We are living in an endless debate about the needs of a new generation and the methods and instruments that schools should provide in order to satisfy those needs. One method that can be easily used in the classroom is Game-Based Learning (GBL).
The results of using this teaching strategy have proven that incorporating games is highly effective because they can facilitate and encourage student motivation (obviously, and without a doubt, keeping students motivated is one of the main problems that teachers must confront in the classroom).
But what is GBL? According to EdTechReview, “Game-Based Learning is designed to balance subject matter with gameplay and the ability of the player to retain and apply said subject matter to the real world.”
To summarise, GBL is an effective method for making students work toward a goal, allowing them to learn through experimentation, practicing behaviours and thought processes that can be easily transferred from a simulated environment to real life.
It could be said that GBL is basically a game and games are one of the earliest ways people engage in learning; babies and kids play games to discover the world and to learn.
So why, when we reach a certain age, do we stop playing? Why do we find so few examples of games in secondary school and higher education? And, why do most of us stop playing games when we grow up and find a job in a company?
Basically, GBL is a strategy that uses the idea of a playing game to reach specific learning objectives, whether they belong to knowledge, skills, or attitudes.
GBL is often confused with gamification, a term that is often heard in school environments. EdTechReview defines gamification as “the application of game elements and digital game design techniques to non-game problems, such as business (growing in education technology) and social impact challenges.”
So-called “game elements” can be points, achievements, badges, and leaderboards. Basically, they are used as extrinsic motivational tools in traditional classroom activities.
The line between GBL and gamification is sometimes very thin; the elements of gamification are normally present in a GBL activity, not vice versa.
GBL usually includes a game-like environment and practice of the learning content through activities like theatre and role play.
In GBL, the learning process comes as a result of playing the game. Gamification, instead, is about inserting some elements of a game into traditional activities.
Although Quizzes can be considered an example of gamification, tools like web apps for creating quizzes, such as Kahoot or Quizizz, are not considered GBL. They are just quizzes, a stack of questions, a story, or an environment without characters or rules.
In order to understand GBL better, its different types can be examined along with taking the following into consideration: the place where the game happens, and the environment in which the students play.
The three types of GBL are:
4.3.1. Board games
Monopoly can be considered an educational game. It has all the necessary elements: a story, characters, points, competition, and many other aspects. There are many examples of Monopoly-like games for schools with modified rules for different subjects, like History Monopoly or Math Monopoly.
4.3.2. Real life games
The environment here is the real world. This is probably the most motivating, but also the most stressful type of game. In this kind, students must move, act, use their body and their minds in order to play. This is the most immersive type and it provokes students in almost every aspect of their learning.
4.3.3. Digital games
The environment here is online. Digital games can be compared to board games. In fact, a lot of digital programs for GBL use online boards that a teacher can edit or add educational content according to the topic that will be played. Also, in this type of game, students can be involved in the construction of the game, especially if the teacher is not able to manage online tools without their help. Students have a character (but not necessarily an account) that moves through the game where they face challenges that are placed along the games’ path. A digital game does not involve skills that are connected to the use of the body and the real space, but it can train students to collaborate in a different and virtual way.
