The 3 main benefits of using gamification in your classroom

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In recent years the term “gamification” has been used to define game-elements in a non-game context, in order to improve student experience and engagement.

Benefits of gamification in education

It is widely agreed by educators and researchers that educational games are effective in motivating students and making learning more interesting. 

The application of gamification in education, when done correctly, stimulates engagement for all students, but especially for the many students who have difficulty fitting into traditional methods of instruction. Shier students, students who need more stimuli or children with special educational needs might find their voice and actively participate in a gamified learning environment. It might even provide a partial solution to the decline in learners’ motivation and engagement. 

So what are the 3 main benefits of implementing gamification in your classroom?

1. Gamification is known to increase student motivation

Gamification does not only improve the engagement of learners. Students also become more and more motivated to excel. Rigby and Ryan (2011) state that the constructive, friendly competition of games in the classroom “has the potential to foster feelings of relatedness, thereby enhancing intrinsic motivation.” 

Students are driven by the mechanics of the game. They become very focused and motivated to solve all the challenges and to complete the tasks at hand. 

2. Gamification is known to improve collaboration skills

Gamified lessons are often designed for groups or teams of students who work together to achieve a common goal. This sense of community motivates students to become more emotionally involved and to feel responsible for the group’s successful outcome. 

Students working together in teams also develop social skills while playing together.

3. Gamification is known to strengthen knowledge retention

Immediate feedback, a crucial element of gamification that feeds the learners’ need for connection, has been shown to be “among the most powerful factors in the relationship between educational interventions and learning in general.” (Randel & others, 1992)

The potential of gamification to enhance learning can also be traced to its appealing graphics, engaging nature, and its ability to actively involve learners.

Boost student learning with customisable digital games 

The application of gamification in the classroom engages students by providing targeted game elements that trigger intense focus, teamplay, and motivation.

Many gamified lessons are designed for very specific groups of learners and subjects. In actual classrooms, however, non-customisable digital games are often not flexible enough to enable teachers to put gamification into practice.

Our education specialists have created a number of customisable digital games, based on classic board games or quiz shows, that students can play with or without a team. If you decide to personalise one or more of these games, we advise you not to provide students with set answers.

Why not? Stimulate them to discover the right answers alone, or together with their teammates.  Students enjoy the challenge, and you can teach them new content and skills at the same time. 

To find out how LessonUp’s gamification tools could help your school and to request a free demo, visit their EdTech Impact profile.