Classroom Management

Section 1 Lesson 4

5 ways to gamify your classroom

Source: https://www.iste.org/explore/In-the-classroom/5-ways-to-gamify-your-classroom
Author: Michele Haiken
February 17, 2020

Many of our students play video games regularly,

and you might, too. That's a good thing. When my
13-year-old is playing video games, he’s using
many skills – facts and information are tools to
solve problems in context, and he gains
actionable feedback he uses to win the game.

When he fails to level up, he doesn’t give up but

continues playing until he progresses to the next
level. He also seeks information online to help him
find Easter eggs hidden throughout the game. He
teaches his friends how to power up with each
level of the game. Failure is a source of feedback
and learning, collaboration is necessary, and
learning and assessment are tightly integrated.

How can we use this pervasive and engaging

gaming phenomenon to redesign and
supercharge the learning experience?

Here are five ways to gamify your classroom to boost engagement, collaboration and learning:

1. Adapt old-school games for classroom use.

Scavenger hunts, bingo, dice games, Connect Four and Scrabble have been around for
decades and can be adapted for classroom learning. Put vocabulary words on bingo cards and
see if students can match the words after hearing the definitions. Working in groups, students
can play Scrabble by spelling out answers to content-specific questions. Using the app Goose
Chase, create digital scavenger hunts by sending students off to take pictures, create a video,
or search for an answer online related to a specific topic.

2. Play digital games.

Students love playing Kahoot!, Quizizz and Quizlet. These free platforms allow teachers to
create multiple-choice questions that players answer on their own devices. Teachers can also
choose from the thousands of quizzes already shared on these sites or create content-specific
questions to use as pre-assessments, quizzes or exit tickets. Breakout EDU also has a
collection of digital games, puzzles and ciphers that promote critical thinking.
Classroom Management
Section 1 Lesson 4

3. Create a quest.
A quest is a mission with an objective. Every year my students participate in an adventure
quest based on the weekly current events reading. Students who correctly answer a specific
text-dependent question earn points. The student with the most points after six weeks wins a
prize. I post additional questions on Remind and Twitter to allow students to earn extra points.
Quests can also be independent projects or activities for the students who have finished their
work.

4. Battle it out with a boss battle.

In gaming, a “boss” is a villain who the hero must defeat to save the day. Think of the monster
at the end of each level in the original Super Marios Bros. who must be defeated before moving
to the next level. On the gamification platform Classcraft, teachers can create their own boss
battles using questions from any content area. Teachers can also create boss battles using
Google Forms or Google Slides, creating their own unique fictional boss.

5. Earn a badge for mastery.

The Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts recognize mastery and achievement with badges. Teachers
can do the same by rewarding student accomplishments and mastery with badges, which go
beyond grades because they represent more than just academic achievement. Students work
toward completing different badges to show mastery of a concept, standard or skill. Badges
can be presented digitally using Classbadges or can be displayed for all to see once students
have earned a specific badge.

Gamification is about transforming the classroom environment and regular activities into a
game. It requires creativity, collaboration and play. There are numerous ways to bring games
and game playing into the classroom to promote learning and deepen student understanding
of subject matter. Whether teachers are looking to bring some aspect of gaming into their class
or use a game platform across the curriculum, they can use gamification elements to enhance
learning and student engagement and address the ISTE Standards for Students.

Michele Haiken is a literacy teacher at Rye Middle School in Rye, New York, and an adjunct
professor at Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York. She is also a frequent speaker and
was a contributor to the ISTE book Teaching Literacy in the Digital Age. Learn more about
applying gaming techniques to learning in Haiken’s ISTE book Gamify Literacy: Boost
Comprehension, Collaboration and Learning.

This is an updated version of a post that originally published on Jan. 5, 2017.