The current innovation-driven environment has popularized educational technology, thus changing educational models and redesigning pedagogy. In my observation of the past 4-5 months of working in digital education space and after conducting thorough research on Ed-tech ventures in the Indian market, I cannot ignore the revolution within the sector. The biggest takeaway from my research is the use of behavior science principles that target motivation and student engagement. What stuck with me during the midpoint conference was my co-fellows’ eagerness to complete their Duolingo streaks. When I scrolled through Duolingo’s application and Instagram account, I was fascinated by their content and marketing team. Their gamified learning, characters, memes and reels target their audience (Gen-Z learners) to generate a playful and outcome-driven learning experience that speaks to a learner, “Oh, learning a new language is the epitome of fun… said no one ever, but Duolingo makes it happen.”
As one deep dives into educational technology initiatives in India, the popular educational models include gamified learning principles. The best explanation for this trend is that it challenges the notion of tedious learning in lecture-based and summative assessment educational models.
These developments in the education sector focus on improving educational standards, making learning more engaging and accessible, and ultimately fostering innovative learning experiences. Trends such as personalized learning, adaptive learning, and immersive technologies like gamification, augmented reality, and virtual reality are narrowing the gap between learners and educational resources. It is important to note that educational models dictate the “what” and “why” of how teachers teach and how students absorb it.
What is the best form of learning?
The answer to the question keeps evolving with new developments in pedagogy and learning methods. However, in order to design a more effective teaching method, taking a look at the learning retention pyramid helps. The Learning Pyramid was first theorized by Edgar Dale in the 1940s. He called it the “Cone of Experience” in his book “Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching”. Later, the National Training Laboratories Institute renamed it as “The Learning Pyramid”. The learning pyramid correlates teaching methods to the retention rates of taught material, based on active and passive teaching methods.
The learning pyramid model challenges the efficiency of the chalk-and-talk model. Many aspects of the learning pyramid apply to the principle of gamification in pedagogy. Let’s imagine that you are a third-grade student, and are supposed to learn the concept of adjectives. In a traditional educational model, a teacher would typically share the definition followed by example sentences. In another setting, what if the same concept is introduced in the form of a game? It follows: definition is introduced through daily/vernacular examples and the student creates an avatar -”Adjactar”. They are supposed to introduce themselves with one quality (adjective) they have, e.g., Amicable Afnan. After which the game resumes and they are given pointers to identify the adjectives in sentences and then are rewarded with level-ups, super streaks of practice, leaderboard scores, friendly competitions with peers and some exclusive benefits if they are consistent.
Surely, the Adjactar game sounds a bit more fun. The elements of the gamified learning pedagogy that make it a win for learning are as follows:
Additive Grading is a grading method commonly utilized in gamified educational settings, where students commence with zero points or grades and accumulate them by completing assignments throughout the academic term or grading period.
Badges are digital icons awarded to individual students upon task completion or to acknowledge specific skills or knowledge, serving as an alternative to traditional grading for recognizing student accomplishments.
Leaderboards display student rankings based on points earned. Levels comprise the grading structure in gamified classrooms, with students advancing through various tiers as they accrue points, each level requires a minimum point to be able to access it. This ensures that students complete the previous concepts before proceeding to new ones.
Locks give access to certain assignments, tasks, projects, or levels contingent upon fulfilling specific prerequisites, such as achieving a score on previous assignment before unlocking next tasks.
It is safe to say that gamification as a teaching strategy not only boosts student interest and helps them retain knowledge better but also links learning to practical scenarios, offers immediate feedback and reinforcement, and enhances the overall enjoyment and addictiveness of the learning journey, also demonstrated by my co-fellows using Duolingo.
Motivation – The Psychology of Gamification
Motivation refers to a human internal state that mobilizes wishes to realizing goals. It is the first and foremost reason for people to work, determines the depth and strength of actions in achieving a certain goal, and how long the actions are sustained. Motivation involves not only psychological longings but also physiological needs; it is also multi-factorial, implying it might stem from within the individual or the external environment.
The critical component that makes gamification a useful practice is the use of the rewards system to give the users a sense of being externally motivated through the use of points, badges, levels, and leaderboards. Gamification appeals to the need of self-fulfillment in players and learners alike. The appreciation of the activities, levels etc. occur when they are performed for a specific target or purpose. For instance, rewards or competition are the main pushes, which make it an external gain. Gamification interweaves game elements into activities or tasks and seeks to motivate individuals to be part of the action, complete tasks and achieve goals by using the extrinsic motivation. Gamification provides reinforcement to maintain the presence of player/learner with the help of information on progress, rewarding players periodically, storytelling, improving visualization, and increasing the complexity of the steps for the captivation of the player.
Is Gamification Promising Enough?
Technology has made research and innovation more accessible, yet what remains tricky is the scope of technology and its interaction with the environment. Technologies tend to be trendsetters in the market, often a quick fix and revolutionary game changer. They completely embed into the society/system much before we realize its shortcomings, limitations or cons. Gartner’s Hype Cycle is an interesting way to look at emerging technologies and their predicted trends in the market. It summarizes the journey of a new technological use or intervention and key points of interaction. It is collated in the following pointers:
- Technology Trigger: This phase begins with the introduction of a new technology or concept. It generates excitement and interest, often driven by early successes or breakthroughs.
- Peak of Inflated Expectations: In this phase, there’s a peak in publicity and hype surrounding the technology. Success stories tell tales, but so do failures. The technology may be overhyped, leading to unrealistic expectations about its potential.
- Trough of Disillusionment: Following the hype, there’s a period of disillusionment as the technology fails to deliver on initial expectations. Interest wanes and some may even abandon the technology altogether.
- Slope of Enlightenment: During this phase, a more balanced and realistic understanding of the technology emerges. Organizations begin to identify practical applications and best practices. Second- and third-generation products are designed in this phase to address previous shortcomings.
- Plateau of Productivity: Finally, the technology reaches a stage of mainstream adoption and acceptance. It becomes an integral part of the industry, with well-defined criteria for success. The technology’s benefits are widely recognized, and its market applicability is clear.
Let’s see how gamification fares within Gartner’s Hype Cycle. It is important to note that gamification in education is still in its nascent stage– in between technology triggers and peaks of inflated expectations. Using incentivizing techniques in education is not new, yet the term gamification is speculated to enter the mainstream in 2010. The biggest catch of gamification is the way it plays into the motivation of learners for enhanced learning engagement resulting in the completion of modules with regular assessments and feedback. The notifications and nudges ensure that the learner doesn’t miss their streak or spot on the leaderboard. Gamification gets learners to be hooked on learning through fun-filled engagement. Gamification provides a personalized pathway to each learner so that they can develop their own place, resulting in improved attention and memory. The regular support and feedback on each stage evaluates completion of learning outcomes.
On the flipside, potential pitfalls of gamification include, over-emphasis on game mechanics or the fun-factor instead of learning outcomes. Overstimulation to technology at an early stage has been co-related with decreased attention span and addiction. To design games for education, it is important for educators, curriculum developers and game designers to work as a team. It is important for any potential technology or method introduced in education to make learning effective by making sure that learners are applying and relating to the concepts taught outside of the game.
Way Forward
The charm of gamification should not overshadow the essence of educational outcomes. It is important for educators to be involved in the design principles of the game mechanics and co-create technological solutions. Technology should act as an aid and accelerator of achieving educational outcomes. Educators and developers should also be involved in putting regular checks and balances in place to ensure that technology is not a disruptor of holistic development of children.
