Games, Learning and Engagement: What Teachers might learn from Games Designers

This paper explores the role of games in learning. Beginning with some carefully selected definitions of games, comparisons are drawn between the fields of games design and of learning and teaching, highlighting a parallel between games as designed experiences, and teaching as designed learning experiences. Games are seen as being highly engaging, which has led to a rise in the fields of Game Based Learning and Gamification. Ultimately when designing games, game based learning, gamified experiences or learning experiences engagement is a key factor. This leads to the study of human psychology and motivation including concepts of extrinsic versus intrinsic motivation (Pink, 2011), self-determination theory (Rigby & Ryan, 2010) and flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). Keywords: Engagement, Motivation, Game Design