Teachers need to teach lots of content to students and often in a short space of time. We can find it difficult to create time for differentiating lessons and playing games is generally off the cards. But there are so many benefits of gamification in the classroom. We list the top six reasons for using gamification with your students in this article.
Gamification engages disinterested kids
Let’s face it. Many of our classes have at least one student who is regularly disengaged no matter how hard we try. Gamification can help to get these students interested in what they are learning. This form of play-based learning, in a sense, ‘tricks’ your cherubs into thinking they are simply having fun. However, they are learning important content and concepts at the same time. It’s a win-win!
It’s great for kinaesthetic learners
Another one of the benefits of gamification is engaging your kinaesthetic learners. Kinaesthetic learners prefer to be hands on and may struggle to grasp concepts simply through reading and writing. There’s no doubt reading from a textbook, completing worksheets and writing essays is vital to student learning. However, playing games can help your kinaesthetic learners to better understand content and solidify these concepts in their minds.
Gamification is a great way to introduce new content
Students can be daunted by learning new content, particularly if they think it’s going to be challenging. An excellent way to help ease those nerves is to introduce the content with a game. Using a fun activity can help them see the content isn’t so scary. It may also help them to recall information when it comes time to learning it. Just remind your cherubs they may not perform so well when playing the game the first time but they will be experts at it when you revisit later.
It helps to differentiate your lessons
Students lose interest in their work very easily, particularly if it is repetitive. This is where gamification comes in. Playing a game or fun activity can help to change up your lessons and reengage your cherubs. They will appreciate the differentiation and will most likely come back into their normal lesson routine refreshed and ready to learn again.
Gamification can improve student confidence
Playing games on occasion can help students to better understand the content they are learning. When students have a greater understanding of what they’re learning, they’re more likely to recall information easily and perform better in assessment tasks and exams. To further this confidence, engage your cherubs in games where they are required to recall specific facts or debate concepts. This can improve their skills in reasoning and expressing themselves, particularly when it comes to comprehending new topics and conveying their understanding in their own words.
It can be an incentive
Gamification can be used to your advantage! If you have a class full of rowdy students and need them to concentrate (we’ve all been there!), use gamification as your incentive. Encourage your cherubs to focus, behave well or complete a certain task in exchange for playing a game at the end of the lesson. This type of incentivisation usually works a treat and, if it doesn’t, you can simply rescind the offer.
Don’t forget to check out Teacher PD’s range of fun games to help with gamification in your classroom!
