May. 12, 2025
Gone are the days of textbook-only learning. As an educator, you’ve likely experienced firsthand how challenging it is to meet the needs of different types of learners — all while trying to keep student engagement high.
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Game-based learning is one teaching strategy that’s growing increasingly popular to help students achieve their learning objectives. Especially as:
And rightly so. In a study, researchers found “evidence that the use of educational games could support and increase the mathematics learning outcomes.” Another systematic review of game-based learning highlighted research that found “educational games play a successful role in terms of both a better understanding of the course content by the students and the participation of the students in this process.”
Since then, the amount of research on game-based learning has continued to soar.
Digital game-based learning keeps students engaged with educational content and can improve their overall success at school. In fact, 74% of teachers have now implemented digital game-based learning into their lessons
Below, we’ll dive into what game-based learning is, the benefits and drawbacks, as well as types of game-based learning educators like you can use every day.
Game-based learning is a teaching method that uses the power of games to define and support learning outcomes.
A GBL environment achieves this through educational games that have elements such as engaging gameplay, immediate rewards and healthy competition. This can make students’ motivation to learn soar.
The great thing about game-based learning is everyone can reap its benefits, from preschool all the way up to post-secondary education and beyond. Where and how doesn't matter, either — students can learn:
If you're experienced with GBL, chances are you’ve come across the terms “gamified” or “gamification.” And while they’re similar, the two applications are quite different.
In game-based learning, teachers incorporate learning activities through games to refresh old concepts or solidify new ones.
Using the increased knowledge that today’s students have of gameplay, teachers can create exciting learning environments that increase student engagement.
Gamification is about bringing aspects of game-design into the learning process. This includes features like:
However, the biggest difference between game-based learning and gamification is its application in non-game settings.
In an increasingly tech-filled world, DGBL takes things one step further and harnesses technology to help make game-based learning even more engaging and effective.
DGBL offers a balance between in-class lessons and educational gameplay. Teachers introduce students to new concepts and show them how they work. Then students practice these concepts through digital games.
A good DGBL platform should seamlessly track progress as students work through subject matter and help identify where students are excelling, as well as where they need support.
How do we differentiate games that are appropriate for helping students learn in the classroom from those that are used purely for entertainment? Researchers have classified games into two categories:
While intended for fun, certain video games can be shifted to teach different skills — bringing them into the realm of serious gaming. On the other hand, serious games can incorporate elements of video games to make them more entertaining and engaging.
There is a distinct balance that needs to be reached between these two types of games, to create something educational and fun for students.
Integrating DGBL is easy enough with the software available today, but is it the right move for your students, class, and school?
Several studies have looked at this question and the overall conclusion appears to be —YES!
Research shows:
When students fall behind — especially in cumulative subjects like math — they can lose confidence in their abilities and develop things like a feeling of anxiety. DGBL helps combat these pain points by pinpointing strengths and weaknesses and letting students practice at their own pace.
DGBL platforms offer many tools for educators to take advantage of — they just need to be implemented and used effectively for positive results to take hold.
Prodigy Math is an engaging, standards-aligned, digital game-based learning platform that checks all those boxes. Success in the game requires students to correctly answer math questions which adapt to their learning needs. And the game even gives you the ability to differentiate what your students are learning!
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Combined with your teaching style and continued lesson plans, you’ll likely have a lot of success when you implement digital game-based learning in the classroom.
GBL wasn’t always digital, of course. Take formative, non-digital childhood games like Simon says or Duck-Duck-Goose, for example.
Teachers can pepper the traditional learning environment with games like these to help teach students how to understand classroom rules, the importance of paying attention and to improve motor skills.
Some educators and researchers are skeptical of the benefits of game-based learning.
However, studies continue to show that games can positively impact things like students’ math and language learning in many ways. Game-based learning:
As we mentioned above, not everyone is convinced of game-based learning just yet. GBL was never meant to replace teachers and traditional learning. Instead, its goal is to improve it.
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Depending on your personal teaching approach or a student’s individual learning style, there can be drawbacks to game-based learning including:
Researchers still have much to study about GBL and, if not implemented effectively, teachers and students can have a poor experience.
However, we hope resources such as the one you’re reading now help empower educators and students alike to benefit from game-based learning — in school and beyond!
Exploring the world of GBL will open the door to many types of games available, whether you teach pre-kindergarten, elementary or high school students.
Here are some of the most common digital and traditional game-based learning examples.
Of course, the types of game-based learning you choose to use may depend on the students you are teaching, what you want them to learn and what resources you have available. But you have plenty of options if GBL is something you want to try this year!
Do you remember the first time a new concept finally clicked after learning through play? Maybe you experienced something similar as a student or in an effective professional development session.
If you have, you recognize the power game-based learning can have on one’s personal learning journey. As a company rooted in game-based learning, we witness it every day: students who play Prodigy Math develop a love of math that wasn't there before.
Whether you’re planning to apply game-based learning to in-person learning or e-learning, do so with an open mind. You may be surprised how much you — and your students — love game-based learning.
When educators at West Haralson Elementary School used Prodigy, they reported many benefits, including:
Hear more from the educators themselves below:
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West Haralson Elementary School isn’t the only school that has seen success with Prodigy. For even more school district success stories check out:
Higher education is known for being slower to respond to technological changes, but there might be some promising news for instructors at this level.
In a recent study, an educational video game, named 'Programmer Adventure Land', was created to improve college students' understanding of computer programming. Using a problem-based strategy, the game served as an innovative courseware that aimed to make learning more engaging and effective.
The findings of the study were quite promising. The problem-based approach used in 'Programmer Adventure Land' not only improved students' enjoyment and motivation but also boosted their satisfaction with learning.
