How colouring can improve learners concentration
Paloma Lengema
Last year was exceptional in the way it impacted every industry, the education sector being no exception.
A recent United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report on student mental health titled ‘The impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of students’, said that 27 per cent of surveyed students reported feeling anxious, while 15 per cent reported signs of depression.
More eye-opening was the finding that 46 per cent of students reported having less motivation to do activities they usually enjoyed while 36 per cent felt less motivated to do regular chores.
It is obvious that the concentration levels and attention spans of students may have been significantly impacted negatively during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This has created the necessity of identifying activities that will win students back to an exciting learning environment.
One of the ways in which this can be achieved is through colouring. An assumption in our current education system is the notion that colouring is a syllabus requirement that stops at the pre-primary level.
Nothing could be further from the truth and more so at a time when students have been easing into the learning environment.
Colouring has the ability to steadily shift the focus of young minds back into the learning environment.
Focus is an important skill for learners not only for their academic progression, but also to be able to concentrate while in class.
Colouring also helps promote creativity and self-expression. It allows children to express their individuality and creativity.
Since students had spent months at home, they have undergone different experiences – some good, some bad and some new.
Through activities like colouring, students get a medium with which to express their innermost joys, fears and aspirations making them more relaxed.
Innovations in the stationery business has seen leading firms focus on development of products that give learners an opportunity to focus on the process, instead of challenges with the products they are using.
Brands such as BIC have pioneered innovations centered on providing easy and fun experiences to children while engaging in activities such as coloring.
Children’s length of concentration develops and improves over time but with the continued stay at home, it is more probable than not that our student’s concentration levels have been affected.
Colouring is an activity that requires good concentration and this type of focus on one task can help our students build back their overall concentration levels.— The writer is the Marketing Manager BIC East Africa
