Gamified learning activities can get students engaged really quickly, but these strategies don’t breed the long-lasting motivation for learning that most teachers look for, said Higgin. Because gamification is extrinsically motivated, students can tire quickly because the rewards become less and less appealing over time, he said.
“I think what teachers are ultimately after is seeing students driving their own learning, and really digging deep into subjects,” which is hard to do with gamified activities that promote quick rewards for simple task completion, said Higgin.
There is a rather large distinction between gamification and game-based learning in terms of outcome and execution. Game-based learning is useful for teachers and students when used to expand understanding, and gain creative, critical thinking, and communication skills, said Higgin. But, like most pedagogical practices, game-based learning requires a lot of preparation.
“Game-based learning works well for any content area or subject if, pedagogically, you’re focused on building skills and conceptual understanding of material,” he said.
Game-based Learning in the Classroom
Educational gaming platforms like Filament Games align content with learning objectives and require thinking skills, said Higgin. For the most effective games, “the very mechanics of the game are teaching you valuable skills that can be translated into the classroom and that align with teachers’ goals,” Higgin said.
Joe Dillon, a teacher and cross-content instructional coach, was an early adopter of digital game-based learning and has used Minecraft: Education Edition in the classroom.
Dillon first became interested in using digital games as texts nearly two decades ago and was already familiar with game-based learning. He began to explore digital games, and developed social studies units where students would write their own version of adventure-based games. Dillon began using Minecraft: Education Edition during workshops that helped students develop community building skills. Dillon went on to help design English Language Arts games, and the students at his current school have access to Minecraft: Education Edition.
Game-based learning doesn’t have to be digital. According to Higgin, teachers have found success utilizing existing board games. For example, the board game Settlers of Catan is commonly used by math teachers to exercise applications of probability and decision making, said Higgin. He encouraged teachers to ask students about games that they are interested in and have access to, to drive game-based learning.
But game-based learning is easier said than done.
Dillon logged countless hours utilizing Minecraft before he was able to introduce it to a classroom with specific and effective learning goals attached. According to Garcia, teachers and schools need to be committed to the pedagogical approach in order to embrace game-based learning. “Game-based learning is about adapting existing games” often for the purpose of developing soft skills like collaboration, teamwork, and leadership, he said. Game-based learning can also serve as a means of content exposure through gameplay.
Garcia cautioned against game-based learning when a teacher hasn’t properly prepared. Certain games also include historical simulations which Garcia said can present unintended “dangers around thinking about empathy and issues of gender, racial, and cultural politics” especially if they reproduce “particular kinds of harmful legacies across our history.”
There’s a time and place for game-based learning, and it shouldn’t be used for every single learning opportunity in classrooms. “I don’t necessarily think you can use a game to replace literature or particular forms of writing and communication,” said Garcia.
Balancing Game-based Learning and Gamification
Although there is some skepticism around gamification, it isn’t all bad. “I do think teachers, when they act as designers, can take principles of gamification and do great things,” said Dillon. Embracing a teacher’s own ability to play is important, said Garcia and suggested that teachers guide students through thinking meta-cognitively about gamification activities. Teachers can discuss with students some of the ways “these kinds of gaming systems are shaping the practices in [the] classrooms,” said Garcia. “When you allow kids to kind of see explicitly what schools are expecting of them, you get really powerful conversations where a lot is being learned that might not necessarily be the stated outcome of these gamification tools,” Garcia continued.
Although teachers and students might have varying opinions and responses to gamification and game-based learning, gamification can sometimes lack connection to the material being incentivized. If resources and time are limited, as they are with most teachers, there are ways to incorporate the principles of game-based learning without a complete overhaul of existing lessons and curricula.
“What teachers can do instead is look for ways to give students more meaningful [choices] over what they’re doing,” said Higgin. When teachers find “ways to connect students’ curiosity or unique interests to the content,” the pedagogical approach of game-based learning starts to emerge.
