Learn about the 5G Gameshow-Based Learning Framework to transform higher ed courses into a semester-long gameshow to enhance engagement and competition-driven learning experiences. Preview how the “Iron Chef” game show was used as an anchor to convert an existing classroom-based course to a competition-based curriculum with game play, mechanics, rewards, and challenges.
Gamification is the use of game elements and game design techniques in non-game contexts to improve engagement (Deterding, Dixon, Khaled, & Nacke, 2011). In the teaching-learning context, gamification means adding a game layer to the entire course to integrate gameplay and learning, rather than developing a separate game. Using game elements can help promote active learning and engagement in the classroom. The game layer in focus in this workshop is to use a “gameshow” as a format or anchor on which the gameplay and game elements of the course align to.
Game Show Competitions
Gameshow competitions are very much fitting as an instructional design approach for skills-based, technical courses. The use of competitions has been explored in the recent literature in secondary and higher education such as Mathematics (Gürbüz, Erdem, & Uluat, 2014), Engineering (Ebner & Holzinger, 2007), Data Structures (Lawrence, 2004), Artificial Intelligence / Programming (Ribeiro, Ferreira, & Simões, 2009; Wallace & Margolis, 2007), and Operating Systems (Hill, Ray, Blair, & Carver Jr, 2003). Essentially, the game show format takes over the semester of lessons and testing; the teacher becomes the game host, and students become players with tasks and rewards. The game show is run over a semester where students are “playing to learn” through accomplishing tasks, earning rewards, engaging in competition. Alternative game show formats such as Jeopardy and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire have been used to recall factual information (Kiili, 2005) but these formats are less likely to suit the development of technical skills. More so, these formats are often short-lived, occurring as one-time, fragmented game events during a course. The framework suggested in this session purposefully intends for the development of learner skills over an entire semester, spanning ten to fifteen weeks.
Instructional Design Core: The Game Play
The gameplay is the core of the instructional design and its significance should not be underestimated (Kiili, 2005). Gameplay creates a linked series of challenges, levels, and the actions the students as players need to complete (Rollings & Adams, 2003). The gameplay also includes identifying reward systems and feedback loops. Integrating gameplay with reward systems requires that the teacher finding the right balance so that the primary factor in the success of the player is their skill level (Kiili, 2005) over the possibility of winning by random chance. Gamification as an instructional strategy can pitfall to “pointsification” or the collection of achievement points, while it should be targeted towards improving the skills and performance of students. Thus, rewards, badges, and feedback loops need to be timely, not only to keep the game fun and engaging, but are also necessary to support low-performing players to catch up and continue playing the game. Badges need to merit student participation and effort, as well as student achievement to maintain balance. Game challenges should be balanced so that the game's difficulty is scaffolded from simple-complex. There should be a conscious effort on the teacher to strike an easy-hard balance to ensure the player can manage their time to self-study, practice, prepare for game challenges outside of class, and come in class to “play well” and “win”.
Teachers as Game Designers
To gamify the classroom, teachers need to think in the frame of a game designer to define a game layer (the game format), game elements (what the player sees), and a game play (what the designer sees). Game elements include points, badges, leaderboards, and levels for the players (i.e. the students). But the game play is much more complex, requiring the teacher to define the game’s learning goals, a game format, game challenges, reward systems, feedback loops, the experience of fun, and the game balance. Teachers must not only embrace the idea that learning can occur in games, but must also give up a measure of control, trusting that students can make their way through games with minimal instruction (Osterweil & Klopfer, 2011). The Gameshow-Based Learning framework can help transform higher ed courses into a semester-long game-show to enhance engagement and competition-driven learning experiences.
The Gameshow-Based Learning Framework
Task G1: Identifying the game layer - requires selecting a gameshow format as the anchor for the course (e.g., Iron Chef) and checking alignment to course objectives.
Task G2: Laying out the game elements - comprises the tangible, visible, and emotional elements of the gameshow such as rewards/feedback loops (points, badges, leaderboards, awards, prizes), levels of play, time constraints, opportunities of conflict, surprise, chance, and student support structures.
Task G3: Mapping the game play - requires mapping a schedule of the gameshow, similar to planning out “each episode” or each “game day.” Here the designer considers planning for an orientation, practice days, actual game days, finale challenges, or awarding days. At this time, the designers try to maintain the balance of learning and fun within the time constraints of the university structure.
Task G4: Defining the game mechanics - requires writing the rules of play, including the course expectations and policies, how points get converted to grades, judging mechanics, rules of conduct and cooperation, and technology requirements.
Task G5: Envisioning game marketing considers how the gameshow will be advertised including having a color scheme, logos, branding, and publicity.