STLHE 2016 SAPES

Increasing student engagement and motivating learners is a constant quest of teachers at all levels. Come play along and follow what two university instructors in two disciplines have done with gamification in introductory and advanced undergraduate courses. “Gamification is the use of game design elements and game mechanics in non-game contexts in order to engage people and solve problems” (Su & Cheng, 2015). Gamification in face-to-face classes is one way to reach the goal of increasing student engagement (Seaborn & Fels, 2015) in order to help students retain information and find pleasure in learning new material.




The use of games in classrooms can be an effective strategy in assisting students to internalize, understand, and remember classroom material, however many instructors are uncertain how to use them (Connolly et al., 2012). Games are relatable to students and applicable to the classroom environment. Critical thinking problem solving, resiliency in overcoming a trying task, establishing goals, objectives, and trial and error are all applicable to game-based learning and “students could be motivated to learn in new ways or enjoy otherwise tedious tasks” (Hanus & Fox, 2015). Gaming is not solely about entertainment; rather it endorses engagement through participation in course content through diverse means. Games are a tool to foster student motivation and engagement by using game elements in non-game contexts (Dominguez et al., 2013).




Participants will engage with presenters in order to: identify research using game based strategies as a learning and teaching strategy; explore how the use of game based strategies enhance student engagement at introductory and advanced educational levels; examine ideas and best practices for using game based strategies to transform classroom teaching and learning; and discuss the effectiveness of game based strategies in higher education settings.