Gamification in Higher Education: Engaging Students in Learning

Gamification may be a new term, but it’s an old concept. Games are a natural part of the human condition, from the first ‘peek-a-boo’ through the stages of education, careers, and retirement. We all like getting rewards, especially when we need some motivation to complete our tasks. Relaxing with a cup of tea after doing the laundry. Stickers for children who tidy their rooms. Employee incentives to improve performance or accelerate training. So, what is gamification, and how can it be used for higher education?

Gamification introduces game elements such as points, leaderboards, competitions, and badges into non-game activities. It makes self-paced, online learning more interactive, immersing students into the content and heightening the opportunities for applied learning.

Many educators have been gratified by the positive results realized through gamification. Attention spans can falter in the sequestered environments that COVID-19 has imposed; and gamification invites creativity, presents challenges, and promotes pride of accomplishment. In academic terminology, gamification drives behavioural change and reinforces knowledge retention. Put more simply, it makes learning fun. 

The pandemic has triggered a paradigm shift in the way we work, study, and socialize. Campus life is traditionally a time for young people to spread their wings, as they meet people beyond their home base, prepare for careers, and transition into adult roles. Today, bereft of the in-person relationships that are an integral part of post-secondary education, students will respond to a virtual community enlivened by the competition and comradeship of gamification.

The youth of today are digitally sophisticated. They’ve grown up playing games on their devices, and they understand the design of online gaming. Reaching them on a familiar platform is a winning solution.

Gamification fosters a sense of ownership and develops the skills of entrepreneurship. Team work, with the incentivization of gamesmanship, instills a collegial spirit that students can take into the work world, where they will collaborate with business colleagues for common goals.

Instructors who add gamification to their portfolio are discovering how it can be effectively used in and beyond the classroom. With online learning as our new reality, there’s an expanded push to stimulate students through a range of approaches. A series of activities can replace a lengthy videotaped lecture, but still convey the same information. And incorporating a system of points and levels can help you set goals and monitor progress.

There are many digital tools available, but educators can also design their own. You might choose to start small, perhaps through a point system, then add to your repertoire as you become more comfortable with the process. Games have rules and goals, interaction and feedback, problem-solving challenges, and friendly competition: all of which can be applied to online learning. Here are some ideas:

• Suggest that students create their own avatars to add a personal touch.

• Leaderboards share achievements and encourage competition. However, you may want to display results within small groups, rather than across the entire class, to avoid demoralizing those who find themselves at the bottom of the list.

• Devise and track a points system to reward completed tasks, extra research, discussion board posts, presentations, etc.

• Digital badges recognize levels of success. You might align the badges with your curriculum: for instance, badges for a philosophy course might advance chronologically from Socrates to Wittgenstein, while mathematics could employ different symbols.

• Make up an online quiz that builds up knowledge in sequential steps, potentially including hints to guide the journey.

• And there are still the old standbys of achievement certificates or Student of the Month awards.

These tools can be directed to individuals or to teams. It might be interesting to inspire peer motivation by challenging the entire class; for instance, if 80% of the class passes a test or aces an assignment, give everyone extra points. Launch the program with gusto: send out a newsletter and kick it off with a welcoming badge for everyone.

COVID-19 has fast-tracked our inevitable evolution into virtual reality, and educators are finding innovative ways to adjust their tactics. Gamification is one way to improve engagement by meeting the students where they play. And you may find that you’re having a lot more fun as well.