Reaching a high degree of classroom engagement through game-based learning

Did you know that play is considered a crucial component of cognitive development from birth through adulthood? Think about your favorite games: isn’t it true that you never get tired playing them? Being it hide and seek, puzzles, construction games, board games, there are invisible threads linking our memories, experiences and feelings in connection to playing games and they are all linked to the intrinsic motivation and engagement they trigger in our mind! ​

The new edition of the course “Discover the power of Game Based Learning and Gamification in education​” took place in Bologna from  13/07/2025 to 19/07/2025. The participants came from all across Europe, with Sascha RobertaAndrea Wenping, Beatrix from Bayerischer Volkshochschulverband e.V.in Germany. alice aniko from Budapesti Fazekas Mihály Gyakorló Általános Iskola és Gimnázium in Hungary, Barbara from BHAK Bregenz in Austria , MariaAna Claudia Adelin,Ângela Maria from University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro/School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences in Portugal and participants coming from three different Spanish schools:Elisa, María de Fátima , Ángela fromIES Fuente Roniel, Ana Maria from INSTITUT NARCÍS XIFRA I MASMITJÀ

Their training week was constructed like a game, following a sequence of levels from the very beginning. As if we were starting to play a video game, we asked participants to create their own characters to join the game. Avatars, symbolic characters and new superheroes were thus used as a basis to get to know each other, including strengths and passions. It became even more noticeable how rich and diverse our group was, perfectly reflecting the reality of every class at school. 

During the first level we discussed the pedagogical value of playing and how games stimulate learning. We reflected and acknowledged that teachers are most of the time “digital immigrants” in an educational cosmos that is nowadays populated by digital natives only. Through a challenge on the differences between gamification and game-based learning, our “players” could better clarify that gamification applies game elements into a non-game environment while game-based learning is a teaching approach whereby learning happens through playing the game itself. 
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As the main outcome of the second level, “players” defined the most common gamification framework as the process through which 8 major internal and external motivators influence human engagement. During one of the practical activities, players engaged in a role-play where they acted like the most common types of video games players, reaching a hands-on understanding of game-driven motivation.

The third level was dedicated to game-based tools and apps. We listed and actively explored several traditional games and we reframed them all together into more engaging learning tools. After all the challenges and battles, “players” had an opportunity to create their own tools both offline and online. 

In the penultimate level, “players” lived the most active and engaging experience. We went outside to enjoy a scavenger hunt game in the city center and later we were locked in a digital escape room trying to solve riddles and puzzles to escape. Participants finally tried to find the best way to gamify their own classrooms taking into account their students’ needs and charcateristics.
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Having overcome all the levels of our game, participants had the opportunity to learn new ways of making the most of the most traditional games to transform the learning process. They also got acquainted with modern online tools able to produce a significant improvement of students’ engagement and bring a spark in the classroom!

Discover more about this course here.