we can observe (for example, by walking away), it does not necessarily mean they are no longer engaged. Processing times differ, and so do the ways we process and integrate information to say the least. Leaving an activity at a particular moment can be informative—it is neither inherently good nor bad. It is interesting.

 A quick additional note: for some children on the spectrum, digital devices can serve as useful tools for learning communication through various spelling-to-communicate methods. That said, reinforcing behavior with rewards is not a healthy foundation for developing genuine desire and curiosity to learn.

I hope this offers some helpful ideas and insights based on my practical observation, though I feel I am only scratching the surface.

~ Linda