Rethinking Gamification in Adult Learning

Jade Arthur explores the concept of gamification in teaching adult learners. In this episode, Laura and Jade dive into common misconceptions about gamification, discuss the importance of intrinsic motivation, and share actionable strategies for making learning fun, engaging, and effective for adults.

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Key talking points

🎲 What is Gamification?
Jade explains how gamification uses elements like points, challenges, and rewards to enhance learning. She highlights how it can create meaningful and enjoyable learning experiences when applied thoughtfully.

💡 Intrinsic Motivation:
Discover why gamification works best when it moves beyond external rewards and fosters a genuine love for learning.

🤝 Collaboration Over Competition:
Jade emphasises the importance of designing games that build community and cater to diverse learner needs rather than simply focusing on competition.

🌟 Gamification for Adults:
Practical tips for making gamified activities engaging yet appropriate for adult learners. From tone-setting to purposeful game design, Jade shares strategies for creating a low-pressure, high-impact learning environment.

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Classroom Takeaways

• Align Games with Learning Goals:
  Make sure every activity contributes directly to the lesson’s objectives.

• Student Feedback:
  Involve learners in shaping and improving the activities to ensure relevance and effectiveness.

• Keep It Inclusive:
  Design games that foster collaboration, cater to varied learning styles, and avoid making learners feel infantilised.

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About Jade

Jade is based in Tennessee, US where she teaches adult English learners pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and conversation skills online. She has worked for TutorABC, Tutlo, English for IT, and Twenix, helping students from a variety of countries including Taiwan, Ukraine, Poland, and Spain. Her goal is to encourage students to embrace the joy of learning through gamified education and inspire them to achieve creative and financial freedom.

• Follow on LinkedIn

• Visit Jade's website

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References & Resources

• Roman Rackwitz and his work on non-Skinnerian gamification (LinkedIn)

• B. F. Skinner and his work in the 1900s on behavioural psychology (Wikipedia)

Watch the video with closed captions or refer to the transcript below.

Transcript

00:00:00:08 - 00:00:22:14

Laura

TESOL Pop season 11, episode one. Hello! Welcome to TESOL Pop; the mini podcast for busy teachers, and welcome to this new season of the podcast. I'm your host, Laura Wilkes, and joining me to talk about gamification in teaching adult learners is Jade Arthur. Now, when we say the word gamification, I certainly have some different perceptions of what this could look like in this context.

00:00:22:14 - 00:00:41:11

Laura

Based on my own experience as an educator and as a learner. So it was really good to sit down with Jade and actually unpack what gamification can really look like when we're teaching adults. So I'm sure there'll be lots of ideas in here to inspire you to do the same. Let's join the conversation where we kicked off by defining what gamification is.

00:00:41:12 - 00:01:03:11

Jade

So gamification is a type of method that's used to help learners be able to kind of gain their understanding of a concept through through games. So through points through scoring and through competition in order to get rewards. It's a motivator. And it can be used for children and adults as well.

00:01:03:13 - 00:01:16:11

Laura

You know, this is something that you're really passionate about. Like when we first interacted online, you talked about gamification. I see you post a lot about gamification. Can I just ask you, what is it about this particular, approach to teaching that really resonates for you?

00:01:16:13 - 00:01:49:06

Jade

For me, I find that we, no matter what age we're at, whether we're children or adults, we like to be engaged with what we're learning. And when you're giving a presentation, when you're asking questions, all of that is great exercises. It's all great. But games provide a level of enjoyment that goes beyond just learning a concept. It's an it's sort of unlocking that inner child.

00:01:49:08 - 00:02:05:02

Jade

And that's what I think we forget about as we go. Getting older is the fact that we need to be engaged as children as much as we do adults. And so it's a it's a fun way to get ourselves involved in the life.

00:02:05:04 - 00:02:21:15

Laura

And so much more learning can happen content when we're relaxed and in that sense of play and joyous state, those mistakes we may make in learning a language, particularly may just not be such a big deal if we're engaged in something that feels genuinely fun. Basically.

00:02:21:17 - 00:02:34:03

Jade

Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. We're we're more likely to, like you said, make mistakes and be okay with it. If we have fun. And we're encouraged to make those mistakes through the process.

00:02:34:05 - 00:02:52:20

Laura

I certainly resonate with that as a language learner myself, and I certainly can recognise that in my own teaching with my students, I bet listeners are the same. In today's episode, I'd love to kind of unpick these common misconceptions, that surround gamification to kind of really help us to reimagine what it can look like in the classroom.

