Gamification in Math Class

Making math fun for kids, rather than work is a huge task that a lot of math teachers have taken on over the years. “When am I ever going to use this?” “Ugh! Why did our math teacher assign so many problems?” “Math is so boring.” These are all comments I have either heard during my time in grade school or personally said myself. I am sure teachers are getting sick of hearing it, as I am sure students are tired of doing textbook assignments with no color or taste. Well, there is a solution to that: gamification. Gamification, in the classroom, is the incorporation of games into learning which allows teachers to better engage students. 

Math is one of those subjects that students typically either understand or don’t. For those that don’t understand it, it is typically because they fail to find interest or appreciation of the subject. Using gamification when teaching math allows the students to see math in a different way, a more fun way if you will. Studies have shown that within classrooms that use gamification, students feel more motivated to learn as the gaming setting takes away the feeling of solving repetitive questions over and over again. Gamification has also had a direct impact on reducing math anxiety. Students are more open to learning in the comfort of games compared to the traditional classroom. Gamification also enables students to pay attention for a longer time because they are playing games, and few students would prefer traditional homework over gaming activities. Naturally, students see games as a challenge. At the same time, they see traditional homework as work. Moving from the traditional classroom to a gamified classroom or teaching style will motivate students to not give up as easily. From personal experience, I know I have given up on a math problem a lot faster than I have given up on beating a level of a video game. 

“But how will gamifying my classroom affect me as the teacher?” is a question that most teachers reading this blog will ask. Well, gamification will benefit you in many ways. It is easier to gauge how well students are doing in your classroom and where they are struggling through scores, charts, etc. provided through the games. It also allows teachers to reward students more often which leads to multiple different outcomes: students are more engaged, motivated, challenged, etc.

Overall, I believe that gamification brings an aspect to the math classroom that can engage, motivate, challenge, and reward students. Not only may teachers stop hearing complaints about how boring or the usefulness of their beloved topic, but they may also see growth in students like never before.