Educating new generations poses ongoing challenges for teachers and professors. In this scenario, gamification is a valuable tool for sparking student interest in the content and active learning.
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We have compiled this list of 8 ideas for integrating gamification into the classroom. We want to make it easier to integrate this teaching and learning methodology into the educational environment, and for your students to buy fewer term papers online because of boring teaching. Ready to write down ideas?
Table of Contents
Gamification: learning through play
Gamification is a method that incorporates game-specific mechanisms and thoughts into non-game contexts. The goal of this teaching and learning method is to convey a message, content, or behavior change through play to increase student engagement and motivation.
Incorporating gamification into the classroom is an effective strategy for achieving a special connection with students and encouraging content and behavior transfer. Its main advantage is that it promotes the creation of meaningful teaching practices and active learning.
Teachers and professors who work to adapt course content to a playful routine help students learn naturally and fluently, almost without noticing it. They also encourage an attitude of self-learning, encouraging a desire to learn more and a desire for excellence.
Here are 8 gamification ideas for the classroom that we suggest to incorporate play into content and lessons:
1. Imagine students as players
Introducing students as gamers is the first foundational gamification idea for the classroom. This involves abandoning the traditional image of a passive student receiving content and turning the student into an active participant in the learning process.
This change in perspective motivates students who are “gamers” to actively participate in the classroom and promotes peer and team relationships.
2. Transform learning into play
The second idea of gamification in the classroom is to turn skill and knowledge learning into a game. In other words, turn the process of learning a curriculum or a specific subject into a game.
We suggest starting with simple, effective, and motivating options. You can use traditional board games, such as quizzes. These provide greater fluency in learning and increase confidence in teaching.
3. Formulate the goals as challenges to be overcome
Topic goals, curriculum, or even behavioral instruction can be set by teachers as tasks to be accomplished.
To offer specific objectives, it must be clearly explained to students what needs to be done to solve the problem and how to do it, and what the goal of the game is. The task must be specific and motivating (from beginning to end) to evaluate the game learning proposal with its successes and mistakes.
4. Propose to reach levels instead of units
Another idea for classroom gamification is to offer to achieve levels instead of units. These levels should offer increasing levels of difficulty to encourage students to learn gradually and continually.
Passing one level and moving on to the next, more difficult level maintains a tense relationship between challenge, satisfaction, and achievement. This balancing act at the same time motivates students to continue learning.
5. Change evaluations to a point system
Grades and marks turn to learn practice into an individual and passive act. To gamify traditional tests, a point system is suggested to be established that creates a form of collaborative learning and encourages student initiative.
Creating a scoring system involves assigning a quantitative value to the activities that students will perform. Once these values are established, the teacher uses the system to quantify students’ scores.
6. Establish a classification method
The sixth idea is to establish a method of assessment. This suggestion is closely related to passing tests, achieving levels, and accumulating points. How does this new idea relate to the previous ones?
Simple. We propose to classify students by one of these variables (challenge, levels, or points) and make tables, rankings, leaderboards, or progress scales to show the position of the players.
To avoid clashes between students and individual competition, the cooperation variable can be introduced into the game and the rating system. This ensures healthy competition.
7. Give awards to encourage learning
The idea of recognition helps keep students engaged and motivated in the long run. Whether it’s points, badges, awards, or gifts, recognition of achievement is necessary to encourage students to keep learning.
For them, learning should be easy, quick, and fun. With benefits that maximize the relationship between learning time and results. In this scenario, the issue of recognition helps to increase commitment and motivation over time.
8. Take advantage of gamification platforms
We come to the last idea of incorporating games and entertainment into the learning process: gamification platforms. Video games, apps, and web platforms are the best allies for adding a gaming aspect to teaching and learning.
These online tools offer all the elements of a game: points, levels, recognition, etc.
Today’s students are overwhelmed by technology (they were born, raised, and live in constant contact with it). For this reason, online study games are an interesting option.
Conclusion
Gamification can turn your lessons into a fun game. Learning will be natural and fluid for a group of proactive and self-learning students. Try it and play the game yourself!