The congruence equation

There is a lot of talk about creative play and gaming  and why children learn while playing.

Incongruence is an important element in play. It is an essential ingredient. The human’s mind attempts to find congruence while in incongruence. Children have less fixation with congruence. They have no problem changing rules in the middle of a game, creating fictional characters or talk gibberish.

Adults, on the other hand, seek out congruence with much effort. Without congruence, adults tend to react to learning experiences as ‘disorganised’, ‘chaotic’, ‘for fun’, ‘waste of time’ and even conclude the experience as a failure.

So in gaming for learning or new media design, how should one ensure a deliberate balance between congruence and intentional incongruence?

That is a challenge.