Analysis of Gamification in Education

Gamification refers to the application of game dynamics, mechanics, and frameworks into non-game settings. Many educators have attempted, with varying degrees of success, to effectively utilize game dynamics to increase student motivation and achievement in the classroom. In an effort to better understand how gamification can effectively be utilized to this end, presented here is a review of existing literature on the subject as well as a case study on three different applications of gamification in the post-secondary setting. This analysis reveals that the underlying dynamics that make games engaging are largely already recognized and utilized in modern pedagogical practices, although under different designations. This provides some legitimacy to a practice that is sometimes dismissed as superficial, and also provides a way of formulating useful guidelines for those wishing to utilize the power of games to motivate student achievement. RELATED WORK The first step of this study was to review literature related to the use of gamification in education. This was undertaken in order to inform the subsequent case studies. Several works were reviewed with the intention of finding specific game dynamics that were met with a certain degree of success across a number of circumstances. To begin, Jill Laster [10] provides a brief summary of the early findings of Lee Sheldon, an assistant professor at Indiana University at Bloomington and the author of The Multiplayer Classroom: Designing Coursework as a Game [16]. Here, Sheldon reports that the gamification of his class on multiplayer game design at Indiana University at Bloomington in 2010 was a success, with the average grade jumping a full letter grade from the previous year . Sheldon gamified his class by renaming the performance of presentations as 'completing quests', taking tests as 'fighting monsters', writing papers as 'crafting', and receiving letter grades as 'gaining experience points'. In particular, he notes that changing the language around grades celebrates getting things right rather than punishing getting things wrong [10]. Although this is plausible, this example is included here first because it points to the common conception of what gamifying a classroom means: implementing game components by simply trading out the parlance of pedagogy for that of gaming culture. Although its intentions are good, it is this reduction of game design to its surface characteristics that Elizabeth Lawley warns is detrimental to the successful gamification of a classroom . Lawley, a professor of interactive games and media at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), notes that when implemented properly, "gamification can help enrich educational experiences in a way that students will recognize and respond to" . However, she warns that reducing the complexity of well designed games to their surface elements (i.e. badges and experience points) falls short of engaging students. She continues further, suggesting that beyond failing to engage, limiting the implementation of game dynamics to just the surface characteristics can actually damage existing interest and engagement . Lawley is not suggesting that game elements should be avoided, but rather she is stressing the importance of allowing them to surface as part of a deeper implementation that includes the underlying foundations of good game design. Upon reviewing the available literature, certain underlying dynamics and concepts found in game design are shown to be more consistently successful than others when applied to learning environments, these are: o Freedom to Fail o Rapid Feedback o Progression o Storytelling Freedom to Fail Game design often encourages players to experiment without fear of causing irreversible damage by giving them multiple lives, or allowing them to start again at the most recent 'checkpoint'. Incorporating this 'freedom to fail' into classroom design is noted to be an effective dynamic in increasing student engagement [7,9,11,15]. If students are encouraged to take risks and experiment, the focus is taken away from final results and re-centered on the process of learning instead. The effectiveness of this change in focus is recognized in modern pedagogy as shown in the increased use of formative assessment. Like the game dynamic of having the 'freedom to fail', formative assessment focuses on the process of learning rather than the end result by using assessment to inform subsequent lessons and separating assessment from grades whenever possible . This can mean that the student is using ongoing self assessment, or that the teacher is using