This is the first in a three-part series on Gamifiying Your Instruction.

The series is written by

Karl Kapp, professor of instructional technology and internationally known author of two
books on gamification, both co-authored by ASTD.
Imagine you have just been assigned the task of gamifying some of your training program.
Where do you start? How do you begin to think about using game-elements and gamethinking to create instruction that is engaging? How do you get started?
The first thing is to keep in mind is that gamification is not a technology-driven methodology.
Instead, think of gamification as a design methodology. Dont think of it as adding
technology to solve a problem; think of it was a way to redesign your instruction to be more
game-like.
This means adding stories to start your instruction, begin the instruction with a challenge, and
create a game-like look and feel. None of these techniques require additional technology or a
change from the tools you are already using.
This also means that you may need to spend some time educating others on the concept of
gamification that you want to implement. In some cases, people will think gamification is the
use of serious gamesgames for teaching. In other cases, people will think it is the addition
of points, badges, and leaderboards. And some people will see it as the redesign of instruction
to make it more game-like with the addition of themes, interactivity, and more feedback.
It is not that one definition is right or wrong; it is that everyone in the organization needs to
have agreement on what the term actually means for your organization. I tend to think of
gamification as a continuum. On one end is a high-quality, fully immersive, 3D game.
Meanwhile, on the other end is the addition of a point system to learning.
You can also classify gamification as content gamification which is changing content to be
more game-like and structural gamification, which is adding elements such as points, badges,
and achievements to help motivate learners through content (see Two Types of
Gamification). Both have their place, but you need to determine which is most appropriate in
which casejust like all instructional strategies.
Work to develop a definition that can be articulated and demonstrated to the stakeholders of
the organization. The more examples, samples, and case studies you can show, the better.
Once you have established the definition or definitions for the use of gamification in your
organization, you can start to share the anticipated value and business outcomes
expected. Adding gamification to your instructional toolkit because it is neat, fun, or
exciting are the wrong reasons. Adding gamification because it will engage learners, provide
repeated exposure to content, and help them reach desired behavior changes is the outcome
you are striving to achieve.
Bottom line: Gamification should be about driving learning and behavior change. Keep that
as your focus and you will be successful.
Here are the 10 best practices (plus a bonus):
1. Identify success criteria first

Before you begin to gamify learning events, make sure you know what constitutes success. Is
it 100 percent participation? Is it measurable business results? It is a score on a test?
If success is not defined before the initiative, it is hard to know if or when success is
achieved. It is hard to nail down success. It is even more difficult to get everyone to agree
that success was achieved. The idea of success can be changed and morphed for both good
and bad over time, so make sure at the beginning everyone agrees what success looks
likeand someone writes it down.
2. Seriously consider alternatives
This may sound strange coming from a gamification advocate, but too many times I have
seen easy, simple solutions to learning problems passed over for the latest instructional fad.
While I do not think gamification is a fad, I do think that the opportunity for mis-use is vast.
Even if you eventually go with a gamified solution, the process of thinking through
alternatives and carefully defending the decision for gamification to an internal or external
stakeholder provides a solid foundation to pursue such a solution. And, if an alternative
solution is a better fit, use it. Only use gamification as a learning solution when it makes
sense and resonates with learners.
3. Create a tie to business needs
All training and learning initiatives should be tied to a business need but gamification even
more. You need to make sure that you are legitimately moving the needle on business needs
and not just using gamification as a crutch to support content that is meaningless to the
organization or individual.
4. Create a story/context
A particularly powerful way to motivate individuals is to give actions and ideas meaning by
framing them within an appropriate context. Explain why the learners are earning points, who
they are trying to save, why they are searching for a treasure. Remember, gamification works
well when it is within a contextcreate a reason why learners should interact with the
content you have created.
5. Use science to advance learning
There are two powerful mechanisms embedded in many gamification efforts: spaced retrieval
and retrieval practice. Retrieval practice requires learners to recall information rather than
simply re-read or re-listen to it.
A review of scientific literature reveals that the benefits of retrieval practice have been known
for at least 100 years, and they have been demonstrated with many diverse groups [1].
Retrieval practice alone can provide improved recall performance by as much as 10-20
percent.[2] So, ask learners to recall content and act on that recallanswering questions
about content is a great way to have retrieval practice.
Spaced retrieval involves providing learners with a quiz or course content spaced over time.
It too is among the most robust findings in educational psychology research [3]. It turns out

that the greater the amount of spacing between retrieval events, the greater the potential
benefit to retention (24 hours is optimal).
Spaced retrieval helps learners retain access to memorized information over long periods of
time because the spacing promotes deeper processing of the learned material. It also avoids
two inherent problems with mass practice (learning all the information at once); the problems
of learner fatigue and the likelihood of interference with preceding and succeeding learning.
6. Make scoring and winning transparent
First, make the scoring easy. Avoid complicated algorithms or formulas. The learners should
be able to directly link their actions and activities to a score so they know what they need to
do to be successful. Second, determine what happens in various scoring scenarios ahead of
time. Run various scenarios to see what happenswhat is a learner gets every question
wrong or right or skips every question. Yes, it might be a scenario that will never happen but,
if you can imagine it, the learners will do it. You want to know of any potential problems
ahead of time, not during the process.
7. Keep the rules simple
Complexity is not an ally in creating gamification. When developing gamified solutions, a
tendency of the design and development team is to add complexity, avoid that
tendency. Also, provide a tutorial level or experiences so that the learners are able to learn
the rules in the beginning with little to lose. You dont want the experience to be about who
knows the rules the best, you want it to be about who learns the most.
8. Keep leaderboards small
No one wants to compete against the worlds best. Except, of course, if they are the worlds
best. Otherwise keep leaderboards small. If possible, allow the learners to choose their own
friend to place on a personalized leaderboard or structure the leaderboard by department or
territory to allow individuals to contribute to a larger goal.
Consider only showing a relative position on the leaderboard. This might mean showing the
five scores above and below a learners score. But remember, regardless of what you show
the learners on a regular basis always allow access to the top scores (dont hide anything from
learners).
9. Use levels and badges appropriately
Use levels to guide learners through linear content and tie each level to a specific learning
objective (usually a terminal objective). Let the learner know how many levels they are going
to need to complete before the learning is over.
Badges, on the other hand, are good for showing non-linear progress. Badges can be tied to
either terminal or enabling objectives. Also, if possible provide a place where learners can
show off badges to leverage the social effectiveness of gamification.
10. Playtest the gamification experience

Before releasing the gamification program to all 10,000 employees in your organization,
playtest it with a small pilot group. You will find flaws, cheats and shortcuts you never
imagined. Humans are among the most creative creatures on the planet, they will find things
you didnt anticipate. Learn about those elements beforehand, conduct a playtest (or two or
three).
Bonus: monitor learner progress
Once the gamification event is launched, you cannot sit back and let it unfold without
monitoring. Most gamification platforms provide rich backend dashboards that allow for a
close inspection of the process.
Take advantage of these dashboards. Look for players moving unusually fast or slow through
the content and then find out why. Look for people earning more points than you thought
possible, look to see if interest is waning or if all the learners are getting something wrong or
too much or too little time is being expended. One advantage of gamification platforms is that
they provide rich, real-time dataleverage that data