Learning Theories That Support Gamification
Before examining some examples of serious educational games and their instructional designs, we will survey some learning theories that support instruction and the gamification of learning. Each of the theories outlined below contribute elements to instructional design and the learner’s gaming experience.
Motivation
Playing games is highly motivating. This motivation can be divided into intrinsic and extrinsic, and both are seen in gaming to engage the learner. Gamification is motivating to students because it grabs their attention through elements of challenge, curiosity, and learner control. Students commit and invest when they take on an identity and become “active agents” whose actions and decisions impact the outcome of the game (Gee, 2005). Games also provide an appropriate level of challenge so that participants have confidence as they play and attain satisfaction as they successfully complete tasks. Ongoing engagement is related to a sense of accomplishment, as well as through the accumulation of points or game rewards.
Judy Willis (2011) and Gabe Zichermann (2010), advocates of gamification as a learning tool, focus their discussion around intrinsic motivation and its benefits for learning. They allude to “flow” or the dopamine effect, where players cycle through challenge, achievement, and pleasure in a loop, which is responsible for fostering ongoing engagement and motivation. James Paul Gee (2005), a cognitive scientist also claims that motivation for learning lies in challenges that feel challenging, but doable and in gaining continual feedback that lets learners know their progress.
Games like Lure of the Labryinth are engaging and motivating because they involve players in a fictional story line with customizable avatars, giving them control and identity within the game. Lure of the Labryinth further motivates its players through leveled challenges, immediate feedback, and the chance to earn tokens.
Cognitive Learning
Gaming stimulates the mental processes of thinking, memory, and problem solving. Kebritchi (2008) claims that games provide an interactive decision making context where situations are analyzed and possible actions or decisions are evaluated based on their effectiveness to the overall game outcome. Higher order thinking skills also come into play as students practice different problem solving techniques (Kapp, 2012). In a game, players must think strategically about positioning, consider opponents’ strengths and weaknesses, and purpose a plan of action. They must multi-task, respond quickly to game situations, and make decisions. Players exercise leadership as they manage resources and collaborate with others. According to Hutchins (2000), gains in cognition and understanding are made when a learner first interacts with game artifacts and other players to understand and make sense of the game, and then engages with the game system independently. It is the going back and forth in this cycle that promotes high cognitive functioning.
Games designed with cognition in mind introduce problems that increase in complexity and intensity as the game is played (Gee, 2005). In this way participants acquire skills in an earlier level that will be used or applied again at a later level. This ordering directly impacts cognitive functioning and ongoing participation in a game. If the problems at the beginning are too easy or too hard, the participant will not engage. Players must begin as novices, but given opportunities to test their understanding and skill proficiency with appropriate progressions that over time assist them in becoming experts.
The Radix Endeavor is a game developed to promote thinking and understanding of math and science concepts. Its design involves problem solving and decision making. The game is set up to have the player interact with artifacts within the game and other players online. Problem solving strategies are practiced and refined within this gaming context.
Constructivism
Gamification combines aspects of constructivism such as situated learning, social development, and cognitive apprenticeship. Effective game design involves authentic contexts where players work to solve situated problems (Squire, 2006). Participants are active constructors of meaning, sharing in experiences and social negotiation. They confront existing ideas or schemas, problem solve, perform tasks, give and receive feedback, and reflect on their participation and understandings.
SuperCharged! is a game that exemplifies these constructivist elements (Kebritchi, 2008; Squire, 2006). Players design and build their own game levels around the subject content of electromagnetism. Students learn new knowledge as they construct their own game level and are provided with scaffolding and feedback from the game itself. They are also given the opportunity to collaborate and share ideas with others online in a community of learning.
Learning Transfer
The ability for students to transfer knowledge and skills from one context to a new context is an integral component of learning and a goal in education as we prepare students to become lifelong learners. Gaming provides an environment where learning transfer can be practiced. Through the use of authentic or fantasy contexts, participants experiment with knowledge and skill acquisition (Kapp, 2012). As players continue in a game, they transfer their knowledge or skills to new contexts or levels of play. They self-monitor and determine which elements will help them solve a problem or attain the next level. Through game feedback, players can also refine their actions or understandings. When players engage in these metacognitive activities their ability to transfer is improved (Darling-Hammond & Austin, 2003).
The Louisiana State University Football team had a video game custom designed to help its quarterbacks practice reading different defensive formations (Kapp, 2012). The quarterbacks took the experiences and skills they acquired in the video gamed and applied them to the real game scenario. Similarly, Phylo, a game designed by McGill university, has its players engage in problem solving to identify sections of DNA that are similar across species. Through playing the game, they are contributing to actual genetic research.
