Gamify your classroom! – A guidebook tool for an alternative pedagogical approach to class-based teaching

Abstract

This guidebook is one of the intellectual outputs from the project GBL4ESL, Game-Based Learning to Alleviate Early School Leaving that has been funded under the Erasmus+ initiative. The scope of the guidebook is that of supporting school teachers in the use of alternative pedagogies with students at risk of early school leaving. Early school leaving (ESL) is often related to a low achievement in basic skills as well as disengagement with the school and the curriculum. The outcomes from the European Council meeting1 in November 2015, concluded that the design and quality of education systems together with teaching methods and curricula that may adequately reflect the needs of students at risk of early school leaving may have a strong impact on the teachers and the learners and their resultant engagement with learning. The council furthermore recommends that policies addressing the challenge for early school leavers should take into consideration alternative pedagogical approaches and include different forms of assessment. These outcomes also reflect the 2013 report of the Thematic Working Group on Early School Leaving, where one of the key messages to help reduce early school leaving, is to provide an engaging curriculum that is relevant to their experiences.