Using games to teach has been a popular method for a long time. Games inherently have elements that make them a robust way to drive human learning. The typical structure starts with a problem the player needs to solve. You then use the skill to solve the problem. Using that skill will help the player learn and practice it.
Games promote a multitude of different skill learning. You learn cooperation with others, communication, and knowing what it’s like to be competitive. Games also can be designed to spark creativity and imagination within its players. At the end of the game, players are tested on what they learned by solving the problem.
Gamification methods are packaged with teaching, learning, and assessment. When teaching kindergarten to grade twelve, follow these gamification methods to promote education.
Giving out incentives, like points, for meeting the academic objective
The point of this would be to make it, so the children understand what they are learning. Are they just reciting what they read in the textbook, or do they fundamentally know what they are talking about? To do so, they should provide evidence for their answers. For example, you can structure it in such a way where they earn one point for a solution without evidence, two points for an answer with one piece of evidence, and three points for an answer with two or more pieces of evidence.
Giving out incentives, like points, for meeting non-academic objectives
This method can be used for all procedural things happening in class. This could be handing out forms or checking homework. Assign points for how quickly someone does this.
Establishing playful barriers
A primary staple of gamification is the use of playful barriers. These are encouraging mechanics that act as challenges for the children. These barriers can be different things like academic or behavioral, creative or logistical, and private or social.
Manufacturing healthy competition between children and the teacher in the classroom
Instead of structuring it where children are facing each other, you can have it where they are facing the teacher. It can be a running tally for a week, month, or however long you want it to be. It can be as simple as when a student follows a rule, the class gets a point, and whenever a student does not follow a rule, the teacher gets a point. Make the reward a sustainable one that doesn’t interfere with the day. It can be a more extended recess, less homework, or a snack.
Susanna Pottin, a high school teacher from Essayroo and Writing Services, says, “this gamification method will make the individual students accountable to the collective of students. A great way to teach about consequences, competition, and working together.”
Having a diverse assortment of rewards that will be desirable for unique students
In your class, build a pyramid of different prizes. Students will obtain the rewards once they hit a specific objective, like a number of points. You can have a tiered system of simple rewards to luxurious rewards, creating the incentive to earn more points. At five points, the kids can wear a cape for the first period. Ten points the kids can take their shoes off. Keep building up to a grand prize like eating during class or sitting in the teacher’s chair.
Use different methods of progression
An excellent gamification method is using a progression method over the long-term. You will need levels and checkpoints to do this. Over a few weeks or months, have different milestones that the children can hit. For example, have a 100-point checkpoint. Once this hit this, they leveled up and hit a milestone. This milestone can have a reward like an extra-long recess break. This will incentivize the competitive students as they race for the top.
Barbara Inkster, a learning consultant for UKWritings and Studydemic, offers a strategy: “A way to engage less competitive students is creating quests for the competitive ones. They need to recruit other students to solve a problem, giving both students points and including them.”
These are a few methods you can use to incorporate games into learning. Use these to promote diverse learning in the classroom.
An English tutor and writer for Big Assignments and University Assignment Help, Beatrix Potter is passionate about linguistics. She has been to over forty countries, learning about different dialects of the English language. Bea also works for Custom Paper Writing Services UK, where she helps people learn English as well as write articles about her passion.
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