Examples of How I Applied Gamification and Game-Based Learning into My Classroom
Many of the ways I included gamification and game-based learning in my classroom involve a mix of online games, in-class activities, and classroom culture. I will be listing the different resources I used in the "Resource" section of this website. Below is ways in which I used these resources and how I incorporated other gamifying aspects.
Online Activities
One of the foundational aspects to my game-based teaching approach was the inclusion of online labs, games, and simulations. I wanted students to get a chance to experience different situations and practice and apply their understanding to complex problems. Many of these involved the students having to practice what they had learned in class to solve a problem. Quite a few of them also involved concepts that would be otherwise difficult to demonstrate in a lab including the progress of evolution, coral reef bleaching, and the growth and photosynthesis of a plant. Below are a few examples but more are talked about in the "Resources section".
PhET Simulations
These simulations act as online labs for different STEM subjects. I used these to allow the students to understand and practice complex concepts that they couldn't easily see with their eyes. Two examples of the simulations I used are a lab that showed students how atoms combine to make molecules and another that showed how energy is transferred and transformed through a pendulum. Both of these labs, like all of the PhET simulations, are set up like open exploration games. Students can go in and play around with the simulations at their own place, lead by inquiry. A student would wonder if it is possible to lose any energy so then would increase the friction in the simulation and see that the thermal energy spiked while the total energy didn't. The student could then conclude that energy cannot be lost.
Another student could look at the atoms and wonder what makes some atoms share their electrons while others just donate them. As they explore they can start to see the pattern of metals versus non-metals and gain an understanding of ionic and covalent bonds. Again, this is entirely self lead and promotes exploration.
I gave the students a worksheet with each of these but the worksheet was designed to introduce them to the mechanics and not to a concept. That would be up to them to work through. However, to ensure that everyone got what I wanted them to out of it, we always had a group discussion after every simulation and talked about what we found.
Gizmo
Gizmo is in the same realm as PhET simulations. There are open labs for the students to explore but with a little more structure. Many of these labs had guiding questions or patterns for the students to find. The ones I utilized the most were the STEM Cases in which students were given a complex situation and asked to solve the problem through a series of experiments and inquires. These all drew on their previous knowledge and allowed them to apply the concepts. These were greatly probably the most successful games I had the students play! The formative and summative assessments that I used afterwards demonstrated a much higher understanding of the idea after they were done. More on this is the "Resources" section, including a walkthrough video on the program.
Nova Lab
There was one simulation in particular that I used from this website. The evolution lab involved students using phylogentic trees in order to solve problems around medicine, traits, health, and how humans came to live where we do now. The simulation did an excellent job of scaffolding itself so I just gave them questions to answer as the solved each problem. The game itself was entertaining and many of them walked away from it with even more questions that they wanted to find the answers to afterwards. I'm confident that this game encouraged the start to life-long learning in many of them.
Classroom Activities
Review Games
I used the program Kahoot as well as made a few Jeopardy games to bring some fun into review for the students. We played these all as a class and made it a big competition. With these, I emphasized playful competition between students. I didn't want students to feel bad about not being able to answer specific questions or not being "the best". I made sure everyone participated, joked around with everyone, and made it a relaxed and enjoyable experience. This allowed students to get an understanding of what they were missing as well as reassured them of what they already know. Many students afterwards commented on how much this helped them and their summative assessments reaffirmed this as well.
Puzzles (organelles, chemical names)
This games involved students working together to solve a puzzle, usually in the form of a paper matching game or real-life problem solving. One example of this was when I had students get into groups of 4 and match the organelle of a cell to its description as well as a really fun and "puny" way of remembering the name. I had a lot of students debating about the ideas and picking out key words. It was clear that a few of them hadn't studied yet but I could see that instead of trying to remember, they were instead problem-solving through the definitions. They would use the puny definition and use that to deduce the answer. This was a showing of excellent scientific and critical thinking. Afterwards, they performed very well on their summative quiz when prior to the game, they were all feeling quite apprehensive about the quiz.
Classroom Projects
I had one of my classes participate in a month long, class wide game that involved solving a murder case. The purpose was to allow them to apply their knowledge of the body to solve a mystery. After we learned a major concept, we would come back together (often with a new piece of the puzzle such as the blood panel) and try to piece together what happened. Since the students had to have a relatively deep understanding of the idea we were studying to solve the problem, I found that my formative and summative assessments consistently showed improvement in their knowledge after each case update.
Interactive Activities
This category includes all of the "get up and move" activities I had the students participate in. One of my favourite examples was when I had my class head outside to participate in a food web game. I had them explore the food web, what happens when keystone species get wiped out, and what humans can do to influence this factor. Afterwards, the richness of our discussion demonstrated to me the the depth of the knowledge they took from this activity. Since they directly experienced what it was like to be a part of a collapsing food web, they understood the delicate nature of it and were able to answer complex questions on the subject afterwards.
