On average, about 25% of children in the early grades struggle with reading. These students are often reluctant readers because they find the process complicated and they lack confidence in their abilities.
At the same time, the percentage of students who say they read for pleasure is declining: Fewer than half of all children ages 8-18 (43%) say they enjoy reading in their spare time, down from 58% in 2016. Reaching reluctant and disinterested readers can be challenging, frustrating and discouraging for teachers who fully grasp the importance of literacy skills. Educators need creative and authentic ways to engage students in reading, without it seeming forced or gimmicky.
In a TEDx talk titled “The Super Mario Effect—Tricking Your Brain into Learning More,” Mark Rober highlighted how video games can motivate people to achieve their goals by viewing failures as learning opportunities. Educators can apply the same principle to improving literacy outcomes through gamified learning. By incorporating game elements, such as rewards, levels, and challenges, learning can become a more engaging, interactive experience.
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This approach especially helps reluctant readers. They’re encouraged to embrace mistakes, stay motivated, and deepen their understanding of the material.
5 benefits of gamified learning for literacy
Gamified learning offers several benefits that can significantly enhance literacy education, including:
1. Reduced fear of failure: Gamified learning transforms failure from a source of shame into a normal part of the learning experience. Similar to how video game players repeatedly try to overcome obstacles, students in gamified environments can attempt literacy learning tasks multiple times without feeling embarrassed.
Research shows that gamification encourages students to fail and reattempt learning tasks without embarrassment. This persistence goes hand-in-hand with literary academic progress, and it also develops important durable life skills like resilience.
2. Increased visibility of learning: Gamified learning platforms provide clear progress indicators, such as points and progress bars. This visibility allows students to see their literacy achievements and understand the steps required to advance. By making progress tangible and in the moment, students are motivated to continue developing their reading skills and can easily track their growth.
3. Amped-up motivation: Research shows that games naturally drive motivation through the desire to achieve, socialize and explore. Gamified learning plays to these instincts in young readers, encouraging them to excel and actively engage with the material. When it comes to reading and literacy instruction, seeing a reluctant reader become a motivated reader is a moment educators cherish.
4. Improved cognitive development: Other studies have found games that encourage critical thinking and problem-solving can improve students’ ability to process and retain information—essential components of literacy education. Many educational games fall into this category. Furthermore, skills derived from video games have the potential to transfer to success in other disciplines, such as STEM.
5. Authentic personalized learning: In the video game world, many players willingly spend hundreds of dollars on custom outfits, tools and accessories for their in-game characters. Why spend real money on a tiger suit for a video game character? Because doing so makes the game uniquely theirs. It gives a sense of pride, ownership, and identity.
Gamified learning environments allow for these kinds of personalized literacy education experiences. Students can control avatars, set their own goals and track their progress. This personalization makes the reading journey unique and deeply personal to each student.
Gamified literacy education in action
North Carolina Virtual Academy is seeing compelling results using a gamified learning program to boost reading proficiency. Under the state’s Read to Achieve law, third graders who score at level 1 or 2 in reading on the end-of-grade test and do not qualify for a “good cause exemption” must attend a summer reading camp.
The academy’s educators saw high levels of student engagement with gamified learning, so they incorporated the program into their summer camp instruction. After using the program for 30 minutes each day, 77% of students showed significant improvement in reading, allowing them to progress from grade three to grade four.
The camp also yielded noteworthy results on the DIBELS 8th Edition Reading Assessment. Nearly three-quarters of participants showed improvement in key areas, such as phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
“When we asked students about their favorite part of the summer reading camp, the majority told us it was the gamified learning program,” said Principal Kelly Shanahan. “It’s rewarding for the educators to see how engaged students are with the program, and the measurable literacy gains are evidence of that engagement.”
When done effectively, gamified learning can motivate even the most reluctant readers. It allows students with varying abilities and inclinations to try, fail, and repeat the process until they get it right in a safe and rewarding environment—while giving them evidence of their progress. As students advance in the gamified platform, they’re enhancing their skills while building their confidence and enjoyment of reading.
