Gameful learning is a take on instructional design that incorporates many of the best motivators of games and play. It applies the powerful psychological factors of play to influence student motivation, provides choice in how to accomplish learning goals, and changes the fundamental way students are assessed. These changes don’t make easy play out of scholarly work; rather, they give students a new focus while accomplishing that work.
A gameful course is often fundamentally different in its grading structure. Traditional courses tend to start with an assumed ‘A’ that can dip or dive depending on a student’s success from week to week. With grade maintenance their primary goal, students are less likely to take a chance and risk a short-term failure. But risk-taking is often necessary in learning. Gameful courses, on the other hand, start students at zero and they work up from there, making every gradable object a move in the right direction. This approach allows students the room to take chances along the way and to extend themselves, as they are given multiple chances to prove their competence rather than relying on sustaining a fluctuating grade as their goal.
Gameful learning often creates a greater sense of ownership for students as they make choices and take chances on their path through the course. Instructors curate selections for students, who may, for example, choose several small formative quizzes to master concepts, or opt for a harder challenge quiz to skip smaller units and move ahead. These choices can allow students to move forward until they reach material that requires more effort, keeping them engaged and, in many cases, highly motivated.
The biggest reward for students, in the long run, is a greater sense of purpose in their course work. Recasting the focus from busywork and fluctuating grades throughout the semester, gameful learning applies another layer of purpose by encouraging students to reach the next level of achievement, constantly moving toward an ultimate goal of demonstrated competence.
Further reading can be done by visiting the University of Michigan’s Gameful Pedagogy site.