From: Duane Cleghorn
Submit: Post Field Note
VisitDate: 10/24/96
Adult-Run:
Children-Run: Selected
Collaborative:
Unclear-Philosophy:
Bottom-up:
Top-down:
Unclear-Approach: Selected
Informal: Selected
Formal:
Unclear-Type:
Date: 30 Oct 1996
Time: 16:40:11
Remote Name: psych106a.ucsc.edu
Cedro (?) age (?) male
I started playing Hero on the computer when Cedro noticed and asked if he could play. I showed him the arrow keys and how to move the character, and he started his own game. He understood how to play at first, only asking questions of what to do. I offered suggestions, and he played with more confidence. I showed him how to get to the next level when he had finished the first, and he didn't jump levels until he had finished the one that he was on. It wasn't until he started getting bored when he started jumping levels. Juan and Shiviah showed him tricks when they noticed he was just goofing around.
It seemed to me that, while he was interested in the game, Cedro was willing to play by the rules (i.e. finishing the level he was on before jumping to the next), but after he got bored, he was willing to do anything to keep himself interested, including jumping levels and taking advice from his peers.
Children seem to be capable of doing what they think is required, until they start to lose interest in what they are doing. I wonder if it wouldn't be better for kids if school was like that, with instructors teaching one subject for twenty minutes to a half hour, then changing subjects. I wonder if this would keep kids interested since they would experience something new in a short time, instead of getting bored.