Why Math Gamification is Better than Traditional Learning

Are you struggling to motivate your students and looking for a new math learning strategy?

Do you find it harder than ever to keep your students on track?

Are you looking for new and exciting ways to engage your class and ensure they are learning?

The answer is simple: Gamification.

I know what you are thinking! Firstly, what is gamification and where in outer space did it come from? It’s actually a lot simpler than it sounds, and the best part about it is that a lot of teachers are incorporating it into their daily classroom activities already!

Simply put, gamification is adding game-like elements into your everyday instruction. The games have a number of purposes. Firstly, they encourage student participation (win!). Secondly, they can provide an engaging way to introduce or reinforce learning concepts (win win!). Thirdly, they can provide challenging learning experiences, all while students are blissfully unaware that they are actually learning (win win win!).

I hear some of you out there saying, “oh, another thing that I would have to do on top of my teaching, assessment, parent contact (and the endless list of things we do as teachers goes on)”. 

But the best part about gamification is that it is not difficult at all to incorporate into your weekly or even daily lesson planning. There are even websites that can help you create these activities, which are easily accessible. Take for instance, Pixel Art. Type that into a search engine and you are treated to a number of free sites that could be used in your classroom.

You might even wish to try something a little more complex (and even these are quite simple once you get the hang of them!). For example, Google Forms can be used to create quizzes, escape rooms and other games.

Want to know the best part? Many of these games are self-checking and require little to no prep time. As teachers we are always looking for things that save us time. So a self checking game is definitely a great addition to our activities repertoire.

I have been using gamification in my own class, and the changes to my students learning is amazing!

My students are more willing to work, and definitely more motivated to understand new or challenging topics.

So what’s my ultimate go-to Gamification resource? While there are tons of websites that offer learning-centered games, Boom Learning is without a doubt my all-time favorite. Boom allows you to create a wide variety of interactive games and task cards to use with students. You can also search for games for sale that have been created by other teachers.

Do you want to try something?

Whichever resources or websites you choose to use, it is a safe bet that gamification can help bring back excitement into your classroom. And I’m excited about that!