Psychological Theory, Learning Gamification - NeoAcademic Gamification, the use of game elements in non-game contexts, is increasingly being implemented in both student and organizational learning initiatives. Many of these efforts are atheoretical, meaning that the teachers using them don’t necessarily have a well-grounded reason for gamifying. Instead, they often gamify with the intention of making learning more “fun.” Unfortunately, 1) not all gamification is fun and 2) fun is sometimes counterproductive. Personally, that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. So if an instructor does want to gamify learning, what theories might be used to guide it? Recent research by Landers, Bauer, Callan and Armstrong[] sheds some light on this question by exploring several psychological theories of learning in relation to gamification. Theory of Gamified Learning. Overall, no single theory is going to explain gamification or be the magic bullet for successful gamification. Footnotes:
Six Lazy Ways to Trick Your Brain Into Being Productive Enhancing your Cognitive Function through Gamification Cognitive skills are often overlooked when it comes to learning new information. People tend to see learning as how much you know, rather than how effectively your brain processes the information it receives. Cognitive psychology is radically different from other psychological approaches in that it accepts the use of scientific method and rejects introspection. Ulric Neisser first coined the term in 1965 in his book, Cognitive Psychology (Princeton University). Through enhancing the cognitive function of our brains we can become far more effective learners. Simply put, gamification uses the elements of games to motivate and engage the user. Engaging employees through gamification is becoming increasing popular in the workplace because games can: · Increase optimism · Enhance social skills through multi-player scenarios · Create meaning by making it possible for participants to achieve success The Two Core Types of Gamification Structural gamification Content gamification
Gamification in Education: Top 10 Gamification Case Studies that will Change our Future New to Gamification? Check out my post What is Gamification & my Gamification Framework: Octalysis Education Gamification in Action. There’s a lot of potential in the field of Education Gamification. If you ask children, “What is work?” Clearly there should be a way to help kids learn from what they do best – play. No longer viewed as a mundane process for presenting information while testing for retention and understanding, the modern educational challenge involves tasks of engaging students, stimulating their interests, retaining their attention, and maintaining a positive attitude in a nurturing environment. Key to these goals is the effort to maintain a rich communications environment that encourages feedback and reinforcement, not only between the instructor/teacher and students, but also between the students themselves. Education Gamification Example #1 – DuoLingo:Learn a language while translating the Web1 Each student gets an avatar which can be visibly displayed in ClassDojo.
Gamification of learning The gamification of learning is an educational approach to motivate students to learn by using video game design and game elements in learning environments.[1] The goal is to maximize enjoyment and engagement through capturing the interest of learners and inspiring them to continue learning.[2] Gamification, broadly defined, is the process of defining the elements which comprise games that make those games fun and motivate players to continue playing, and using those same elements in a non-game context to influence behaviour.[3] In educational contexts, examples of desired student behaviour which gamification can potentially influence include attending class, focusing on meaningful learning tasks, and taking initiative.[4] The gamified music learning platform, Rise of the Rhythm. Distinguishable from game-based learning, gamification of learning does not involve students in designing and creating their own games, or in playing commercially produced video games. Benefits[edit]