“PICT0018” by BAMCorp is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

One of the most prominent questions teachers often have, is how to better engage their students? We ask this question because without engagement we are simply forcing information into students brains versus allowing them to interact with it.  We also know that when students engage with the content they learn more in-depth and they are better able to transfer information.

So, how do games provide engagement? 

The first key factor is that is allows for students to be involved in purposeful play. When students are playing they often forget that they are learning as well. This is where engagement comes from when using games. This lack of stress environment. Now this isn’t to say that some kids don’t feel stress in when playing a game because as we know all students are different and some will be embarrassed about not knowing answers right away. I will talk about that in a moment. When we use games students know the purpose, they are collaborating and interacting with their peers and they are learning. One of the most motivating factors for students when playing games is to win. Many students want to win a game against a peer whether they are competitive or not. When you play games as a class and their is a reward system in place students are often more engaged because they see immediate feedback. Also, there are times when students are able to collaborate with their peers during a game towards a common goal . This is a time when students are able to learn how to better communicate, problem solve and further their understanding of content. Games will be able to tell you lots about your students if you take the time to simply play with them.