Did you know that gamification can increase the motivation to learn by as much as 83%? That is why learning professionals are increasingly using gamification techniques to create learning experiences that are more engaging, competitive, and fun.
A prime example of this is Minecraft: Education Edition. Used extensively in educational institutions worldwide, this versatile platform transforms traditional learning into an immersive and interactive experience that allows learners to build, explore, and problem-solve within a virtual environment.
Minecraft demonstrates the powerful impact gamification has in learning by allowing learners to engage in simulations and activities that would be too costly or dangerous to replicate in real life. While Minecraft may not align with professional environments, the gamification techniques it showcases can be adapted to meet organizational training needs.
The Value of Gamification
Gamification is the process of integrating gaming mechanics into traditional learning experiences. A gamified experience is not precisely the same as a full game but will use many of the same techniques, such as scoring, storytelling, and leveling up to make the experience more memorable.
The use of gamification can greatly enhance learning outcomes. A study comparing game-based eLearning with traditional methods found that learners in the game-based group scored significantly higher on cognitive knowledge tests. Gamification has also been shown to improve knowledge retention.
Gamification taps into learners’ intrinsic motivations by making learning enjoyable, competitive, and rewarding.
The 5 Most Effective Gamification Techniques for Engaging Learners
Gamification offers a diverse range of techniques, ranging from straightforward strategies to more complex methods. The secret to success lies in recognizing their unique strengths and understanding how to deploy each for maximum impact. We explore five of the most effective gamification techniques and take an in-depth look at when and where they offer the best results.
Gamification Technique #1: Badges and Collectibles
Badges are a widely used reward mechanism in gamified learning, which rewards learners items for completing a section, attaining a level, or mastering a skill. These ongoing goals can give learners something to strive for even after completing the main objectives of the eLearning experience.
When Badges and Collectibles Should Be Used
Implementing badges and collectibles in eLearning is perfect when the goal is to increase motivation and engagement, as these elements provide immediate recognition and a sense of accomplishment. For instance, if employees need the knowledge to handle clients from all over the world, creating a gamified experience that incorporates badges will encourage them to complete the training and achieve high scores.
The Benefits of Badges and Collectibles
Motivate and empower learners: Badges help motivate the audience to participate in learning by offering a tangible reward. These virtual tokens tap into our natural desire to accomplish things and be celebrated for those accomplishments.
Tapping into collecting instinct: When using badges or other rewards, some learners are driven by the goal of reaching 100% completion. The desire to collect all items or earn every badge encourages learners to revisit learning and engage with different aspects of the learning.
Gamification Technique #2: Scoring and Leaderboards
Scoring involves adding the ability to earn points for answering questions or performing actions correctly. This allows learners to measure their progress, evaluate their performance, and improve their score by revisiting sections of the learning.
When Scoring and Leaderboards Should Be Used
Scoring is great for motivating learners to revisit and re-engage with eLearning content. This technique can be used when teaching specific skills that require additional practice, such as time management, problem-solving, and customer service skills. This can also be quite useful in teaching multi-step mechanical or business processes and can be used as a benchmark for success.
For this technique to be effective, the scores awarded must be fair and meaningful, resonating with learners’ experiences to keep them motivated and engaged. Instead of having one overall score, it is often helpful to provide scores for individual performance areas and show how they combine to produce the overall score. This approach gives learners comprehensive insights into their performance, allowing them to identify specific areas for improvement and adapt their strategies accordingly.
The Benefits of Scoring and Leaderboards
Enhances engagement: Scoring systems provide learners with instant gratification and immediate feedback on their actions, motivating them to continue learning. By seeing their scores improve over time, and/or collecting rewards as they progress through the content, learners are more likely to remain engaged, as they can visibly track their progress and skill development.
Drives competition: Rewards for reaching certain scores or milestones keep learners in a positive feedback loop, encouraging them to continue learning and seek further rewards. Leaderboards and high scores tap into learners’ competitive instincts, driving them to engage more deeply with the content as they aim to outperform their peers.
Unlocking new content: Scores and rewards can be tied to unlocking new features, levels, characters, or skills, giving learners a reason to return to the content and continue engaging. Using a reward mechanism like that can provide structure, helping learners understand their progress and what they need to do to improve; this makes the experience deeper and more rewarding.
