In today's educational landscape, we talk a lot about skills, knowledge, and assessments. These pillars are essential, of course. But what about those more subtle, harder-to-quantify strengths that are creativity and imagination? Often relegated to art classes or free play moments, we are convinced that they are actually at the very heart of learning. They are not an add-on, but the engine that transforms information into understanding, and knowledge into wisdom.
At DYNSEO, our mission has always been to develop tools that support cognitive functions. However, our vision goes beyond simply stimulating memory or logic. We seek to cultivate the soil on which these skills can flourish to become real assets. It is with this in mind that we have designed our solutions, including our application COCO PENSE and COCO BOUGE, and developed specific training for teachers. We want to share with you how, beyond exercises, we aspire to inspire a new generation of creative and imaginative thinkers.
When one first discovers our application COCO PENSE and COCO BOUGE, available at https://www.dynseo.com/version-coco/, one might see it as a collection of well-designed educational games. And that is the case. But if you look beneath the surface, you will discover a pedagogical philosophy that places creativity at the center, not as a direct goal, but as a natural consequence of the approach we propose.
The playful framework as the soil for creativity
Imagine a garden. For plants to grow, it is not enough to throw seeds randomly. You need to prepare the soil, water it, and ensure it gets enough sunlight. In the same way, creativity cannot simply be "taught." It needs a conducive environment to germinate. This is exactly what we seek to create with COCO. The colorful universe, the endearing characters, the non-punitive reward system: everything is designed to demystify learning.
By transforming cognitive exercises into games, we remove a major barrier to creativity: the fear of failure. When a student is not afraid of making mistakes, they dare to explore, test hypotheses, and try different paths. This space of psychological safety is the sine qua non condition for imagination to take flight. The child is no longer "doing a math exercise"; they are helping their avatar solve a puzzle. The nuance is fundamental.
Stimulating cognitive flexibility
Creativity is not a sudden flash of genius that comes from nowhere. It is primarily the ability to make connections between ideas, concepts, or seemingly disconnected fields. For this, the brain needs to be flexible, agile, capable of shifting from one mode of thinking to another. This is what neurosciences call cognitive flexibility, and it is a muscle that COCO trains continuously.
Our games are deliberately varied. The child moves from a pure logic puzzle to a visual memory exercise, then to a spatial awareness challenge. This constant "brain zapping" forces them not to remain stuck in a single problem-solving strategy. They learn to adapt their approach, to change perspective. It is like an athlete practicing multiple disciplines: they do not just become good at running or jumping; they develop a general physical condition that will be useful everywhere. Similarly, a child who develops cognitive flexibility does not just learn to solve our games; they acquire a transversal skill that will help them creatively approach a geometry problem, write a story, or even resolve a conflict in the playground.
The importance of the right to make mistakes
In a school system sometimes focused on the right answer, mistakes are often perceived negatively. However, for the inventor, artist, or scientist, mistakes are a valuable source of information. They are a necessary step in the creative process. The interface of COCO is designed to integrate this reality. An incorrect answer is not penalized by a red "X" and a feeling of failure. It is simply an attempt that did not succeed, and the game invites trying again, sometimes with a subtle hint.
This approach encourages experimentation. The student understands that it is more interesting to try a bold solution and make a mistake than to remain paralyzed by the fear of not having the right answer on the first try. Gradually, they integrate the idea that the journey is as important as the result. It is this same mindset that later allows them to embark on ambitious projects, not give up at the first difficulty, and innovate.
Imagination in action: how COCO BOUGE and COCO PENSE cultivate it
Imagination is not just the ability to dream or invent stories. It is the faculty of mentally representing objects, situations, and concepts that are not directly perceptible by our senses. It is a fundamental cognitive skill, involved in reading, solving mathematical problems, and planning. Our two applications, COCO PENSE and COCO BOUGE, work in synergy to nourish it.
COCO PENSE: building bridges between knowledge
The games of COCO PENSE are not silos of isolated skills. They are designed so that the skills developed in one game can be transferred to another, and then beyond the application.
- Spatial awareness: A game requiring the reproduction of a figure from a model is not just a simple visual exercise. It trains the ability to create a mental image, manipulate it, and rotate it. It is the same skill that will be necessary to understand a geography map, visualize a molecule in three dimensions in science, or even to imagine the structure of a narrative.
- Logic and planning: Games like Sudoku or logical pathways teach the child to anticipate, to foresee the consequences of their actions. They must imagine several moves ahead. This projection into a possible future is the very essence of imagination applied to problem-solving.
- Working memory: Retaining a sequence of colors or sounds and reproducing it engages the ability to maintain and manipulate information "in mind." It is this buffer memory that allows us to follow the thread of a complex story, develop reasoning, or imagine alternative scenarios.
By training these basic mechanisms, COCO PENSE acts like an architect who consolidates the foundations of a building. You do not directly see creativity, but you set up all the structures that will allow it to rise solidly.
COCO BOUGE: the body as a tool for expression and imagination
We have long separated the body and mind in education. However, movement is a wonderful gateway to imagination. COCO BOUGE reconnects these two dimensions. The application offers playful physical activities that require much more than simple muscular effort.
