In March 2022, I had the opportunity to attend the Learnit Conference, a vibrant gathering of educators, innovators, and thought leaders from around the world. The experience was both enriching and energizing, offering deep insights into emerging pedagogies and meaningful opportunities to connect with fellow educators. One session that particularly resonated with me introduced the GLEAM Model, a powerful framework designed to promote equity and excellence in the classroom through game-based learning. This blog captures my reflections on that session and explores how its ideas can be translated into everyday teaching practice.
GLEAM, a model rooted in equity and excellence, was brought to life through the familiar framework of Monopoly. Far more than a creative twist, GLEAM is a deeply intentional approach that reimagines classroom dynamics by making learning strategic, inclusive, and emotionally resonant. It bridges the often-unseen gulf between educators and students, transforming abstract curriculum goals into relatable, game-based experiences.
Viewing GLEAM through my learning lens, I see a model that empowers teachers to differentiate instruction, affirm student identities, and embed real-world relevance into every concept. It’s not just about playing a game; it’s about designing learning that is meaningful, measurable, and motivating for every learner in the room.
I am sure everyone reading the blog has played the game of Monopoly, wherein the player's role is to remain financially solvent while forcing opponents into bankruptcy by buying and developing pieces of property. How do we use it in the classroom to ensure that teaching and learning for every level of student is supported?
💭1. Imagine students playing Monopoly to explore concepts in Mathematics, English, communication, economics, and history. Beginners can start by trading money and researching the historical significance of the streets on the board. As they progress, they develop strategies to build their empires, acquiring a wide range of skills along the way.
Now, reimagine the game:
- Replace the original streets with ones from your own city and have students present their unique histories.
- Substitute or replace the roads with parts of speech, each property representing adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and more. As students land on them, they complete challenges, craft sentences, or identify usage in context.”
This approach transforms Monopoly into a dynamic, interdisciplinary learning tool that grows with your students.
Slowly and steadily, you have involved all levels of students, irrespective of academic, social, racial, and gender differences, and shared a common platform to increase levels of learning. Couldn't this activity be part of your projects or assignments?
🎯 2. Engaging Instruction: Differentiation with a Game-Based Mindset
An effective educator understands the diverse backgrounds, learning profiles, and classroom dynamics of their students. They are deeply familiar with the curriculum and intentionally design environments where rigor is embedded in the standards. Crucially, they ensure that every learner’s progress is tracked and supported.
Let’s explore this through a classroom scenario:
- 5 students will grasp the concept quickly,
- 20 will struggle to understand it,
- And 15 may disengage entirely.
To address this, I implement a Station Rotation Blended Learning model. All students begin by conducting a hands-on experiment to explore the phenomenon. This shared experience ensures that at least half the class attains a foundational understanding. Based on their responses and observed engagement, I then regroup students into three tiers:
- Experts: ready for extension tasks or peer mentoring
- Comfortable learners: supported with scaffolded digital/human resources
- Struggling learners: guided through targeted interventions and simplified research tasks
Each group receives differentiated support, whether through curated content, collaborative inquiry, or teacher-led mini-lessons. The goal is clear: no learner is left behind, and every student moves forward on their learning path.
Similarly, in the classroom, curriculum goals and assessment criteria remain consistent for all, but the pathways to mastery differ. Just as Monopoly rewards adaptive thinking and perseverance, effective instruction honors diverse learning strategies, whether through peer collaboration, digital tools, or inquiry-based tasks. Gamification reminds us that progress is nonlinear, and every move, successful or not, is a step toward deeper understanding.
If you have noticed, I have not used entertainment but focussed on capitalizing resources to build students' intellectual capacity.
💬 3. Affirming Instruction: Building Identity, Equity, and Encouragement
Affirmation means offering emotional support and encouragement. In every classroom, educators encounter a diverse range of learners—each with unique identities, experiences, and needs. Yet, unconscious biases can creep in, subtly favoring some students over others. The challenge and the opportunity are to ensure that every child feels seen, valued, and empowered to become their best self.
So how do we embed affirmation into our daily instructional practices?
- We motivate students to build knowledge, skills, and attitudes by creating safe spaces for inquiry, expression, and growth.
- We nurture empathy and environmental consciousness through real-world connections, collaborative projects, and reflective dialogue.
- We honor student identities by integrating culturally responsive teaching strategies, adapting content to reflect diverse perspectives, and addressing inequalities through differentiated support and inclusive pedagogy.
The article on culturally responsive teaching offers powerful insights into how instructional practices can affirm student identity while promoting academic excellence. It reminds us that affirmation is not a one-time gesture; it’s a continuous commitment to equity, dignity, and belonging.
Classroom practices can mirror this beautifully.
- The rules (curriculum and assessment goals) remain consistent, but the pathways to success are flexible.
- Every student is a player, and every lesson is a move toward mastery.
- Teachers are the game masters, guiding, encouraging, and adjusting the game so that no one is left behind.
It may sound simple in a game, but replicating this mindset in the classroom is both powerful and possible. And you, dear educators, are the superheroes who make it happen day after day, child after child, with unwavering commitment and heart.
🌍 4. Meaningful Instruction: Connecting Classroom Learning to the Real World
Knowledge gained in the classroom becomes truly powerful only when it connects to the world beyond. Without real-world relevance, information remains abstract and disconnected. To make learning meaningful, educators must ensure that every concept is interlinked, interdisciplinary, and grounded in authentic contexts so that students see the bigger picture and understand its implications.
Likewise, classroom learning should reflect this interconnectedness.
- A math lesson on percentages can link to budgeting.
- A science unit on energy can connect to sustainability.
- A history discussion on trade routes can lead to insights into global economics.
When students understand how classroom concepts apply to their lives, communities, and futures, learning becomes not just informative—but transformative.
This model has made me introspect, and I will definitely incorporate this learning model and hope you do too. For further information, please refer to the GLEAM Model of learning.
Next time, I look at the board of Monopoly, the vision will be much different from what I was carrying before, and isn't that what learning is all about, 'Learn, Unlearn and Relearn'
