Dr. Joanna Burchert - How To: Gamified Learning

Gamification is cool, but it does not always support learning. In my presentation, I will discuss how you can use or reflect research on "Desirable Difficulties" to design or select effective and engaging gamified learning approaches.

If learners aren't engaged enough with learning content, they won't process it adequately. When learners are overwhelmed, they are unable to comprehend a learning opportunity. The productive space in between is what cognitive psychologists Robert and Elizabeth Bjork (2011) call "desirable difficulties. Desirable difficulties are features of the learning environment that increase the difficulty or complexity of the learning task, but also improve long-term learning outcomes. Some examples for this are: spacing, interleaving, testing, generation, and variation. Desirable difficulties work by enhancing the encoding and retrieval processes of memory, making the learner more attentive, engaged, and metacognitive.

In my presentation, I will show several examples of gamified approaches that work as desirable difficulties. Let's improve learning transfer through gamified approaches: Play to perform!

Can't wait to hear from Dr. Joanna Burchert? In the meantime, check out her and Regina Stobers' article in Training Industry: Play, Practice and Perform — Gamified Learning to Boost Learning Transfer in the Workplace