There are many ways that classrooms have changed in the 21^st century; a change that has become more relevant is gamification.  It is defined as, “the process of adding games or game like elements to something (such as a task) so as to encourage participation.” With gamification, teachers can adapt games to assist student learning in the classroom, or apply games based concepts to various lessons. There are many benefits of using gamification in the classroom and I will discuss the benefits this week. I will also discuss ways that we as teachers can integrate gamification into our classrooms.

Gamification is a great way to intrigue students, vary their learning, and engage them in active learning. Playing video games is very common for students and using games in the classroom appeals to students’ interests. Using gamification can increase motivation and participation of students. It makes learning more fun and can increase enthusiasm towards various subjects. If students are enjoying what they are learning they are more likely to retain the information. Games used in the classroom can also push students to think, problem solve, and deepen their understanding. It gives teachers the ability to appeal to various learning needs as well, some students learn better through hands on activities and various games can appeal to these learners.

Utilizing gamification in the classroom is a great way to keep the flow of a lesson. After a teacher teaches a concept and has students do independent work, it may be more difficult for students to want to continue learning. With the use of a game after these activities it can keep students active in the lesson. It gives them a new way to practice what they have learned; it can also be a great way to get students to collaborate. They can either participate in a game with classmates or they can be asked to make a learning game of their own. This gets students thinking creatively.

The use of online games in the classroom can also really benefit student learning. You can start by having your children set a goal that they need to accomplish with the game. With many games they are even able to track their process and earn badges or online rewards as they progress, keeping them on the track to success. Also, since students can view their progress, it can encourage them to want to work harder in order to reach their set goals. It can give students encouragement as they complete their goals, having them feel more confident in their learning.

Some other benefits of incorporating gamification into the classroom are that it can support cognitive and even physical development. Various games activate different areas in the brain; some games can even activate more than one area in the brain. This helps student brains develop, process, and maintain information. Gamification can assist with physical development by taking advantage of an interactive exercise game; any form of exercise is helpful and essential for student development and is a great way to take a break during the school day. There are also sites such as “Go Noodle!” that have interactive dances that can also be used to increase students’ physical activity at school.

Gamification can also assist in lessening disruptive behavior. They found in a study done by Australian Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology that gamification can help disruptive students or students who suffer from ADHD. It can help them control their breathing and heart rate, since they are focused on a fun specific cognitive task. Gamification can also help with increasing students’ attention spans, especially those who may struggle in a classroom environment. It can increase intention spans because students need to focus on a specific task for a certain amount of time. In the same study I spoke of above, they found teachers that said gamification increased their trust of student’s ability to complete tasks independently.

Overall, it is very beneficial for students to gamify aspects of the classroom. With any aspects of a classroom we don’t want the whole classroom to be completely revolved around gamification, but there are many benefits that I have discussed that can aid student learning and development. Some of these benefits include helping students cognitively, physically, and personally. Gamification is a great way to keep the students intrigued and to help break up lessons throughout the school day; it also helps in creating more independent students. With gamification the benefits are all very helpful and should be implemented in classrooms to further student understanding.

References

“Five Benefits of Adding Gamification to Classrooms.” Portland, 8 Nov. 2017, education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/five-benefits-of-adding-gamification-to-classrooms/.

“Gamification.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gamification.

Pandey, Asha. “Top 6 Benefits Of Gamification In ELearning.” ELearning Industry, 3 Oct. 2018, elearningindustry.com/top-6-benefits-of-gamification-in-elearning.

Specialty, School. “The Benefits of Using Gamification in the Classroom.” Schoolyard Blog | Teacher Resources | School Specialty, 24 Apr. 2019, blog.schoolspecialty.com/the-importance-of-gamification-in-the-classroom/.

The Innovative Instructor, ii.library.jhu.edu/2014/05/13/what-is-gamification-and-why-use-it-in-teaching/.

“5 Benefits of Gamification.” Smithsonian Science Education Center, 10 Mar. 2016, ssec.si.edu/stemvisions-blog/5-benefits-gamification.