The Use of Gamification as a Vehicle for Pedagogic Sharing and Teachers’ Professional Development

Abstract

Gamification introduces game mechanics into organizational contexts to improve impacts, outcomes, or staff engagement in an identified area of focus. This action research explores the potential of gamification as a system for the sharing of pedagogic practice in an international secondary school. The study investigates whether a gamified approach can address the identified drawbacks of more traditional out of workplace, leader driven continuing professional development (CPD) workshops by offering an alternative that spreads pedagogic practice through a school. The study uses a 6-week activity encouraging teachers to create, develop, and share their pedagogical practice through live demonstration with an observing peer for critical feedback. Each part of this process scored points to create the gamified elements. The study gained data through fourteen participants, all teachers at the school with a mixture of experience. Participant perceptions on the impact of the gamified process in its success in fostering the sharing of pedagogic practice, fostering collaboration, and acting as an alternative to traditional CPD were gained through the completion of pre-gamification and post-gamification surveys. The findings show positive support for the use of gamification in a school context for increasing pedagogical sharing, enhancing individual teacher’s confidence in their depth and use of different strategies, and that gamification can provide a positive professional development vehicle for schools. It identifies new avenues for further research in the use of gamification for school CPD, and whether gamification should be used to support or replace more traditional CPD practices in schools.