First Person: How I gamified my classroom

Abstract

Former elementary school teacher Kasandra Singh shares how she used gamification to encourage her 5th-grade students to drive their own learning. Students were initially divided into groups based on their demonstrated ability to get their work done. Those in Level 1 were given direct instruction, those in Level 2 worked together to complete lessons with some teacher guidance, and students at Level 3 worked through assignments with limited teacher guidance when requested. Students and teacher worked together to determine when and how students could level up. As students showed mastery of lesson material, they received “badges” showing their accomplishments. And students motivated each other by awarding “awesomeness points” to deserving classmates. The system enabled students to learn to monitor and direct their own learning.