Educators, play your trading cards right in classrooms, extracurricular activities
<p>Trading cards have shaped popular culture for over a century, and their appeal remains strong even as digital activities dominate our lives.</p><p>As education evolves, trading cards stand out as tools that bridge analog play with the cognitive demands of the digital age.</p><p>The hobby naturally develops executive function by helping kids plan, organize and manage resources. It also creates organic opportunities to practice math and reading comprehension.</p><div class="RichTextSidebarModule Enhancement" data-module data-align-center><a class="AnchorLink" id="module-400000" name="module-400000"></a> <div class="RichTextSidebarModule-title">Commentary bug</div> <div class="RichTextModule-items RichTextBody"><h2>Commentary</h2></div> </div><p>According to <a class="Link" href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=7038459" target="_blank" >recent research</a>, not only do trading cards tap into reward systems like those found in digital experiences — intermittent reinforcement and variable outcomes — they also improve learning outcomes.</p><p>This is especially vital now, as school systems adapt to students who are raised constantly in front of screens.
Reported by 1 outlet — Chicago Sun-Times. See all sources ↓
<p>Trading cards have shaped popular culture for over a century, and their appeal remains strong even as digital activities dominate our lives.</p><p>As education evolves, trading cards stand out as tools that bridge analog play with the cognitive demands of the digital age.</p><p>The hobby naturally develops executive function by helping kids plan, organize and manage resources. It also creates organic opportunities to practice math and reading comprehension.</p><div class="RichTextSidebarModule Enhancement" data-module data-align-center><a class="AnchorLink" id="module-400000" name="module-400000"></a> <div class="RichTextSidebarModule-title">Commentary bug</div> <div class="RichTextModule-items RichTextBody"><h2>Commentary</h2></div> </div><p>According to <a class="Link" href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=7038459" target="_blank" >recent research</a>, not only do trading cards tap into reward systems like those found in digital experiences — intermittent reinforcement and variable outcomes — they also improve learning outcomes.</p><p>This is especially vital now, as school systems adapt to students who are raised constantly in front of screens. We have seen how digital oversaturation affects learning: shortened attention spans, information fatigue, lower tolerance for complex tasks and increased demand for instant gratification.</p><p>Trading card-related educational activities can undo some of those harms as they incentivizes patience, critical thinking and collaboration with peers.</p><p>Analysis shows that trading cards serve as valuable learning artifacts that support the skills necessary to thrive in STEAM — science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics — classrooms. When integrated within digital learning environments, trading cards can enhance academic outcomes by supporting literacy and content understanding, cognitive and conceptual processing and even <a class="Link" href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257198765_Multimodality_A_Social_Semiotic_Approach_to_Contemporary_Communication_Gunther_Kress_Routledge_London_2010_212_pp_45_bw_illustrations_15_colour_plates_ISBN_13_978-0-415-32061-0_pbk" target="_blank" >multimodal reasoning</a>, a type of cross-format thinking that allows students to make sense of information coming from different sources at once.</p><p><a class="Link" href="https://doingsocialstudies.com/2014/03/24/trading-cards-readwritethink-and-the-common-core/" target="_blank" >Trading cards</a> help to put critical thinking and problem-solving into practice.
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- What's the story?
- <p>Trading cards have shaped popular culture for over a century, and their appeal remains strong even as digital activities dominate our lives.</p><p>As education evolves, trading cards stand out as tools that bridge analog play with the cognitive demands of the digital age.</p><p>The hobby naturally develops executive function by helping kids plan, organize and manage resources. It also creates organic opportunities to practice math and reading comprehension.</p><div class="RichTextSidebarModule Enhancement" data-module data-align-center><a class="AnchorLink" id="module-400000" name="module-400000"></a> <div class="RichTextSidebarModule-title">Commentary bug</div> <div class="RichTextModule-items RichTextBody"><h2>Commentary</h2></div> </div><p>According to <a class="Link" href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=7038459" target="_blank" >recent research</a>, not only do trading cards tap into reward systems like those found in digital experiences — intermittent reinforcement and variable outcomes — they also improve learning outcomes.</p><p>This is especially vital now, as school systems adapt to students who are raised constantly in front of screens.
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- 1 outlet, average source rating 6.0/10.
- When was it last updated?
- 13m ago.
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Educators, play your trading cards right in classrooms, extracurricular activities
Sources1TypeCoverageChicago Sun-Times