Using gamification in the classroom is a really interesting topic. It has a lot of possible benefits, but also has its possible consequences.

Benefits

Using gamification in the classroom could be a great way to help get students engaged. Games are fun, and students will want to learn if they are enjoying how they are learning.

Concerns

Some could argue that by making learning into a game, it takes more time to learn something than if students just take notes. As well, If all the games played are on a screen, it could be adding to too much screen time. Furthermore, students might get off track while on their device and it is difficult to constantly monitor every screen.

How This Could be Incorporated

A possible way to incorporate gamification into the classroom without using technology could be by having a point system for projects, and every note or worksheet handed in gives a student “experience points”. Additionally, could create assessments that are represented like a “skill tree” to show a growth mindset with learning, and how skills correlate to each other. As well, using games such as Go Fish in another language if teaching another language, or traditional games with questions based on the subject added, such as checkers but with math questions to move to a square.

Final Thoughts

Although it might take more time to play a game to learn or reinforce a topic, if it means students are more engaged while learning, they will overall remember more as they actually pay attention and understand what they are being taught.