By awarding these points, educators are extrinsically motivating students to perform whether they like it or not. In fact, students can be observed ‘gaming the system’ regularly to increase their points scored with questions such as: "Is this going to be on the test?”

our education system is already a game, to a degree, then why not try to amplify the motivational aspects of the game by increasing the amount of gamified elements? As the gaming industry and the gamification of other aspects of life (shopping reward cards, personal fitness badges, etc.) continues to grow, perhaps educators will need to gamify their instruction to engage and motivate the next generation of students.

Do you think that the ‘gamified’ way we have learnt science this year with the videos, interactive electronic book and stars is a better way to learn than more traditional classes that have more lectures? Yes No Number of student responses 14 3

82%, of students responded that they preferred the gamified classroom to a more traditional classroom.

Despife the attempt to motivate with the stars, some students still struggled to be motivated (Student G). Student H struggled to come to terms with the teacher being less prominent out the front of the classroom and directing the passage of learning. They valued the lecture-based component of learning.

y engaging students with a fun and authentic experience that challenges the participant to take control and explore their understandings, while providing meaningful feedback to aid the learning process in a social and collaborative way, we have seen students more excited and motivated to learn.

eacher as Facilitator Modern realization of best practice in education no longer supports the idea of the teacher as an authoritarian figure standing in the front of the room scrawling on a chalkboard.  As educators, our role can be reshaped so that we work beside students providing support and encouragement for their personal journey.

requires the teacher to yield some control, and that is going to be a challenge for some of us who are more accustomed to holding the reins of facts and chronology pretty tightly.

PBL is most often done in teams, it is always possible for issues of work inequity to arise.