Pop-Its are popular with children, are swapped in schoolyards and are in the pockets of many elementary school students. There is a hype about the popping silicone parts. Visit to a third grade.
Bielefeld – they come as dinosaurs, hearts, pineapples or as a car, sometimes brightly colored, sometimes monochrome. The silicone molds with small knobs can be turned over with your fingers and make a pop sound.
Pop-Its – also called plopper – have been trendy toys for months, appear on TikTok or Instagram, are swapped in schoolyards and have triggered a hype, especially among primary school students. In the meantime, trendy toys are also being hotly debated as to whether they can be beneficial in everyday school life, whether they make sense as a motivational kick or as a rewarding factor.
One pedagogue who has recently started using the Plopper in class is the primary school teacher Viktoria Gerber from Bielefeld. In the subject of German, she uses the Pop-Its in her third grade, in a supportive and dosed manner. She has specially made reading cards – short stories from the “ant land” or from Halloween ghosts. Pop-Its are also offered for arithmetic and younger classes via a platform – the Eduki marketplace, on which teachers share “self-made and tested teaching materials”.
Stories for the child’s imagination
“With a playful approach, you can awaken the desire to read,” explains Gerber. Reading and text comprehension are central to development, stories need it for the child’s imagination. “If pupils are introduced to short texts in this way with the Pop-Its, they later dare to use longer texts and real books,” she describes the goal. Above all, they focus on pupils with reading difficulties. “The question was, how can one use an instrument that is so hip among the children in German lessons in a motivating and meaningful way – while integrating many senses, including hearing and haptics.”
Theodor (8) shows one possible method: He first reads a short story, then six questions about the text on the back of the card. Classmate Lorena presses one of the knobs at a certain point on the board, depending on the answer. When looking at the solution card, both of them shine: “We got three correct.” Gerber reports: “The children jump on it. You have to keep your eyes and ears open and focus on the right places. ”The pupils are only allowed to play with it when they have completed their compulsory program, usually during the break.
Is there also a downside?
There is skepticism. Pop-Its could be counterproductive for easily distracted children, says Professor of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Hanna Christiansen. “And they harbor potential for conflict if children do not put them away despite being asked by the teacher.” In their opinion, the “educational-psychological construction kits” already have enough measures in place to support children. This also applies to special support needs, behavior problems or concentration problems.
As part of an educational behavioral motivation, students who stick to a certain plan and have worked well are rewarded, explains Christiansen. Teachers use certain techniques for this. “There is nothing wrong with using Pop-Its as a reward, that is, allowing around two minutes of playing time at the end of the lesson.”
Sabine Martschinke from the Primary School Association emphasizes that so far there have been no suitable studies on the possible positive or negative effects of Pop-Its. In the school context, it is the teachers “who look for and find sensible variants for dealing with pop-its through a reflected effort.” They are used as counting and arithmetic aids or syllables are sometimes “popped”, says the educational researcher.
Not a solution for hyperactive children
According to Martschinke, an increase in attention is not to be expected. And: “Seeing pop-its as a solution for hyperactivity and behavioral problems and also the desired development towards keeping the fingers still can lead to problematic use.” In terms of finger mobility, she speaks of opportunities, since motor exercises are possible. Basically: It depends on the type and frequency of use.
In any case, the demand for the poppers is enormous, confirms Hermann Hutter from the industry association for games publishers. “Some variations have simple rules of the game, but often it’s all about pressing.”
The feedback from parents has been positive, reports Gerber. Your students see it this way: “I think it’s great that you can concentrate with it,” says Theodor. “Only sometimes it can be distracting.” And his classmate Ava thinks: “You can learn with it and have fun.” However: “It’s stupid when a Pop-It is gone and someone cries because of it, maybe because someone else took it away has. “dpa
