Classcraft: from gamification to ludicization of classroom management

Sanchez, Young, and Jouneau-Sion (2017) published an article in the journal Education and Information Technologies about Classcraft, an educational role-playing game. The article references existing research in the literature review section. Challco, Moreira, Bittencourt, Mizoguchi, and Isotani (2015) recommend gamificiation to improve student motivation to participate in collaborative learning. Students will be driven to stay on-task. Garris, Ahlers, and Driskell (2002) explain, “Games evoke a sense of personal control when users are allowed to select strategies, manage the direction of activity, and make decisions that directly affect outcomes, even if actions are not instructionally relevant.” This support the classroom management argument for Classcraft as students are invested in both academic efforts and appropriate behavioral decision making. Student interest is also tightly connected to student investment. Of course, engaged students are behaved students. Randel, Morris, Wetzel, and Whitehill (1992) concluded that games are consistently perceived as more interesting than traditional instruction. For example, Cohen (1969) found that 87% of students tested reported greater interest for educational games than for classroom approaches (Garris, Ahlers, & Driskell, 2002).

Sanchez, Young, and Jouneau-Sion did more than review the literature. They conducted two experiments, one in France and one in Quebec, and used data from an online survey made available to teachers on the Classcraft platform. They argue that Classcraft is more than typical gamificiation where educational goals are achieved by adding game-like elements to a task. The Classcraft classroom management tools are more effective because Classcraft allows students to create reflexive versions of themselves in a world where the nature and meaning of interactions are modified from their “real” world (Sanchez, Young, and Jouneau-Sion, 2017).

References

Challco, G. C., Moreira, D. A., Bittencourt, I. I., Mizoguchi, R., & Isotani, S. (2015). Personalization of gamification in collaborative learning contexts using ontologies. IEEE Latin America Transactions, 13(6), 1995-2002.

Cohen, K. C. (1969). The effects of two simulation games on the opinions and attitudes of selected sixth, seventh, and eight grade students. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, Center for the Study of Social Organization of Schools. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED031766)

Garris, R., Ahlers, R., & Driskell, J. E. (2002). Games, motivation, and learning: a research and practice model. Simulation & Gaming, 33(4), 441–467.

Randel, J., Morris, B., Wetzel, C., & Whitehill, B. (1992). The effectiveness of games for educational purposes: A review of recent research. Simulation & Gaming, 23, 261-276.

Sanchez, E., Young, S., & Jouneau-Sion, C. (2017). Classcraft: from gamification to ludicization of classroom management. Education and Information Technologies, 22(2), 497-513.