Gamification, Game-Based Learning and Your Classroom Part 2: Game-Based Learning

Gamification, Game-Based Learning and Your Classroom Part 2: Game-Based Learning

Last week I mentioned that we were going to do a book study on the book, ‘Power Up Your Classroom’ by Lindsey Blass & Cate Tolnai. It’s this great book all about using gamification and game-based learning in the classroom. We’ll dive into Chapter 1 on March 17th. If you want to partake in the study along with me, you, will of course need the book. Click on the book title above which will take you to Amazon but feel free to order the book from wherever you choose.

Knowing that this book is all about Gamification and Game-Based Learning I thought it would be good for you to know what knowledge I already have and where my thoughts are coming from. This is week 2 in the short series on Gamification and if you are just joining my blog this week, go check out last week’s blog to learn more

Game-Based Learning: 

The first thing to note is that that Game-Based Learning differs from Gamification. Gamification is taking gaming aspects and applying them to your classroom (think Kahoot, Jeopardy, ClassDojo points). In Game-Based Learning, games are used to enhance your students’ learning experiences through playing a game. This is something that you will find a lot in Math and in K-5 classes. There are things like Prodigy.com  and Oregon Trail (remember that game?) that are designed to help you learn through playing the game. Yes, I mentioned Oregon Trail and from all accounts that game has been around since the 70s. We have been using games for 50 years, maybe even earlier if you are thinking about board games. 

All of that to say, Game-Based Learning is learning through playing games, (You’ll hear that phrase a lot). The best games, like some I mentioned above, are at their best when there is a balance between content subject and gameplay, which helps the students retain information and apply it to the real world. 

One example of this is GeoPlunge. GeoPlunge is a game that was created out of a youth soccer coach realized that his players had no idea what cities are in what states. This inspired him to create GeoPlunge, a game that teaches U.S. Geography. The game has 1,500 facts about U.S. states, and through the various games you can play with the deck of cards your students will not only learn about various states and facts, but they will also improve their critical thinking and communication skills. The games also promote collaborative and experiential learning. Check out this video below:

Modern computer games like Minecraft, Portal, Sims (do they still make this game?), and Civilization all promote problem-solving skills, critical thinking and collaboration with classmates. They are also super fun! When games are tied to curriculum, they can become powerful in helping students learn. In these game environments, the students are in a risk-free setting, which allows them to take chances, learn from mistakes and develop a growth mindset. I can’t tell you how many times I have lost in a game, only to restart and continue playing until I could persevere through a tough level or reach a goal. I have been engaged in game playing at that level and I know that most of your students have as well. Soft skills such as perseverance, teamwork and communication skills are hard to “test” but can be observed by teachers in the classroom. These students don’t give up, they keep working hard even if they find an assignment to be challenging. 

All games have four elements: 1) A Goal, 2) Rules to Follow, 3) Feedback loop and 4) Voluntary Participation. With Game-Based Learning, a great game takes these four things and combines them with learning expectations and goals. As teachers and educators, we must find the value in good quality games, gain an understanding of how they work and how they motivate students. Then it’s simple to implement. One fundamental difference between gaming for fun vs. gaming for educational purposes is that educators “start with learning

goals” and gaming media choices are made based on the games potential to meet those goals.”(Dikkers 2015) 

Minecraft 

In researching this post, I read a Minecraft article how games help students learn to develop their problem-solving skills. The article also talked about how students use their developing problem-solving skills, and transfer those skills to other parts of their life. For those of you who would like more information about Minecraft and how it works, check out these paragraphs from the Article “Game Based Learning: Is It Effective Classroom Instruction?” below. 

“Minecraft is one of the most popular games of all time and more importantly has changed how we think of games. Minecraft operates on the ideas that “a blank slate is compelling for many young minds” and that a “person’s mind is limitless or forever voyaging.” (Dikkers 2015) Minecraft serves as a perfect tool to develop creativity and computational thinking. Computational Thinking (CT) is a problem solving process that includes a number of characteristics and dispositions. CT is essential to the development of computer applications, but it can also be used to support problem solving across all disciplines, including math, science, and the humanities. Students who learn CT across the curriculum can begin to see a relationship between subjects as well as between school and life outside of the classroom.(“Google for Education:” 2015)

Minecraft operates on the premise of building with blocks. The players starts with a blank slate and without a manual or tutorial most people get it. It is a blank canvas similar to using a pencil on paper to create whatever your mind can develop. It is that blank slate where the player can bring to life their ideas. Minecraft can be used in a variety of ways. First, Minecraft can be used for creativity. A player can be given unlimited use of all the tools in the game to build whatever their heart desires. The player simply builds with blocks, creates new items with crafts, can do coding with redstone and command blocks, and basically anything they want to do can be done with enough learning and design. Second, Minecraft can be used for survival mode. In this case the player must start with nothing and figure out how to survive zombie attacks, hunger, weather, and the basics of being alive. There is a great deal of problem solving in this style of play. The power of Minecraft is that you can adjust the settings to literally make it whatever you want.”  Aaron Maurer Coffee on the Mind (He’s an awesome MIEE, follow him on Twitter)

Before we go, check out this video on how one teacher is working Formative Assessments into Game-Based Learning.

Let us know what you think about this post by leaving a comment below.

Resources: 

Bibliography

Comments are closed.