Most significantly, the study suggests that such interactive game-based platforms can be an effective teaching tool, especially for challenging subjects like computer programming. It indicates that leveraging the power of games can greatly enhance the learning experience.
In a study involving 69 eighth-grade students learning English as a foreign language (EFL), a digital game-based learning tool, "Quizziz," was used to test vocabulary acquisition skills. Similar to the popular Kahoot game, Quizziz has a quiz-style approach embedded in its game mechanics.
For this study, the students were divided into an experimental group, which used Quizziz for vocabulary practice, and a control group, which practiced vocabulary traditionally in their native language.
The results showed that the experimental group notably outperformed the control group, demonstrating the effectiveness of digital game-based learning.
The students expressed positive views about this approach, noting that game elements like power-ups, competition and instant feedback boosted their motivation to learn. Hence, digital game-based learning has been targeted as a way to boost foreign vocabulary acquisition in foreign languages.
Prodigy Math is a game-based learning platform for 1st to 8th grade. In this fantasy-inspired game, students are magical wizards who complete quests and take part in thrilling wizards battles. To progress in the game, students answer standards-aligned math questions set by their teacher.
Prodigy Math includes a teacher dashboard with features that let teachers tailor content to their teaching, curriculum and individual student needs. They are also able to get insightful data reports on how each student is progressing, ideal for spotting gaps in knowledge.
In an open letter titled "The Road Ahead: An EdTech Leader’s Thoughts on Going Back to School", our Co-CEO and Co-Founder Rohan Mahimker shared three ways Prodigy can help support educators, parents and students alike:
what are the pros and cons between a class-based system (dragon age, torchlight) and a classless system (the elder scrolls, divinity: os)? how do devs decide which one best suit teir game?
It’s really a question about what kind of experience you want to provide for the player and how that experience fits into the larger scope of the game. If the game is more about giving the player as much freedom and agency as possible, a skill-based system tends to be the better choice. If you want a more differentiated and reactive experience across different game sessions, a class-based system is probably better. Each has its benefits and drawbacks, both from design perspective and technical. But overall, it depends on what the greater game experience is supposed to be.
Class-based systems shine when significantly differentiate the entire player experience with each class. A ranger should play differently than a pyromancer, who should play differently than a beastmaster. When designers are allowed to dictate all of skills the character can have, they can craft a much tighter experience overall by letting everything the player does build towards a unified play experience. Look at Overwatch as an example - the core gameplay is still that of a first person shooter, but each character’s gameplay is entirely based on their set of abilities working together. By restricting each skill set to only character or class, the designers have defined a variety of distinct experiences for the players to gravitate towards. When done well, playing different classes should really feel different. If the designers restrict classes to specific characters, it can help the player understand them better in terms of personality and their place in the game world. A good class system is very much like a fully planned banquet dinner, where each course of the meal is designed to work together to provide a better synergistic eating experience.
Skill-based systems shine when the goal is to allow more player agency over anything else. Players are free to experiment and come up with interesting combinations and builds on their own, and this provides a much more significant sense of ownership for the player - that is, the player feels much more like they are playing their character. It’s also easier to build content for - a lot of emergent gameplay can result from the way the various skills in the game interact with the other systems in the world. Leads can task designers to create skills and not have to worry as much about coordinating for a more cohesive experience altogether. A good skill-based system is very much like eating at a high end buffet - you can eat as much or as little of whatever you like and you can pick and choose from excellent choices until you’ve had your fill.
There are major drawbacks to each type, however. A class-based system will often remind a player of seemingly-arbitrary restrictions, such as only allowing a rogue to dual wield instead of a warrior, or not supporting a reasonably popular but difficult-to-execute character concept that the player might want (usually some form of hybrid class). Furthermore, the player doesn’t get quite as strong a sense of ownership of the class-based character, since players generally have fewer ways to differentiate themselves from others. A two-handed swordsman will still look and play reasonably similarly to another two-handed swordsman. In addition to all of this, it can be difficult coordinating between class designers to maintain a sense of balance between them due to the precise nature of how each class is supposed to work individually, in groups, and competitively.
Skill-based systems suffer from a lot of logistical issues due to the their combinatoric nature. Balancing and testing are especially difficult, because there are often a huge number of different combinations of skills possible. If you allow a player 5 total skills to choose from, each additional skill to choose from beyond the initial five doubles or triples the possible combinations. This means that testing is very time-intensive, and thus will tend to be bug-prone. Mobility skills in particular tend to cause the worst bugs in this regard - imagine allowing Mario to jump just one tile further or higher and how many levels that would affect. Then imagine that the additional movement can get Mario stuck in certain places so that he couldn’t move anymore, or caused him to fall through the world (failing certification). This also tends to act as a constraint on the important game content as well. For example, since we cannot guarantee that the player will choose a skill to unlock doors, then we cannot have locked doors on the critical path of the game.
Overall, it really depends on the sort of game experience that we want to create and convey, and considering the benefits and drawbacks to each one. If the goal is a free-form open world game, then we probably want to fill it with skills that the player can choose from and build a lot of generic content to play with. If we want a more controlled and differentiated experience from game to game, we’ll probably choose a class-based system so that we can really carve out different play styles that we can support with content. But we always must remain mindful of the opportunity costs and constraints that come with supporting each system, both creatively and technically. If you don’t have the necessary time or leadership to coordinate between class designs, you may wish to rethink it. If you don’t have the testing resources to cover enough of the skill combinations (especially any mobility skills), you may wish to avoid a broad skill based system. Ultimately, it comes down to which fits your game’s needs best.
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