Gamifying in Ed

To those of you celebrating a holiday this week, I hope that you enjoyed a relaxing time. Through the past several years, many faculty have asked about gamifying education, so today I would like to share a pertinent article entitled, “How to Avoid Negative Effects when Gamifying in Education: Panoramic Review and Heuristic Approach towards an Instructional Model” by Prieto-Andreu (2024).

In the evolving landscape of educational technology, gamification emerges as a promising yet complex approach to enhancing learning experiences. Researchers have discovered that while game-like elements can motivate students, they also carry significant risks that educators must carefully navigate. Key negative effects found include:

1. Novelty Effect (Positive effects can be temporary; Game mechanics may lose appeal quickly; Poorly designed gamification can negatively impact learning and motivation)

2. Competitive vs. Collaborative Environments (Can foster unhealthy competition; May create frustration; Risk of undermining collaborative learning)

3. Duration and Resource (Requires significant effort and resources; Short experiences may not effectively utilize game elements; Time and budget constraints are problematic)

4. Overjustification and Dependency (Become more focused on rewards than learning; Intrinsic motivation can decrease with explicit incentives; Risk of addiction to game)

5. Motivation and Engagement Issues (Performance loss reported in multiple studies; Potential for undesired behaviors; Diminishing motivation over time)

To address these issues, the researchers propose a comprehensive instructional model. This approach emphasizes carefully selecting educational objectives, designing meaningful activities, creating transparent reward systems, and continuously evaluating the gamification's effectiveness. The goal is to create a learning environment that uses game elements to genuinely enhance education rather than distract from it.

To capitalize on the potential strengths and minimize weakness of gamifying education, an instructor might want to use the information in this article to:

1. Be aware of pitfalls in game design to avoid common mistakes that undermine learning;

2. Enhance engagement by creating more motivating learning experiences and design reward systems that genuinely support learning;

3. Use the proposed instructional model as a framework to further refine teaching methods;

4. Select appropriate content for gamification and develop targeted engagement strategies;

5. Identify intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation dynamics to create more psychologically supportive learning environments; and 

6. Use appropriate models to best align tech tools with pedagogical goals.

The author concluded that gamification can be effective when carefully planned which requires thoughtful integration of game design elements. As with all course re/design we must be aware of the alignment between learning outcomes, assessment, tech, methods and student needs.

References

Prieto-Andreu, J. M. (2024). How to Avoid Negative Effects when Gamifying in Education: Panoramic Review and Heuristic Approach towards an Instructional Model. Multidisciplinary Journal of Educational Research, 14(2), 244–266. https://doi.org/10.17583/remie.11765