Gamification in Education - A robust shift

Do you recall the days we played outside like no man's business? I distinctly remember playing hopscotch, saakli, hide and seek, card games, and so on. We eagerly waited for school to end and rush to the grounds where our friends would be waiting eagerly. On reflection, I now realize the impact it had on my personality over time. It made me a social person, a team player, and the courage to lose over and over again but never give up. 

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Today with technology predominant in our lives, physical games have taken a backseat but how do we bring in gaming in our classrooms to inculcate the right blend of knowledge, attitude, and values in our students?

Well, gamification is the answer. Gamification in education is incorporating game design elements like point scoring, peer competition, teamwork, score tables in classroom environments to increase students' engagement and motivation.  For example, if you are teaching addition to primary students, the Teacher uses a physical deck of cards and has students randomly select any three cards in a row to add up to a total of 10. She supports the learning by having students log on to a virtual gaming platform where they play with a deck of cards to create sets of ten and on completion of the activity, students are rewarded with stars or applause. 

If you wonder, why gamification in classrooms then gamification is learning with fun and increases engagement within the students as all children naturally love to play. It allows students to play at their own level thus avoiding judgment and criticism and build confidence within the student. It allows students to move to higher levels on completion of lower levels and thus supports scaffolding and deepen understanding of the concept. 

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When the will and skill of the students are enhanced, the learning outcomes surpass the learning objectives. When a classroom teaching-learning environment uses hands-on learning either through physical or virtual games, the learning will be lifelong. Moreover, students connect concepts to daily life situations. Ex: We still remember playing Queen of Sheeba to date, a simple game used to create varied groups of say 3 or 5 people in a class of 40 students can help students understand the concept of division and the relationship between dividends, divisor, quotient, and remainder. 

It is more pertinent today, given that we are all sailing on an online platform with no physical access to our students, gamification in e-learning allows us a glimpse into our student's conceptual understanding and their emotional and mental health. Every teacher has access to the gaming platform used by students in school and is able to see where the child is struggling or is very comfortable and take measures accordingly to support new learning. 

It also gives us a glimpse of mental and emotional health through engagement and attitude. Certain games require teamwork and collaboration and when the child refuses to play, it is a red signal that somewhere something is wrong. The teacher immediately attends to it to resolve the concerns. 

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To bring in gamification, there could be challenges especially the vast curriculum offered by boards which leaves teachers with less time and that is a big concern. Also, Indian classroom strengths are huge so space for physical games can be a challenge. Here e- games can support but access to technology for every home is a question mark. This challenge can become an opportunity for teachers to develop a growth mindset and attitude of adaptive thinking. Moreover, creative, innovative teachers who care and love their students have always created that path. 

Gamification is already here and both teachers and students who have access to it are embracing it positively. The new NEP speaks of a digital India with e-learning platforms like Diksha, Swayam to be extended and more virtual labs to be increased, more teacher training on online learning, we can see the Boards supporting gamification in education and using it as a tool to assess student's conceptual learning. According to Verified Market Research, Global Gamification in Education Market was valued at USD 444.1 Million in 2018 and is projected to reach USD 3,959.4 Million by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 31.29% from 2019 to 2026. We are going to see a robust shift towards digital learning in the future so why not champion it immediately.