Gamification And Its Effectiveness In Schools

Gamification in e-learning is defined as an educational approach to motivate students to learn by introducing gaming elements and video game design in the learning environment. The objective of gamification is to maximize engagement by capturing the interest of students and inspiring them to learn and achieve more.

Gamification is not entirely a new concept to grasp among learners and educators, especially because teachers have used games, mnemonic approaches, and other hands-on activities to make learning more engaging for students. However, in recent years, gamification has taken the lead role in promoting e-learning and has emerged as an effective teaching method that engages young learners through an interactive platform.

Apart from student engagement and interaction in school, gamification benefits teachers and students in many ways. Let’s discuss some of the major benefits of gamification and its importance in schools:

1. Aids in cognitive development

It is important to foster a child’s cognitive learning abilities during the early years for overall brain development. Cognitive development specifically deals with information processing, conceptual resources, perceptual skills, language learning, and other aspects which help children to think and understand the world around them.

Therefore, gamification aids in cognitive development by increasing brain activity through game-based learning that ultimately allows for adequate development. The games that are solely focused on cognitive development are called brain games and they help in improving memory and processing information.

2. Increases engagement in students

Children love playing games. The challenges, levels, competition, opponents, and graphics get kids hooked onto online games. The same concept of gaming is applied in classrooms to engage students in interactive curriculum-aligned games where they can learn and improve their skills while playing.

3. Provides instant feedback and progress reports

One of the benefits of gamification for students is that just like video games, educational games also deliver instant results so the child knows whether they crossed the level or not. This helps students in understanding where they went wrong and allowing them to try a new approach next time. 

Apart from this, some applications and platforms also provide teachers and parents with progress reports that help them follow the child’s improvement throughout the course. Parents and teachers are able to track and monitor the child’s daily engagement with the game, which level they are on and more.

4. Develops intrinsic motivation in children

Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that comes from within. When individuals find the motivation to engage, learn and improve without the help of external motivators or positive rewards, the behavior is called intrinsic motivator.

Online educational games, therefore, act as intrinsic motivators for students and drives them to learn more on their own and opens up opportunities for extrinsic motivators through leader boards and badges in the game.

Also read: 5 Effective Tips For Teachers To Motivate Their Students In Class

As education technology is evolving every day, gamification has become more than just a buzzword. From its inception in the early 2000s, gamification has come a long way. It is now a household name for teachers and parents. Its incorporation in classrooms has become the norm. Adding a game to the lesson plan is also a great way for teachers to encompass different methods of teaching and engage their students in a fun and interactive way.

If you’re looking to tap into the world of gamification and introduce an interactive and fun online learning game in your school specifically designed to practice crucial math problems, then you can check out Prodigy. Prodigy is an online math gaming platform that helps students master complex math problems while solving fun challenges and puzzles.

It is built for students from grades 1-8 and covers over 1400 math topics, 75,000 questions, and 50+ curricula.

Refer your school leader and get Prodigy for free:

http://india.prodigygame.com/get-started