Classroom as Gamespace

A gamespace is a uniquely coded and constructed place where players are expected to act before being any good at what they’re doing; they’re spaces inherently founded on the notion of risk taking. The process of building a classroom that functions as a gamespace should start with the teacher being committed to democratic learning processes that place the student at the center of his or her learning and development. Likewise, it casts the teacher as the constructor or designer of the gamespace in which learning takes place In this case, the teacher is not a lecturer or even a facilitator but a cocreator with students in the work before them. This requires flexibility, an understanding of each individual student’s needs, and a capacity to help students shape their experience so they are always in a state of appropriate challenge. The way to do this is to construct a playful classroom that has the notion of flow as its beating heart.

The most important quality of the gamified classroom is its focus on seeing students as playful, self-directed learners. When you direct your energy toward creating a stimulating, gamified classroom environment where students are in charge of their learning, you are following the examples of constructivist classrooms—the sorts of classrooms described by theorists John Dewey, Maria Montessori, Lev Vygotsky, and Loris Malaguzzi. I discern five core principles that span the gap among these theorists and inform the gamified classroom.

First, these theorists and their methods all situate control of learning primarily in the hands of the students themselves. The teacher retains a critical role in the development of the learner but is generally considered a facilitator or colearner. It becomes the teacher’s purpose to individualize instruction and actively engage with the learner as he or she moves through a discovery process. Dignan (2011) suggests this is not so much “learning” as “grokking,” which he describes as a deep understanding. He also describes the self-directed learners who have developed in the Montessori strategy as having greater purpose, a locus of internal control, and more rapid development.

Second, these classrooms presuppose that students get to choose many or most of the activities that form the basis of their learning. Aided by a skilled facilitator, students make choices from within a learning structure intentionally designed to stimulate productive thought, independence, and sustained engagement. Any game worth its nuts and bolts is designed in exactly the same way.

Third, both constructivist and gamified classrooms are social by nature. In fact, the social dimension is the critical component of the Reggio Emilia approach, which holds that it is not only one’s relationship with other learners that is critical to learning but also one’s relationship to the material world. The environment is thought to play an equally important role as the teacher.

Fourth, these classrooms are generally structured around long-term projects. The learner, fully in control of his or her own learning, is given an appropriate amount of time to explore, play, experiment, reject ideas, struggle, succeed, fail, and finally demonstrate mastery of learning.

Fifth, learning is assessed according to principles that resonate with gamers. Feedback is given regularly and at the time when it has the most critical effect, rather than being delayed until a teacher has had time to grade an exam, for example. Students who do not accomplish a particular goal don’t get an F and then move on, but rather they have the opportunity to figure out what specifically didn’t go well and take corrective action. It is this iteration that is central to gamified classrooms and constructivist classrooms.

When done effectively, these five principles—combined with classroom design and individualized learning experiences—contribute to the final notion of the gamified classroom: flow.