When a child has to imitate postures, follow a rhythm, or mime actions, they call upon their imagination. They must project themselves into an action, visualize their own body in space. This bodily awareness (or proprioception) is intimately linked to our spatial representation ability. Moreover, movement releases tension, improves concentration and brain oxygenation, creating optimal physiological conditions for creative thinking. A child who has just expended energy playfully and structured with COCO BOUGE is often more available and inventive for a subsequent reflective activity.
Creativity in the face of learning challenges: the case of DYS disorders
For some children, the path of learning is strewn with invisible obstacles. DYS disorders (dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, etc.) are not related to a lack of intelligence, but to different ways of processing information. Paradoxically, these students often demonstrate great creativity to compensate for their difficulties. They invent strategies, think "outside the box" because the standard box does not suit them. Our role is to recognize this strength and provide them with suitable tools while training those who support them.
Understanding to better support
The first obstacle for a teacher is often the identification and understanding of these disorders. A student who struggles to read is not necessarily "lazy." A clumsy child is not just "absent-minded." Without the right keys to understanding, it is difficult to provide effective help. That is why we have set up dedicated training: "Identifying and supporting DYS disorders in primary school", accessible here: https://www.dynseo.com/courses/identifier-et-accompagner-les-troubles-dys-a-lecole-primaire/.
This training aims to provide you, teachers, with the theoretical and practical knowledge to:
- Identify the warning signs of the various DYS disorders.
- Understand the underlying cognitive mechanisms.
- Implement concrete and effective pedagogical adaptations in the classroom.
Our training: tools for the creativity of the teacher
Supporting a DYS student requires great pedagogical creativity. One must know how to adapt their materials, vary learning modalities, and find new ways to explain a concept. Our training does not provide ready-made recipes, but it gives you the raw material so that you can create your own solutions. By precisely understanding where the student's difficulty lies (for example, a weakness in phonological working memory in dyslexia), you are better able to imagine workarounds: going through visual, gestural, or playful means.
This is where COCO can become a valuable ally. The application, by its non-verbal and playful nature, can allow a dyslexic student to shine in logic or spatial awareness tasks, thus enhancing their self-esteem. For a dyspraxic student, the games of COCO BOUGE, with their clear models and adaptable rhythm, can be a gentle way to work on coordination and gesture planning.
The teacher, conductor of creativity in the classroom
We design our tools as musical instruments. They are efficient, well-tuned, but they can only produce a beautiful melody in the hands of a passionate and skilled musician. That artist is you, the teacher. You are the true conductor of creativity in your classroom.
COCO as a starting point, not as an end goal
The goal is not for students to become champions of our games. The goal is for the skills they develop in them to permeate all their other activities. COCO is a wonderful starting point to open discussions, launch projects, and make connections with the curriculum.
After a session on a categorization game, you can initiate a class debate on "how to classify animals?" After a spatial construction game, why not propose a project to create a model of the classroom or neighborhood? The application becomes a springboard for imagination, a pretext to go further. It is your pedagogical perspective that works this magic, transforming a simple exercise into a learning adventure.
Integrating COCO into project-based pedagogy
Creativity flourishes particularly within projects that have meaning for students. COCO can be the toolbox from which they draw to practice a specific skill they need for their project.
Let’s imagine a class project on creating a board game. Students will need to demonstrate creativity to invent the rules, theme, and design. But they will also need very concrete skills: logic to ensure the rules are coherent, spatial awareness to design the board, and planning to organize the steps of production. Regular sessions with COCO can support the acquisition of these prerequisites in a targeted and motivating way.
Beyond school: preparing the minds of tomorrow
Our commitment does not stop at the classroom door. By seeking to stimulate creativity and imagination, we have a broader ambition: to participate in the training of tomorrow's citizens. The world that awaits them is complex, unpredictable, and constantly changing.
Skills for life
Factual knowledge is essential, but its lifespan is becoming increasingly short. The skills that will allow them to adapt, innovate, and find their place are of a different order. The ability to analyze a problem from different angles, to imagine original solutions, to collaborate creatively with others, to learn how to learn: these are the true assets for the 21st century.
By playing COCO, children do not just learn to solve puzzles. They learn to be persistent, to manage frustration, to take initiative. They build, without even realizing it, the foundations of a curious, flexible, and resilient mindset. This is what we consider our greatest contribution.
Our commitment: comprehensive support
Our approach is holistic. We do not just put a digital tool in the hands of children. We think about the ecosystem that surrounds it. That is why we offer COCO, an application that stimulates the student daily, and we complement it with training that equips the teacher. Because we know that it is from the synergy between a motivated student and an enlightened teacher that the greatest successes emerge.
In conclusion, when we talk about creativity and imagination, we are not talking about an optional subject or an innate talent reserved for a few. We are talking about the fundamental skill that allows human beings to understand the world and act upon it. Our tools, COCO PENSE and COCO BOUGE, and our training for teachers are just our way of contributing to this essential mission: to help every child unlock their full potential, to become not only a successful student but also a curious, imaginative, and creative thinker.
The article "Creativity and Imagination: Beyond Exercises, COCO Inspires" explores how creativity can be stimulated by innovative tools. A related article that might interest readers is Scientific Interest, which discusses the importance of cognitive engagement and mental stimulation in various contexts. These two articles highlight the importance of innovation in cognitive development and rehabilitation, emphasizing how creative approaches can enrich our understanding and practice in these areas.
