Beyond Points and Badges: Innovative Ways to Gamify the Classroom

Think back to the energy in your classroom the last time you introduced a competitive game or a hands-on activity to students. The spark of curiosity, the teamwork, and the excitement in their eyes…What if every lesson could feel like that?

In our previous blog post, we covered the main principles of using gamification in the classroom: introducing challenges, points, levels, leaderboards, narratives or stories, and rewards and gifts. You can easily incorporate these gamification elements in some parts of your lesson, for example, in a quiz with rewards or implementing a challenge as a group activity. 

But what if you could go beyond these gamification elements and turn a lesson into a whole gamified learning experience? That’s where you can use “high-level” gamification which we are going to cover in this blog post. Stay tuned!

High-Level Gamification and How to Implement It

Think of “high-level” gamification like turning your classroom into an exciting adventure. Sure, it makes learning more fun, but it's really about getting students to dive deep into problem-solving, work together, and think outside the box. Here's how you can make this magic happen in your classroom:

1. Escape Rooms

What It Is: Students solve a series of puzzles or challenges to “escape” or complete a mission. For example, they're archaeologists trapped in an ancient tomb, or scientists racing to solve a mystery. Whatever you can come up with!

How to Use It:

• Start with Your Goals: Decide what knowledge or skills students should demonstrate. For example, in a science class, students might identify elements on the periodic table to unlock a code.
• Use a Variety of Puzzles: Incorporate tasks that require different skills, such as logic, analysis, and collaboration. Research shows that this diversity increases engagement and fosters deeper learning (Looyestyn et al., 2017).
• Create a Storyline: Hook students with an engaging narrative, such as “You’re archaeologists trapped in a tomb and must solve clues to escape.”
• Create a Setting: Design the “rooms”, include interesting details about the rooms’ setting, and connect them as a whole escaping challenge.
• Tip: When creating the storyline and setting, connect them to the subject you teach. For example, for a physics lesson, it could be a laboratory with experiments to complete. For a history lesson, a medieval castle, and so on. Unleash your creativity! 

2. Treasure Hunt Quests

What It Is: Students become explorers and go on an adventure, solving tasks or riddles to uncover “treasures,” such as answers to complex problems or deeper insights into a topic.

How to Use It:

• Design a Logical Flow: Each clue or task should build on the previous one. For example, in a geography treasure hunt, students might follow clues that guide them across a world map while learning about continents and capitals.
• Use Movement: Turn your classroom or school into a treasure map. Hide clues around the space to make the activity physical and dynamic. Physical movement enhances engagement and energises students, as Zainuddin et al. (2020) noted in gamification research.
• Collaborate in Teams: Encourage teamwork by grouping students and assigning roles, such as clue finder or task solver.

3. Simulation Games

What It Is: Instead of just reading about how things work, students get to be decision-makers. They might tackle the challenges of running a city during a hurricane or step into the shoes of world leaders trying to solve global issues. It's hands-on learning that shows them how the real world works!

How to Use It:

• Choose Relevant Scenarios: Align the simulation with your subject. For example, a history lesson might simulate a debate at the Constitutional Convention.
• Incorporate Decision-Making: Let students make choices and see the outcomes, teaching them to think critically and adapt. Huang et al. (2020) highlight the importance of decision-making in maintaining student motivation during gamified learning.
• Reflect on the Experience: After the simulation, guide a discussion about what students learned and how their decisions impacted the outcome. This step is crucial for connecting the activity to real-world skills.

4. Role-Playing Activities

What It Is: Think of it like stepping into someone else's shoes: students become explorers, scientists, or even historical figures! One day they might be Marie Curie discovering radium, the next they're a civil rights leader making tough decisions. It's a powerful way to understand different viewpoints and tackle challenges through someone else's eyes.

How to Use It:

• Prepare Detailed Roles: Assign students roles with specific goals. For example, in a debate about renewable energy, one student could be an environmentalist while another represents an energy company.
• Set Clear Objectives: Students should understand the outcome they’re working toward, such as resolving a conflict or presenting a persuasive argument.
• Encourage Creativity: Let students shape the narrative, improvise, and be creative within the structure of the lesson.

5. Gamified Assessments

What It Is: Instead of traditional tests that make students nervous, you can turn checking what students know into something fun. They might solve mysteries, crack codes, or complete missions - all while showing off what they've learned. 

How to Use It:

• Create Levels or Challenges: Break the assessment into a series of “levels” or challenges, each focusing on different skills or knowledge areas. For example, a history assessment might involve students solving puzzles to “restore” a disrupted timeline.
• Frame It as a Story: For example, in a history assessment, students might be “time travelers” solving puzzles to restore the timeline.
• Provide Immediate Feedback: Let students know how they’re progressing so they stay motivated and can learn from their mistakes in real time. Research shows that feedback during gamified assessments enhances both motivation and understanding (Huang et al., 2020).

High-Level Gamification on Redmenta 

Whether you’re turning a history lesson into a treasure hunt where students search for artefacts of Ancient Greek civilization or transforming assessments into interactive missions where students need to solve mathematical problems to save the world, these methods make learning an adventure. By integrating high-level gamification into your classroom, you will inspire your students to learn, collaborate, and grow in ways they will never forget. 

And you can achieve that on the Redmenta platform! First of all, if you want to create your own worksheet as an adventure, you can set up the “Gamigied Challenge” worksheet mode for it where students face challenges one page at a time with limited “lives”. For each incorrect answer, students lose one “life”. 

If you are looking for a ready-to-use solution, check out the collection of AI assistants in the “Gamified Learning” category in Redmenta’s AI Assitant Hub. There, you will find Assistants for high-level gamification such as “Escape Room Challenges”, “Treasure Hunt Quests”, and “Role Playing Adventures”. 

A special mention is worth the two engaging, incredibly designed Assistants, “HistoryQuest” and “ScienceQuest,” which transform teaching into an engaging escape room adventure. They are designed to adapt to different grade levels (from 5 to 12) and topics. It is definitely worth checking them out! 

Have fun teaching and using gamification! 

Sources

• Huang, B., Hew, K. F., & Lo, C. K. (2020). Gamified flipped-classroom approach and its effects on motivation and engagement: A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 30. 
• Looyestyn, J., Kernot, J., Boshoff, K., Ryan, J., Edney, S., & Maher, C. (2017). Does gamification increase engagement with online programs? A systematic review. PLoS ONE, 12(3). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0173403
• Zainuddin, Z., Chu, S. K. W., Shujahat, M., & Perera, C. J. (2020). The impact of gamification on learning and instruction: A systematic review of empirical evidence. Educational Research Review https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2020.100326