Four ways to use gamification to engage your students in learning

Do you ever feel that today’s students are harder to engage? Their attention spans seem to be getting shorter. Even a one-hour lecture can feel like a stretch, and two-hour seminars are an even bigger challenge. Yet, when it comes to playing games, young people seem to have endless energy! I’ve noticed that as soon as I announce a break in class, some students immediately start playing games. Some can even manage to do both – listening to the lesson and playing a game at the same time.

This made me think: wouldn’t it be wonderful if learning could be like a game? If learning could be as addictive as gaming, I wouldn’t need to worry about students missing classes! Since young learners are already so drawn to games, why not tap into what they love?

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My teaching philosophy is simple: if we can stimulate interest in learning, students will naturally become more engaged, put in effort and achieve good results. In my opinion, education is about motivation, motivation and motivation. And I believe one of the best ways to motivate young learners is through innovative, game-based approaches.

Here, I would like to share four examples of my award-winning teaching innovations. Students enjoyed these game-based learning activities very much, and the impact on their engagement and learning outcomes has been incredibly positive.

Hold a mini-auction

To help students prepare for their final examination, I organised a series of revision sessions to support their learning. To motivate and engage students in these sessions, I created a credit reward system where they could earn credits based on their participation and performance. For example, students earned 50 credit points simply by attending each lesson. If they completed weekly learning activities, they could earn an additional 100 credit points. 

I also created online quizzes in which students earned credit points based on their scores. This credit reward system encouraged students to attend, participate actively and complete their learning tasks.

At the end of the revision sessions, all the credit points students accumulated were converted into tokens. These tokens were used to take part in a mini-auction. I secured sponsorships from publishers and research funding to provide prizes such as textbooks and other useful items.

The mini-auction created a lot of excitement among students. They carefully decided how to use their tokens, learning to bid strategically for the items they wanted. This activity was not only fun but helped students develop important decision-making skills in a competitive real-world business environment. Many students said this was one of their most enjoyable learning experiences and that it made their revision sessions more effective and less stressful.

Simplify complex topics with animated cartoon videos

UK taxation is widely recognised as a challenging subject. Many students find it difficult to understand the technical content and keep up with the frequent changes in tax legislation. To make this content more interesting, I created a series of animated cartoon videos as an additional learning resource alongside the usual PowerPoint slides.

Each video was short, lasting just one to two minutes, and focused on explaining difficult concepts in an interesting, visual way. Research suggests that traditional video lectures can often result in passive learning, where students watch without actively engaging. To address this, I used an interactive video-editing tool to embed quiz questions into the videos, transforming them into active learning resources.

While watching the videos, students encountered quiz questions at specific points. These questions encouraged them to pause, reflect and check their understanding before moving on to the next section. Immediate feedback and solutions were provided after submitting their answers, helping students correct any misconceptions straight away.

This approach made learning more interactive and supported deeper understanding. One student commented: “It is interactive and helps to further understand as well as correcting any misconceptions about a topic. Like how two things that sound and read nearly the same can be very different.” By combining creativity with interactivity, these videos turned a complex subject into an enjoyable and memorable learning experience.

Revitalise assessment with simulated scenario games

Formative assessments are very useful for monitoring student progress and reinforcing their learning gradually. This helps prevent students realising too late, during final assessments, that they have fallen behind. I regularly use online quizzes as formative assessments to check students’ understanding of each topic and keep them engaged throughout the course. However, traditional online quizzes can often feel boring and stressful.

To make these quizzes more enjoyable, I transformed them into interactive games based on real-life scenarios to which students could relate. For example, I created a virtual “bowling” game where students answered multiple-choice questions. If they answered correctly, the bowling ball knocked down all the pins, accompanied by applause and cheering.

In another game, the classroom became a virtual music room, where students completed five missions to reunite a musical band. Each mission covered a different topic, and students answered questions to bring back band members such as the pianist, guitarist or drummer. This turned learning into an exciting journey with a sense of achievement.

Some games were delivered in competition mode to add extra motivation. For instance, in a virtual café game, students played the roles of waiters and waitresses. Correct answers allowed them to restock food and serve customers, and their performance was ranked on a leaderboard. This mix of collaboration and competition made learning both fun and engaging.

Students found these games helpful for retaining knowledge and sustaining their learning throughout the course.

Make accounting a hit with AI song creation

Recently, I introduced an AI song creation exercise as part of in-class learning activities. Students used AI tools to create their own song lyrics and catchy tunes based on various accounting topics. They worked in teams to create the songs and submitted their best one as part of the learning task.

For many students, this was a completely new experience. They said they never thought they could create songs, let alone about accounting topics! The songs encompassed various music styles, including hip hop, rap and jazz, making the activity even more exciting.

Songs and rhymes improve memory retention by making information easier to recall through rhythm and repetition. By creating lyrics based on accounting concepts, students reinforced their learning in a fun and engaging way.

This activity also helped students develop skills in using cutting-edge AI technology and working collaboratively. They learned to share ideas, combine their strengths and produce a final product – skills that are highly valuable for their future careers.

The above four teaching innovations – mini-auctions, animated cartoon videos, simulated scenario games and AI song creation – have made learning more enjoyable and engaging for students. Each activity was designed not only to help students understand complex topics but to motivate them and support their learning journey. 

Lim Keong Teoh is senior lecturer in accounting and taxation at the University of Winchester.

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