Gamifying an Introductory Course – the Process and My Experience So Far!
Gamifying an Introductory Course – the Process and My Experience So Far!
Gamifying an Introductory Course – the Process and My Experience So Far!
By Becky Spencer
February 21, 2023
Summary
Many first-year students are navigating enormous life changes, and the transition to university is associated with stress, shock, and sometimes withdrawal from courses or university.
While transition supports have historically been offered exclusively to students requiring some form of accommodation; the role of university teaching to address barriers is becoming better understood with the emergence of perspectives like universal design for learning and culturally responsive pedagogy.
I began my own 'gamification' process by converting traditional grades to 'experience points' and re-designed my course with the goal for students to gain enough XP to meet learning outcomes.
A central part of gamification is ensuring students have opportunities to gain more XP than are required.
Students in my course also have several opportunities to gain XP weekly.
Students can gain extra XP by writing a final case report or attending workshops, such as those offered through the Writing Centre or Student Success Centre.
In the future I will continue to work on clarifying the XP system and hope to use gamification to help students connect with one another.
Reference
Spencer, B. (2023, February 21). Gamifying an introductory course – the process and my experience so far! FOCUS. Retrieved March 27, 2023, from https://focus.clt.dal.ca/blog/gamifying-an-introductory-course-the-process-and-my-experience-so-far