00:02:52:20 - 00:03:16:00

Laura

You've already touched upon. And one point there about the kind of, rewards. And I think when we talk about gamification, it's also associated with competition and rewards, meaning winning points. So there's this kind of offset between winners and losers. What is your take on that? Is that just one version of gamification, or are we just getting it wrong?

00:03:16:02 - 00:03:44:19

Jade

Yeah. On the surface level, I think those are all fun things that can be utilised to make an engaging atmosphere. However, they do tend to focus on more of the surface level components of what the game of what gamification really is, which is basically, you know, hey, I, I got this point. I got this right. I've you I get reward what Roman Rackwitz he's a he's in gamification and he knows a lot about it.

00:03:44:21 - 00:04:13:08

Jade

He he came up with non-Skinnerian and gamification. Basically, B.F. Skinner was somebody that noticed that if you do this, you get a reward. And so Roman [Rackwitz] kind of changed that and made it so that it became about intrinsic motivation as opposed to extrinsic motivation. And I think that's what the future of gamification should be, as opposed to pitting people in competition and creating inferiority complexes and narcissism.

00:04:13:10 - 00:04:36:01

Jade

We need to move into, am I doing this because I love it? Because I see the point of it, and that's really where I think gamification can be evolved, is through our intrinsic motivation to enjoy the learning as well as enjoy the, you know, the functions of getting rewards and getting points. It all needs to be integrated into that.

00:04:36:03 - 00:04:36:22

Laura

What could that look

00:04:36:23 - 00:04:53:05

Laura

like in a classroom setting? Like, is this something you're tapping into? I might imagine you are with your own classes that you teach, and it seems quite tricky to kind of imagine, like how we can tap into that intrinsic side of motivation when it comes to gamification. Do you have any suggestions?

00:04:53:07 - 00:05:38:24

Jade

I think it's more influencing the perception for students. I think that we end up you put these things in our courses without really thinking so much like, oh, this is a fun game, this will be great. I've done it too. I love it, but we forget that we need to also structure why we're putting the scheme in, and then help our students understand what this does for them so that we can make unification a cooperative or collaborative thing, as opposed to something that is just for enjoyment and for, you know, hey, I think this would be a fun vessel to learn this concept through.

00:05:39:01 - 00:06:13:18

Laura

I think is is letting students in on the secret, isn't it like letting them see what the rationale is behind teaching the decisions you're making and also involving them in it as well, giving them choices on what they want to do? Exactly. I'm really interested to kind of explore more this kind of trade off that can sometimes happen when we are playing games, and I think I'm reverting back to maybe those kind of, board races or even like monopoly type games, the board games that we may bring into the classroom where there's going to be some students that really love, that really love that energy or that kind of group activity, maybe.

00:06:13:18 - 00:06:26:14

Laura

But then there's going to be those that just don't enjoy it. And you may find as a teacher, you're trading off between, well, most of my students like this, but there's going to be some students that don't. Has that been your experience in using gamification?

00:06:26:16 - 00:06:53:21

Jade

Since most of my students are 1 to 1, I haven't had as much of a group dynamics as I would like, and that's still an area that I think may need some more work because it's very easy to create an atmosphere where certain students are excelling at a game and really enjoying it, and others are not, and so you can't make it easier for the students that are excelling, but you also can't make it too hard.

00:06:54:00 - 00:07:14:16

Jade

So there needs to be a way to bridge those gaps and find ways of creating the game that are more tailored to each student as they're playing. And I think that's still something we need to work on because not everybody is going to enjoy the game, even if it's something they understand how to do, that doesn't mean they're going to enjoy the game.

00:07:14:21 - 00:07:29:20

Jade

So level of knowledge, personal interest and other factors I think involved need to kind of contribute to which games are chosen and how they're distributed during the learning process.

00:07:29:22 - 00:07:54:16

Laura

Are you thinking about your students? Right. Going back to that former point where you said, like, really think about the rationale of the game you're using and you're choosing for your students really knowing them. And I think to kind of add on to your points, there is not being afraid to ask students for feedback on how they feel about certain activities and and gamified strategies you're using in your classes, like students will tell you if they're really enjoying something and they want to do it again, or if it didn't quite work.

00:07:54:18 - 00:08:10:00

Jade

That's right. Exactly. Yeah. Feedback is is pivotal because again, you could be doing all of these things and making adjustments that either are not necessarily or are not in the direction that is going to be most conducive to, to learning.

00:08:10:02 - 00:08:15:07

Laura

Normally, I don't know about you, but usually my students tell me without me even having to ask if they don't enjoy this.

