Motivation is a process that controls human behavior. Forming motivation is a rather difficult task for adults, as it requires constant effort and the search for various ways. Elements of the game have long been integrated into traditional education as new ways to educate students more intensely.
In elementary grades, most lessons are conducted playfully, which helps children develop faster. The grading system not only allows you to track children’s progress but also is an intermediate result, a reward for diligence. And the honor boards warm up the competitive spirit among the excellent students. Everyone likes to play, regardless of age. But how can games improve education?
Gamification and game-based learning
It is a game with specific learning outcomes. It does not always mean a digital game. Developing learning games involves balancing the need to cover the subject with the desire to prioritize the game. Game-based learning is often equated with gamification, but in reality, this is not entirely correct.
Gamification is using game elements as a system of motivation for the learning process. Game-based learning is wholly based on the game’s specific goals, objectives, and results. Psychologists have recognized the importance of play in learning. Games allow children to transcend their immediate reality. It becomes more abstract. The child can “act as if,” giving familiar objects specific roles and skills, thus developing abstract thinking.
Motivation and enthusiasm for the process
The motivational function of learning via playing is the most frequently cited characteristic. Game-based learning motivates students to collect stars and other trophies. They have also fixed the ranking tables and several mechanical actions. The results of them are enthusiastic students.
Teachers might discover this topic to learn new tips for motivating students via entertainment. To get children interested in exploring this issue, teachers can ask students to write an essay on how they would like to see their education and leisure time. If there are difficulties with forming the correct template of the task or even an example essay, you can always find available resources on the Internet, such as Writix, and use the online help of professionals. There are also many resources available on the internet, such as research papers, samples, and books. Students also can look for a collection of entertainment articles that can be a helpful guide in education. So while reading, children can understand how games can help them to learn more and stay self-motivated.
Games and skills
21st-century skills include a wide range of skills, such as the ability to learn and think like an innovator and skills in information, media, and technology. However, schools have no single effective model for developing such vital skills. At the same time, research has shown that entertaining games can promote meaningful learning. It can happen by providing players with adaptive challenges, curiosity, and self-expression.
Cooperation
Massive online role-playing games for many users are top-rated. The brightness and appeal of games such as World of Warcraft is a call to work with others. The team should complete quests, attack enemy territory, and destroy leaders. In addition, some games involve online combat and competitions, which also might positively impact them. It requires all participants to work together to survive in the virtual world. The teacher can translate the game experience into creating teams in the classroom. She can do this through written reflections, discussions, and practical case studies.
Communications
Games that need collaboration also require communication. In the chat window and through oral communication through the headset, gamers constantly communicate with each other. This is because there is a clear goal for the job.
Why do students often show indifference to classroom communication? Because for them, the goals in the educational environment look unreliable. Games create a reality that attracts them. Chatting or creating other effective ways to communicate with the team can be used in the classroom. It can demonstrate problems and practice practical communication skills.
Critical thinking and problem solving
Well-designed games require players to solve a variety of complex problems. Some of these require specific knowledge, and some require general critical thinking. Consider two games. The well-known Angry Birds is gradually becoming more complex. Each level adds new variables and aspects to increase complexity using efficient gameplay. The brain must evaluate, analyze, plan, and apply new ideas more and more to pass these levels. The teacher can use reflection to demonstrate and document students’ observations.
Pocket Law Firm is a game that helps players learn about civil society. It requires clear critical thinking through the content obtained. Teachers can use the game to immerse themselves in the rights and responsibilities of citizens. Thanks to the successful planning of a law firm, evaluation of incoming cases, etc., players use critical thinking to get the highest score.
Games aren’t enemies of education
Studying while playing is a new model of learning. Games challenge players. In the game, their efforts are rewarded. They gradually go to the goal, overcoming obstacles, and when they reach it, they get pleasure.
This pleasure is associated with the release of dopamine. Dopamine release is also facilitated by the realization that a person has solved a problem, solved a puzzle, answered a difficult question correctly, or learned to repeat the sequence of movements needed to play a melody on a musical instrument. That is why students should use those learning tools to see their progress. Also, they allow the feeling of a successful situation, just as they see it when playing video games.
Conclusion
Entertainment is a technique for introducing game elements into complex or routine processes. It’s aimed at involving the participant and maintaining his motivation. This technique is used in many areas of human life, but it has become trendy in the last ten years in education.
All the familiar elements are introduced into the learning process. It makes the results of both traditional and distance learning higher. You need to accurately identify the goal of education and then use the elements of the game so that they help the student and not distract him. It doesn’t always work on the first try, but through mistakes, you can set up a system that will help students achieve better results faster.