Gamify your classroom! The power of gamification theory in education

Kerry Hill FCCT, Headteacher, Eyres Monsell Primary School, UK Francis Lee, Deputy Headteacher, Eyres Monsell Primary School, UK Gamification theory is becoming increasingly used to support learning and teaching, centred around increasing students’ motivation and engagement by incorporating features of game design within the classroom and educational environment. Research defines gamification as the process of adding games or game-like elements such as peer competition, teamwork, scoring and leader boards to something so as to encourage participation. A key reason why gamification is prompting interest in the educational sector is in its link to motivation, which research shows is one of the main indicators for student performance and academic achievement (Lineham et al., 2011), having the ‘potential to foster motivation, behavioural changes, friendly competition and collaboration’ (Dichev and Dicheva, 2014, p. 2). It is gamification of learning that Eyres Monsell Primary