00:08:15:10 - 00:08:17:10

Jade

And you can do this without faces.

00:08:17:10 - 00:08:48:03

Laura

A lot of times the if if in doubt, just ask. I think that's always a good philosophy, isn't it? One of the things you said at the very beginning of this episode was about the young learner perception that's associated with games, and how actually, as adults, we still need this state of play. We still need this joy in our learning to facilitate the best learning, to remove that kind of fear of, making fools of ourselves or making mistakes that can often get wrapped in into, what we bring into a classroom as adults.

00:08:48:03 - 00:09:11:13

Laura

I wanted to kind of explore that a bit more like, what could gamification look like in an older classroom? That's probably, for example, young adults or even older teens, because if we do transfer those activities that we're using with our primary level students, it may feel just really childish and out of place. Of course, in those, classrooms with older teenagers and adults.

00:09:11:15 - 00:09:34:24

Jade

Exactly. So yeah. So I think, you know, at some point we start to view games as for children, for whatever reason, we do our other things take, you know, take precedence. We start to have more responsibilities and our perspective changes, whether it be through, you know, the outside world influencing us or our internal perception of, of games.

00:09:35:01 - 00:10:10:16

Jade

So I think when we're playing using games or integrating games into the structure of, of the learning environment for adults, we need to think of how can we be the, the cheerleader, the, the sort of therapist, the guide, the teacher, all of those roles and adapt to that audience. For kids, we tend to be over the top, you know, and sometimes I don't, and I think, honestly, I think there's a way to do that for adults as well.

00:10:10:21 - 00:10:36:18

Jade

I tend to feel that the you see that child in them, when you give them the encouragement and that joy they want that they just don't want it. Maybe it's baby talk per se, but they need that too. And so understanding that they are wanting to feel like a child but not be talked down to like a child, it's a certain balance.

00:10:36:20 - 00:10:46:15

Jade

But that's what I think helps create that enjoyment of the game. And then sort of becoming a part of the experience.

00:10:46:17 - 00:11:02:03

Laura

It's exactly that, isn't it? When I introduce games to when I've been training sessions and I've got like a, a game to introduce, I do do it in such a way that's kind of like we're going to have a bit of fun, we're going to be a bit silly. It's okay to have a bit of fun, and it's surprising how people get on board with that.

00:11:02:03 - 00:11:10:20

Laura

When you kind of set that expectation, you deliver it in a way that isn't childish, but it's also like it's okay to be a bit silly at the moment. I find that's a really good way to kind of warm up the room.

00:11:10:22 - 00:11:13:01

Jade

Exactly. I agree.

00:11:13:03 - 00:11:35:12

Laura

I love all these points that you've made about gamification and kind of like helping us reform and reimagine what it could look like and how we can be bolder in bringing it into our classes, particularly if we're working with older teens and adults. In our teaching, I wonder, as a parting gift aid, what would you like to suggest for listeners to reflect on when it comes to gamification in that teaching context?

00:11:35:14 - 00:12:10:00

Jade

Yeah, to me there are three hows that I really want to kind of be thought about when you're when you're using games. One is how you're integrating it into your lessons. Are you using it? You know, are you using it for fun or are you using it intentionally? So how you're integrating it, how you are influencing the perception of games and your students, and ultimately how you structuring the games to, you know, kind of advance the students learning trajectory.

00:12:10:06 - 00:12:20:04

Jade

So integration structure and perception are really important when we think of gamification and what it can be in the future.

00:12:20:06 - 00:12:31:04

Laura

That's pretty. Days three has a really helpful takeaway. Thank you so much, Jade, for sharing your passion for gamification and bringing the city so pop. It's been absolute joy planning this episode, recording whether it's you today.

00:12:31:08 - 00:12:34:10

Jade

Thank you so much, Laura. Really appreciate it. Awesome.

00:12:34:12 - 00:12:54:19

Laura

To learn more about Jade and her passion for gamification. You can go to her website or follow her on LinkedIn. As always, I've included those links in the show notes so you can find those easily.

00:12:54:21 - 00:13:17:16

Laura

Now, if you have a question or an idea to pitch just like Jade had today, then you can contact us via the website. tesolpop.com. Finally, you can support the work we do here at TESOL Pop, by leaving a rating review wherever you listen to the podcast. By sharing today's episode to continue the conversation with your fellow teachers, or by even buying a coffee by going to ko-fi.com/tesolpop

00:13:17:21 - 00:13:19:02

Laura

Yeah. Thank you.

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