Engaging the Brain

In a TED talk, Tom Chatfield discusses some of the brain science behind the ways video games deliver rewards.  Given the ability of games to keep players completely engaged over long periods of time, educators could learn some important lessons from games.

The point that most resonated with me is the way games provide immediate, consistent rewards.  For example, games like World of Warcraft often include quests to collect a certain number of objects, usually obtained by killing monsters.  While only a percentage of the monsters will have the object the player needs, every kill gives the player experience points (XP) as well as some kind of loot.  These rewards appear right away, as soon as the player finishes their fight.

In my own classroom, I need to improve on providing those immediate rewards.  Some students get a little dopamine burst when they complete a problem or figure out how to complete an open-ended lab without any external factors, ensuring they get some sense of reward ever day in class.  Where I struggle is the students who don't get that intrinsic satisfaction; for these students, it may be beneficial to bring some principles of gamification into the classroom to provide other rewards.

The other major point I took away was the way video games provide a clear method to measure progress.  Playing Diablo III this weekend, I was able to see my experience bar fill up with each monster I fought, as well as how far I had to go until the next level.  The connection between what I did in the game and my progress to the next level was completely transparent.

In my own classroom, my students' progress toward the learning target is often more apparent to me than my students.  I need to work on strategies to help students see their progress in the way many video games do.  I've become interested in standards-based grading (SBG) as a way to help students see their progress, and I can easily imagine how principles of gamification could not only support SBG, but help students see their progress toward a given standard.  For example, each standard could be associated with a series of quests, much like many games have achievements for completing a certain set of quests.

Chatfield's insights into what makes video games so engaging have powerful applications in the classroom.  What keeps someone engaged as a player can be just as effective at keeping them engaged as a student.  In my own classroom, these insights could address some of the challenges I've been facing in engaging students.