Lucky for me, incorporating gaming into my class comes naturally. In PE, the game is usually the curriculum itself. Every day in my class, students are “playing” something while learning/honing new skills and concepts. I believe I’ve implemented both game-based learning and gamification with my classes in the past. With game-based learning, the content is the game itself. When I have my students play capture the flag (after a brief explanation of basic rules and objectives), the onus is on them to figure out the best strategy. In this example, the strategy is the content and the students are learning the content through gameplay. Edutopia’s article “3 Ways to Use Game-Based Learning” explains “When using games, try to avoid intervening when students are figuring something out” (1). Over the years, I’ve gotten better at keeping my distance and observing my students’ brains work together to figure something out. A less experienced me would jump in and help immediately if I saw a concept wasn’t being perfectly understood at first. But I now see the great value in allowing students to figure out the best strategy to go about achieving their objective. Gamification, as opposed to game-based learning, is when game elements are introduced to support the content being learned and to help motivate students. The best example I can think of for gamification with my classes is with the team building unit I’ve been teaching for the past four years. Throughout our team building unit, students are put into teams of 6-8 and are shown a wide variety of collaborative games in which they must work together to achieve a particular goal. The games are all explained and/or modeled through direct instruction, demonstrations and cue cards. Therefore, the content is taught directly to students before the game begins, not through gameplay. The gamification aspect is enhanced with “cash” being earned through successfully completing a team building objective. Over the course of two weeks, teams go through each team building “station” and are potentially awarded a certain amount of "money" based on how successful they were in achieving their objective. At the end of the day, every teams’ “banker” deposits their cash, and totals are tallied up on a big scoreboard. I’ve incorporated scoreboards and even tournament brackets into some other units we do, however it’s important to always keep the balance between competition and sportsmanship. Sometimes introducing a scoreboard when unnecessary in PE will only lead to overly-competitive teenagers and hurt feelings. It’s important to know when to gamify and when not to.
3 Comments
Scott Marsden
7/14/2020 03:41:10 pm
Dustin,
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Kathy Flynn
7/16/2020 02:18:49 pm
Dustin, Games - PE...perfect marriage! It sounds like yours is the PE class I wish I had. Lining up to play badminton in the gym and getting only 4 "whacks" before having to stop and get back in line, was a bit of a drag. I like your idea of earning money and having a banker - that puts it at a whole new level!
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7/16/2020 07:34:52 pm
Your P.E. class sounds so fun! I like your clear explanation of gamification vs. game based learning. Gamification really does get kids more engaged. I've tried to implement a points board for student improvement in multiple areas and would need at least another year in the classroom to really fine tune it. Your point on competition is really important. I remember being both motivated and crippled by competition in school and as a teacher have since been fascinated by the fine line you have to have to balance when using it.
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About Dustin Green:High School PE Teacher Archives
March 2021
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