Gamification to Engage Students in Literacy

Gamification to Engage Students in LiteracyPatrice Becicka, Ben Wilcox, Michael YoungCollege Community School District

“If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.”- Ignacio Estrada

Gamification:Applying game design thinking to non-game applications to make them more fun and engaging. It can potentially be applied to any industry and almost anything to create fun and engaging experiences, converting users into players.

Components• Progression

– Building Levels• Investment

– Achievements– Collaboration– Mastery Learning

• Streaming Discovery– Navigating Learning– Uncovering Pockets of Knowledge– Countdown and Loss Aversion– Synthesis and Skill Set

Connections• Immediate Feedback & Reinforcers• Progress Tracking & Mastery

 (Badges, Leaderboards, Competition)

• Increasing Difficulty (Leveling System)

• Low Risk of Failure (Unlimited Retakes)

• Storyline / Narrative  • Student Choice

The Kickstart• Problems of Practice

– Common Core– Meeting Diverse Needs– Student Engagement

• Gamification as a Solution– Synthesis of Multiple Knowledge and Skills

through Mastery Learning Addresses Demands of Common Core

– High Levels of Flexibility and Feedback Meet Diverse Students Where They Are and Move Them Forward

– Active Learning: Those Doing the Work are the Ones Doing the Learning

How Can That Work?• Traditional Classrooms• Collaborative Classrooms• Self-Contained Classrooms• Period Schedules• Block Schedules

Solution: Humanize It!

Humanize the Classroom

Our Path• First Gamification: December,

2012• Gamification Title: Hunting and

Gathering• Platform: Google Site• Game Overview: Students

completed tasks at various levels. Once students completed literacy task, they moved onto the next level.

• Successes: Using Technology to Deliver Instruction (Flipped Learning)

• Lessons: Wow! Putting Work on Students is Hard!

Our Path• Eight Gamified Units of

Instruction• Lessons Learned:

– Use a Narrative– Incorporate Multiple Opportunities for

Feedback• Student Self and Peer Assessment• Teacher Feedback

– Flexibility is Key• Responsive Teaching• Teacher as Coach

– Pacing is a Challenge– Less is More– Video Lessons Help (Personalized with

Familiar Faces, When Possible)

QUEEN’S RANSOM: THE PROCESS

Score Pre-Assessment Based on Assessment Scoring Guide and Rubric Look for Patterns; Recognize NeedsDetermine Next Instructional Steps to Address Instructional Needs

What Needs Taught/Re-TaughtHow It Should Be Taught/Re-TaughtContinued Assessment to Determine Success of Instruction and InterventionReflection on Student Growth and Instructional Impact

QUEEN’S RANSOMWWW.TINYURL.COM/QRGAME

Queen’s Ransom is a writing unit created as an intervention for students that has become our most

successful game to date.

Instructional Focus: Expository and Argumentative Writing

Premise of the Game: The player is in the kingdom of Scripton and the Queen has been

kidnapped. The player is tasked to complete writing challenges as a way to earn gold coins to pay for the

queen’s safe return.

GAMIFICATION PATH

Hunters and GatherersFarming and CivilizationInstitutions DevelopSummer ReadingEmpires EmergeWorld of 1491ExplorationQueen’s RansomThe Colony

Questions