NCTIES2022

Summary of Presentation - This session will discuss a free gamification professional development for teachers created by faculty at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. The open discussion format of the session will lend itself to sharing the tips and strategies learned from the implementation of the free curriculum. Participants will be provided with links to the free curriculum to use in their schools. Gamification can make a significant impact in education and beyond. However, teachers need to be trained on how to use these technologies and new approaches effectively in their classroom before implementation. Additionally, the level of customization that gamification provides for learners can allow for a more personalized learning and even a culturally-situated learning design. The impact of this online gamification PD can inform practitioners and researchers who plan to implement these strategies in their own classroom or conduct similar studies.

Content of the Presentation - Digital games have been used for educational purposes for almost forty years now (Egenfeldt-Nielsen, 2007; Games & Squire, 2011). Still, most teachers have little or limited experience with digital games (Bourgonjon et al., 2013), especially when it comes to integrating these technologies into the classroom. Additionally, when teachers indicate they play video games, it is usually a small number playing on a regular basis (Kenny and McDaniel, 2011; Becker and Jacobsen, 2005), which can contribute to this limited use of digital games in the classroom.


A new approach to the application of games in education has been gamification. Although there are many definitions available for gamification, a common understanding of this concept involves the application of game elements (e.g., reward system, game narrative, rule-based, etc.) into non-game contexts (Detering 2011), such as educational settings. Even though there have been some concerns and issues with the implementation of gamification in education (Hanus & Fox, 2015), when used properly, gamification can involve, inform and educate the learner (Kapp, 2012).


Thus, a free online professional development (PD) on gamification for K-12 teachers has been developed. This PD includes online modules covering: What is Gamification, Gamification and Classroom Management, Gamification and Content Delivery, and Gamification and Assessment. Each of the modules demonstrate how teachers can use gamification tools and techniques to enhance their instruction. Participants in this presentation will have a chance to go through the modules and interact with the pedagogical agent who guides through each level and task involved in the PD. Participants will be able to share ways that they have been able to integrate gamification techniques into their own teaching and learning. It is hoped that this will create a discussion of tips, strategies, and sites for gamification.

In addition to videos, graphics, animations and audio, the modules include gamified activities such as (a) Crossword puzzle in which learners have to find the terms used in gamification, (b) Watch Your Step in which learners have the pedagogical agent jump on the rocks that describe the types of gamification, or (c) The Lily Pads in which learners choose the correct lily pads that describe the importance of gamification. These examples will be provided to the participants in order to generate conversations.

The presenters will also provide tips and strategies learned from the implementation and evaluation of the PD. These tips and strategies can be presented in a game-based format in which participants will move their pawn/token through a track path (similar to game boards such as candyland or game of life) to reach to the end of their gamified journey.