Teaching a difficult subject? Try gamifying your class
Teaching a difficult subject? Try gamifying your class
Teaching a difficult subject? Try gamifying your class
July 14, 2022
By Mai P. Trinh
Summary
When I transitioned from in-person to asynchronous online teaching - in which my students and I engage with my course's content at different times - my greatest challenges were implementing experiential exercises online and creating meaningful interpersonal experiences without ever seeing my students.
Research has shown that the use of game elements in education can create an environment that is conducive to learning and can generate long-lasting motivation and engagement among students.
Will your students choose their own adventures, or select which challenges to complete? What kind of assistance is available to them? In my class, each week students must read the textbook, watch my lecture videos, test their knowledge and practise their statistics skills to prepare for the badge test.
Is your game single- or multiplayer? If interaction and collaboration are allowed, what rules must students follow? For example, I have assignments called 'boss battles', in which the entire class can work together to defeat the 'bosses' by solving statistical problems.
Some students will inevitably be confused by the gamified class format, so clear instructions are crucial.
Gamification adds motivation and alleviates fear for students, but it does not detract from the rigour of the subject.
I hope you give it a try - it has been an exciting and rewarding experience for both me and my students.
Reference
Trinh, M. (2022, July 14). Teaching a difficult subject? try gamifying your class. Retrieved July 21, 2022, from https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01945-z