I recently attended several ICT education trial sessions for children that utilized Minecraft.
Each venue had a different approach, with some focusing on:<\/p>\n
Through experiencing these sessions firsthand, I felt that repeating the process of setting goals, trying them out, and reflecting\u2014rather than just “programming thinking” within Minecraft\u2014is what truly drives children’s growth.<\/p>\n
Group work is an element that naturally gets learned within school life as well.
However, the experience of consciously running the PDCA cycle on one’s own is surprisingly rare both at home and at school.<\/p>\n
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t we get the same educational effects as attending a trial session costing thousands of yen a month if we just use Minecraft at home to run the PDCA cycle?”
With that thought in mind, I decided to try out a home-based Minecraft PDCA practice program.<\/p>\n
The PDCA cycle refers to an improvement cycle used in business, studies, and other areas.
It consists of the following four steps:<\/p>\n
By repeating this flow, children gradually develop their initiative and problem-solving skills.
Because Minecraft provides an environment where you can “freely experiment” and “easily retry even if you fail,” it is the ideal learning material to experience this PDCA cycle.<\/p>\n
To ensure it could be maintained at home, I set each session to a 1-hour cycle.
This structure makes it easy for the child to stay focused and ensures dedicated time for parent-child dialogue.<\/p>\n
| Phase<\/th>\n | Time<\/th>\n | Content<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. Goal Setting<\/strong><\/td>\n| Approx. 5 mins<\/td>\n | Establish today’s objectives and numerical goals (Plan)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 2. First Half Play<\/strong><\/td>\n | 30 mins<\/td>\n | Take on the challenge toward the set goals (Do)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 3. Mid-Point Review<\/strong><\/td>\n | 2\u20133 mins<\/td>\n | Check progress and adjust goals (Check \u2192 Act)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 4. Second Half Play<\/strong><\/td>\n | 30 mins<\/td>\n | Retry with the revised goals (Do)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 5. Overall Review<\/strong><\/td>\n | Approx. 8 mins<\/td>\n | Review achievements, challenges, and set next goals (Check \u2192 Act)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n | Making Verbalization a Rule<\/h2>\nIn each phase, placing importance on “putting thoughts into words” is heavily emphasized.
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