The education field is
stuck in an engagement crisis. Due to the lack of engagement, students become
bored, which leads to them trying to entertain themselves. Ever walk into a
classroom and see a student playing with something in their desk? Or maybe drawing
on a separate piece of paper? This is a sign of students pulling themselves
away from their learning because their attention is not held. To increase
student engagement levels, we must make changes in education. Rather than
sticking to the basic worksheet learning style, recent data shows for educators
to move towards discovery. Many classrooms expect students to learn (more like
remember) from writing content down on paper. They do not engage in the
content, explore methodologies, or collaborate.
One solution to ending
this engagement crisis is to incorporate gamification in education. What is
gamification in education? Gamification takes the principals of game design and
delivers it to education. Some principals may include badges, level ups,
competitions, and more. Many students have previous exposure to gaming, and
enjoy it, "More than 90% of children older than 2 years play video games,
and three-quarters of American households own a video game console,” (Alanko,
2023). With such a high rate of students drawn to gaming, incorporating it into
the classroom is a great way to engage learners. The addition of gaming
features allows for students to be motivated to participate and want to be
correct, which helps them learn content. Instead of a worksheet, students are
presented with content in different formats that help appeal to different
learning styles. For example, visual learners are getting the opportunity to
see questions with pictures or diagrams that may go with. Many sites have audio
features that also allow for auditory learners to listen to the question.
Gamification appeals to the different learning styles while also presenting the
content in a user friendly way.
How Gamification Increases Student Enjoyment
We often give students
rubrics that are so strict, which decrease student creativity levels. Students
receive tight boundaries that lead to similar end results. For example,
projects may look very similar between student to student because they are
unable to adhere to their wants. Many gamification sites provide students with
choices that they make based on their own desires. These sites will have
different path options for students to follow, or the choices your character
makes. By adding principals such as choices, we are giving students
independence and freedom of creativity, “Autonomy is one of the key
motivators,” (Marczewski, 2016). Rather than the feeling of confinement,
students must make their own logical choices as they continue through different
games. Minecraft is a popular game outside of school that presents kids with
often an empty template. Kids have the opportunity to make or do anything they
want. Millions of people play Minecraft because they are drawn into the
autonomy aspects it presents.
Gamification also
teaches students many life long skills they will need in their future
endeavors. For starters, although students strive to win, many students will
experience losing while playing. I am currently a fourth grade teacher who uses
gamification in the classroom and I always have a few students that get
extremely upset when they lose. It is important as the teacher to model what
behaviors are appropriate, especially after a loss. It also is a good time to
share how the winner should look. While winning is great, the winner should
never rub it in everyone’s face. Gamification allows for social-emotion
learning (SEL) opportunities when playing in group settings. Also, students are
using real-world applications that they may see down the road. Gamification
provides students with technological knowledge which is important for this day
in age.
Overall, gamification
provides students with endless possibilities. Instead of working pencil and
paper, students are engaged with the content. They have the ability to earn
gaming components such as badges and standings to help increase their want to learn.
Gamification gives students purpose behind their work while allowing them the
wiggle room needed to be creative. Simple implementations such as gamification
can help release the education field from this engagement crisis.
Comment Below: How do you use gamification in your classroom?
What are your favorite sites?
References:
Alanko, D. (2023, January 1). The Health
Effects of Video Games in Children and Adolescents. Pediatrics In Review.
https://publications.aap.org/pediatricsinreview/article-abstract/44/1/23/190316/The-Health-Effects-of-Video-Games-in-Children-and?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Chen, J., & Liang, M. (2022, September
20). Play hard, study hard? the influence of gamification on students’
study engagement. Play hard, study hard? The influence of gamification on
students’ study engagement.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.994700/full
DitchThatTxtbk. (2021, December 3). 20
ways to gamify your class. Ditch That Textbook.
https://ditchthattextbook.com/15-ways-to-gamify-your-class/
Marczewski, A. (2017, May 31). Gamification:
Meaningful choice. Gamification Expert.
https://www.gamified.uk/2016/02/05/gamification-meaningful-choice/