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Gamification Technique #3: Storytelling
Storytelling works by immersing learners in a fictional environment where they can actively engage with the content being taught. Stories can have incredible influence on learners, because they communicate information in the exact way that we as humans think, process information, and influence each other. They can hook us in, connect with us emotionally, inspire us, and help us to remember important concepts.
When Storytelling Techniques Should Be Used
Learning scenarios are a common storytelling technique that are ideal for exploring the gray areas of the decision-making process. These scenarios use realistic, yet fictional situations to create dilemmas related to an employee’s specific role. For example, we created a video-led learning experience for annual compliance training to help raise awareness of emerging and significant cyber risks and reduce cyber incidents by equipping employees with the knowledge and skills they need to prevent, detect, and report attacks. The drama-based scenarios excited and motivated learners to continue to engage with the training and uncover cyber security risks.
The Benefits of Storytelling
Engaging emotions: Stories stimulate an emotional response which helps learners relate to what is being taught. Not only does this drive deeper engagement, but it also helps learners to better retain what they have learned.
Drive curiosity: In a narrative, the way information is presented to the audience is meticulously paced to maximize their engagement and make them curious about what will happen next.
Link theory to practice: Learning scenarios can create a link between what is being taught and learners’ everyday roles. This helps learners transform abstract knowledge into practical actions they can incorporate into their daily work.
Gamification Technique #4: Personalization
Personalization is an approach which tailors learning content to an individual’s role, job scope, and current level of expertise. This provides learners with content that is more relevant, less wasteful, and which better aligns with their specific needs and preferences.
When Personalization Techniques Should Be Used
There are several ways to incorporate personalization into eLearning content. Branching pathways allow learners to engage with the content they choose in the order they find most valuable. Adaptive learning pathways use adaptive learning algorithms and/or artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to create content that adjusts to the learner’s progress, performance, and level of understanding.
Additionally, pre-assessment testing—otherwise known as “test-outs”—can help eliminate unnecessary learning. In a test-out, learners answer a series of questions that assess their knowledge of the topic. If the learner passes this test, they do not have to take the full course. For example, we developed a skills assessment tool that allowed learners to choose their job role and receive personalized assessment questions tailored to their role. Learners were asked to rate their confidence in each assessment area, and based on their responses, they were either directed to or skipped the related eLearning topic.
The Benefits of Personalization
Increased engagement: Personalization allows players to tailor aspects of the experience to their preferences, creating a stronger emotional connection to the material. This can lead to deeper engagement as players feel more invested in the experience.
Reduced seat time: Tailoring content helps to shorten training time by providing content that is directly related to an individual’s specific knowledge and needs.
Sense of ownership: When learners can customize parts of the experience, they gain a sense of ownership and control. This autonomy makes the learning feel more rewarding and encourages learners to spend more time exploring and optimizing their personalized elements.
Gamification Technique #5: Leveling Up
Leveling up drives participation by allowing learners to advance to higher levels when they achieve specific scores or reach certain goals. These “higher levels” can mean:
- Access to advanced content
- Rewards and badges
- Increased difficulty
- Enhanced features such as tools, resources, or interactive elements
When Leveling Up Techniques Should Be Used
The concept of “leveling up” significantly enhances learner engagement by providing a clear structure for progression, offering rewards and incentives at each stage, and ensuring a balanced challenge throughout the learning content. Leveling up is ideal for eLearning experiences that are designed to take a learner from novice to master. Since the learner can’t achieve this in a single try, the progression is often broken down into different stages. A common example of this is Six Sigma training courses, which provide learners with a clear path to earn different colored belts, each representing a different level of mastery.
The Benefits of Leveling Up
Encourage mastery: Offers increasingly difficult challenges that help learners develop their skills and achieve mastery over time.
Sense of progression and achievement: Leveling up provides learners with a clear and tangible indication of their progress. As learners advance to higher levels, they can see their growth and improvement, which fosters a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
Balancing difficulty and challenge: As learners level up, the material can introduce more difficult challenges that match their increased skill. This keeps the content engaging by ensuring that it remains challenging but not overwhelming. This balanced pacing improves the overall experience by making the participant’s experience interesting and exciting while still offering depth.
Using Gamification to Deliver Better Learning
While gamification can be enormously effective, it is important to use it strategically. The same technique will not be effective in every situation. Before settling on a particular technique, it is important to understand the learning goals. Once the objectives have been identified, it will be much easier to identify which gamification techniques will bring learning to life most effectively.
Learn more about how we can help you incorporate gamification into your organization.
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