In summary, Paul James Gee (2005, p.15) stated, “When we think of games, we think of fun. When we think of learning we think of work. Games show us this is wrong. They trigger deep learning that is itself part and parcel of the fun.”
Motivation
Playing games is highly motivating. This motivation can be divided into intrinsic and extrinsic, and both are seen in gaming to engage the learner. Gamification is motivating to students because it grabs their attention through elements of challenge, curiosity, and learner control. Students commit and invest when they take on an identity and become “active agents” whose actions and decisions impact the outcome of the game (Gee, 2005). Games also provide an appropriate level of challenge so that participants have confidence as they play and attain satisfaction as they successfully complete tasks. Ongoing engagement is related to a sense of accomplishment, as well as through the accumulation of points or game rewards.
Judy Willis (2011) and Gabe Zichermann (2010), advocates of gamification as a learning tool, focus their discussion around intrinsic motivation and its benefits for learning. They allude to “flow” or the dopamine effect, where players cycle through challenge, achievement, and pleasure in a loop, which is responsible for fostering ongoing engagement and motivation. James Paul Gee (2005), a cognitive scientist also claims that motivation for learning lies in challenges that feel challenging, but doable and in gaining continual feedback that lets learners know their progress.
Games like Lure of the Labryinth are engaging and motivating because they involve players in a fictional story line with customizable avatars, giving them control and identity within the game. Lure of the Labryinth further motivates its players through leveled challenges, immediate feedback, and the chance to earn tokens.
Cognitive Learning
Gaming stimulates the mental processes of thinking, memory, and problem solving. Kebritchi (2008) claims that games provide an interactive decision making context where situations are analyzed and possible actions or decisions are evaluated based on their effectiveness to the overall game outcome. Higher order thinking skills also come into play as students practice different problem solving techniques (Kapp, 2012). In a game, players must think strategically about positioning, consider opponents’ strengths and weaknesses, and purpose a plan of action. They must multi-task, respond quickly to game situations, and make decisions. Players exercise leadership as they manage resources and collaborate with others. According to Hutchins (2000), gains in cognition and understanding are made when a learner first interacts with game artifacts and other players to understand and make sense of the game, and then engages with the game system independently. It is the going back and forth in this cycle that promotes high cognitive functioning.
Games designed with cognition in mind introduce problems that increase in complexity and intensity as the game is played (Gee, 2005). In this way participants acquire skills in an earlier level that will be used or applied again at a later level. This ordering directly impacts cognitive functioning and ongoing participation in a game. If the problems at the beginning are too easy or too hard, the participant will not engage. Players must begin as novices, but given opportunities to test their understanding and skill proficiency with appropriate progressions that over time assist them in becoming experts.
The Radix Endeavor is a game developed to promote thinking and understanding of math and science concepts. Its design involves problem solving and decision making. The game is set up to have the player interact with artifacts within the game and other players online. Problem solving strategies are practiced and refined within this gaming context.
Constructivism
Gamification combines aspects of constructivism such as situated learning, social development, and cognitive apprenticeship. Effective game design involves authentic contexts where players work to solve situated problems (Squire, 2006). Participants are active constructors of meaning, sharing in experiences and social negotiation. They confront existing ideas or schemas, problem solve, perform tasks, give and receive feedback, and reflect on their participation and understandings.
SuperCharged! is a game that exemplifies these constructivist elements (Kebritchi, 2008; Squire, 2006). Players design and build their own game levels around the subject content of electromagnetism. Students learn new knowledge as they construct their own game level and are provided with scaffolding and feedback from the game itself. They are also given the opportunity to collaborate and share ideas with others online in a community of learning.
Learning Transfer
The ability for students to transfer knowledge and skills from one context to a new context is an integral component of learning and a goal in education as we prepare students to become lifelong learners. Gaming provides an environment where learning transfer can be practiced. Through the use of authentic or fantasy contexts, participants experiment with knowledge and skill acquisition (Kapp, 2012). As players continue in a game, they transfer their knowledge or skills to new contexts or levels of play. They self-monitor and determine which elements will help them solve a problem or attain the next level. Through game feedback, players can also refine their actions or understandings. When players engage in these metacognitive activities their ability to transfer is improved (Darling-Hammond & Austin, 2003).
The Louisiana State University Football team had a video game custom designed to help its quarterbacks practice reading different defensive formations (Kapp, 2012). The quarterbacks took the experiences and skills they acquired in the video gamed and applied them to the real game scenario. Similarly, Phylo, a game designed by McGill university, has its players engage in problem solving to identify sections of DNA that are similar across species. Through playing the game, they are contributing to actual genetic research.
In summary, Paul James Gee (2005, p.15) stated, “When we think of games, we think of fun. When we think of learning we think of work. Games show us this is wrong. They trigger deep learning that is itself part and parcel of the fun.”