How and Why to Integrate Game-Based Learning Into Your Classes

In my last LinkedIn article on using game-based learning to increase student engagement, I spoke with Erica Walker and Bre Przestrzelski from Clemson University about their integration of game-based learning into senior design.

This month I spoke with Cheryl Bodnar, Assistant Professor of Experiential Engineering Education at Rowan University, a longtime implementer and advocate of game-based learning and VentureWell Faculty Grant recipient.

Many years ago when Cheryl started looking at different ways to teach in higher ed, she noticed the successes that game-based learning had on K-12 and organizational training curriculum. She learned that both children and adults engaged in game-based learning quickly and became hooked while wanting to master the game. The literature also demonstrated that when people have these types of authentic experiences, what they learn stays with them for months and years after. Game-based learning therefore quickly became a go-to pedagogy for Cheryl. Here’s how Cheryl suggests integrating games into your classes.

Look at your learning objectives to determine if game-based learning is a fit: As you prepare to integrate games, first look at the learning objectives for your class. Just like any pedagogy, use it only if it relates to your desired outcomes.

Locate games that match your learning objectives: There are already many games available in the market. Even if you have experience integrating games, consider looking for, and adopting or adapting, a game that already exists. This Innovation and Entrepreneurship Games Toolkit, which was created as part of the Ideas at Play Workshop at VentureWell’s 2015 OPEN conference, is a great place to start.  

Partner with professional game designers: Educators have a clear understanding of learning objectives, but don’t necessarily know what makes a game successful. That’s why games they create can sometimes feel like work rather than fun. Building partnerships with professional game designers can really help - and designers are typically very happy to help. Some examples include MIT’s Serious Games Lab, Kurt Squire, Schell Games, and Carnegie Mellon’s Simon Initiative do educational games.

Consider class sequencing and debriefing: As discussed, games can be used to teach to specific learning objectives. However, they can be integrated in multiple ways. For example, you might introduce a game as an icebreaker and introduction to a specific topic without even sharing topic specifics with the students; it’s only in the debrief that the topic is revealed. Alternatively, you might introduce a game in the middle of the class, to break things up and also reinforce learning that has already occurred on a specific topic.

No matter when you introduce the game into a class, always remember to debrief; it’s important for students to process their learnings. It’s also insightful for instructors to hear how the students benefitted (or didn’t benefit) from the experience.

Use game-based learning to give your students a soft skills boost: Many of the games Cheryl likes to use focus on the development of soft skills, which can be tricky to develop in the context of an engineering class. A particular favorite is the game ROYGBIV (a game in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Games Toolkit), which focuses on oral communication. Each player has a card with various symbols on it, and only one of the symbols on their individual card is defined. Without showing their cards to other players, participants have to decode the symbols and reveal the message on their individual cards, using only oral communication. The end result: all players enter a color on a rainbow-colored game board and the whole class wins.

This game is particularly impactful because it can be played with small as well as large groups (20 to 100). It also helps students work on those tricky but important soft skills like oral communication (students may need to alter how they describe the symbols on their cards if they are to complete the decoding task), and teamwork (it’s collaborative, not a competitive game).

The game also breaks down social barriers and prepares students for the sometimes daunting task of networking during school and beyond. One student shared with Cheryl that because of this game, they became best friends with someone that they would otherwise never have connected with.

Discover how other VentureWell faculty grantees have applied funding and support to pioneer new ways to engage students in STEM innovation and entrepreneurship, and grow their campus I&E ecosystem. The next round of applications for VentureWell’s faculty grants opens in August 2017. Learn more about the program here.