Gamification is an educational approach that has been proven effective in increasing engagement and motivation of learners. In the contemporary learning environment, learners have become accustomed to digital technologies and have varied attitudes, learning styles, and demands when it comes to instruction and learning. The concept of gamification is a multifaceted and covers a range of technological, theoretical and empirical knowledge driven by a range of practicality which is mainly concerned with the aspect of motivation in education. Many researchers have explored the application of gamification, especially the principles and mechanics that motivate learners in an appealing way ( Dichev & Dicheva, 2017) . In this approach, educators use the elements of game experience and design in learning processes in different subjects. This supports learning by addressing behaviors, integration, assessments and exploratory systems of learning to foster student’ retention of concepts and creativity. The goal in this implementation is to cultivate the immersive experience created by games.
Gamification uses rewards and activities that enhance student engagement by incorporating non-game contexts in learning. Game-based activities makes assignments less intimidating for students in a way that would otherwise be stressful. Piqued with curiosity as opposed to fear, students are more likely to enjoy learning compared to traditional learning models where concepts appear complex and challenging. Although gaming can help learners grasp content in the classroom faster, the implementation strategy is an important factor that determines the success of gamification in a classroom setting ( Caponetto, Earp & Ott, 2014) . Before engaging learners in this concept, I would first determine the purpose. For instance, if a student’s problem is in understanding the core concepts, integration of gaming as an intervention would mean choosing a game that delivers content in a way that adapts to the individual’s learning style. It would help the student advance through the concept in their own pace without the pressure of gaining perfection through a specific interaction period.
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Some elements of gaming that are used to motivate learners include progress mechanics such as badges or points, player control, collaborative problem solving, opportunities for levelling up and mastery, characters and narrative and even social connects. Another important gaming element used in gamification applications in learning is the opportunity for immediate feedback, which can instantly motivate the learner into pursuing more milestones. While there is no distinction to how many elements need to be incorporated into learning to consider the latter gamified, I would be interested in creating an environment where all these elements come into play. According to Brull and Finlayson (2016) , sustained engagement in the gamification environment involves not only recruiting students into gaining interest in the core language, but how a balanced approach of these elements in a way that certain learning objectives that are relevant to the specific concept are achieved on the long-term.
In addition to modifying the learning environment, grading approach for different assignment would be gamified. For instance, instead of grading students along the traditional concept of total points in form of letter grades when an assignment is submitted, I would label it as “mission completed”, and the learner would further earn experience points. As the student progresses through the course material and assignments, they would actively complete missions and earn these experience points which would them contribute to distinction. For instance, a total of 3000 points could be translated as an A, which 2500 points would be a B. Hence, the more learning achievements, or complete missions, the more a student advances towards accumulating experience points that contribute to a unique grading system. In some cases, it might help to let students win trophies or badges when they conquer learning challenges, which has been widely studied as an effective motivational factor.
One of the most significant factors that make gamification useful in learning is the nature in which traditional roles of the teacher, student, or environment is adapted. For instance, a student would have to adopt an avatar to navigate through the different learning activities. This is very similar to video games in the gaming industry, and the desire to define new capacities and skills for an avatar turn out to be more immersive than the normalized system of using students’ real names in a classic classroom setting. In some cases, students team up and embark on learning journeys that might help develop collaboration skills more than traditional assignment or study groups. Moreover, the role of the teacher changes from normal instructional approaches to designing gamified application that appeal to different group in the learning environment. The teacher is also tasked with finding rewards that interest students and still incorporate specific learning goals. To ensure my gamification integration as an educator is achieved, I would track students’ achievements and provide guidance when needed.
Incorporation of gamification in the learning and teaching environment has numerous potential benefits that have been widely studied. For instance, it helps learners own their learning through the different opportunities to structure their identity through the use of avatars. Furthermore, there are no repercussions to failed missions, but the student can start over as many times as they wish until they achieve mastery. Gamification also makes the learning environment vibrant and brings a tangible value to learning since students can evidently see their experience points go up after accomplishing different learning activities. It is also a tool that sparks students’ exploration of individual motivators for learning that are intrinsic as opposed to extrinsic.
References
Brull, S., & Finlayson, S. (2016). Importance of gamification in increasing learning. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing , 47 (8), 372-375.
Caponetto, I., Earp, J., & Ott, M. (2014). Gamification and education: A literature review. In European Conference on Games Based Learning (Vol. 1, p. 50). Academic Conferences International Limited.
Dichev, C., & Dicheva, D. (2017). Gamifying education: what is known, what is believed and what remains uncertain: a critical review. International journal of educational technology in higher education , 14 (1), 9.
