Reflection # 8 Gamification
One method I thought of to incorporate Gamification into Social Studies Classrooms is through history simulation games.
During my undergraduate education, I was involved with facilitating a number of Crisis Simulations at high school level Model United Nations Conferences. I have never seen students so passionate and engaged about history content. Yes, they were there voluntarily with their friends, but the fact that they chose history crisis simulations as an extracurricular says a lot. Students often expressed they wished they knew about crisis simulations at the beginning of their high school education.
I would love to incorporate History Sims into my classroom and as an extracurricular at any school I end up at. Of course, at Conference there is a competitive aspect of awards being handed out at the end but I believe teachers can creatively replicate this somehow. And honestly, I’ve observed throughout the course of the conference that the awards are a small thing, and students know they are unlikely to get one as there are three for groups of usually 30 students. They actively engage and participate out of fun. And the camaraderie and group dynamics are amazing to watch.
Here are some links to a website on history simulations for more information:
https://historysimulation.com/gamification/
https://historysimulation.com/world-war-1-map-activity
And here are some links to highchool level Model UN conferences with Crisis Committees:
https://caimun.ca/about-caimun