It can be difficult to motivate students to engage with academic content that they may not be inherently interested in. But we know that the more excitement and motivation we have from students, the more memorable the learning experience, the longer the learning will be sustained. Learning lasts longer in our memory when we felt positive emotions during the learning process. One way we can increase motivation is by tapping in to the brain science of gamification. When humans play games, when they achieve small goals or checkpoints, dopamine is activated in their brains. Dopamine increases motivation. And human connection – collaborative work toward a common goal – boosts social skills and has been shown in studies to lower aggression. In a time in which students have faced social isolation for months at a time due to a global pandemic, this is a great added benefit to incorporating games in the classroom.
What games have you incorporated into your classroom? Here are a few of my favorites:
Quizizz has a plethora of ready made multiple choice quizzes in a variety of subject areas, and you can also create you own. I have used it in classrooms grades 1 – 12, and also with teachers! Play it live and students will be motivated by memes, an optional leaderboard (use your judgment to determine if this will breed healthy or unhealthy competition with your group of students), and the opportunity for students to review missed answers when they finish. Quizizz quizzes integrate with Google Classroom and can be assigned to students for independent practice as well. A relatively new feature is quizizz lessons, which allows you to add gamification to slides presentations you have created for students. This allows for a more memorable and engaging experience while you cover content with students – and allows for checks for understanding throughout your lesson.
Quizlet is a great platform for gamifying vocabulary. Premade study sets are available, and you can create your own as well. Some teachers have students create their own study sets (which look like flashcards), and then ask them to study the sets during the week independently, utilizing the matching and “gravity” games on the platform. My favorite part about quizlet is its live feature. Students are grouped randomly (or assigned to specific teams if you prefer) where they work collaboratively to match terms and definitions. The live platform encourages both communication and critical thinking, as each student in a group has the same question – but each has different answers and only 1 of the students’ answers is correct. This results in a healthy buzz of talk about academic content. I have used quizlet live in classrooms as young as 2nd grade, and adults love it too!
Blooket is a relatively new platform that I am excited to use in the classroom! There are multiple game modes that can be played with the same set of questions. This is great for repetition – immersing students in the same content in a variety of ways that continue to engage them in the experience. Blooket games can be played live or assigned independently.
Level Up – Students are more likely to remember something they have learned if they create and or teach. As such, it is highly valuable to have students create their own games about academic content! This can be done in any of the digital platforms above, or in an analog format as shown in the video below.
Regardless of the platform you use, gamification can serve to motivate students. Be creative, empower your students during the learning process, and bring fun into the classroom.