--- title: 5 Things I Learned About Game-based Learning in 2015 description: How are teachers implementing game-based learning in their classrooms? image: https://2024.mindresearch.org/hubfs/Education/Archive/Blog_Photos/5thingsgamebasedlearning.png --- [![](https://2024.mindresearch.org/hs-fs/hubfs/MIND-logo-2018.jpg?width=1701&height=623&name=MIND-logo-2018.jpg)](http://www.mindresearch.org/) [![mind logo](https://2024.mindresearch.org/hubfs/graphics/logos/MIND-logos-color2.svg)](https://www.mindeducation.org/) [![mind white logo](https://2024.mindresearch.org/hubfs/graphics/logos/MIND-logos-white2.svg)](https://www.mindeducation.org/) - [Our Approach](https://2024.mindresearch.org/our-approach) - [Why MIND?](https://2024.mindresearch.org/why-math-education) - [Our Research](https://2024.mindresearch.org/our-research) - [Our Patents](https://2024.mindresearch.org/patents) - [Our Impact](https://2024.mindresearch.org/impact) - [Our Partners](https://2024.mindresearch.org/partners) - [Partner Stories](https://2024.mindresearch.org/partner-stories) - Our Programs - [ST Math](http://www.stmath.com/) - [InsightMath](http://www.insightmath.com/) - [MathMINDs](https://www.mindresearch.org/mathminds) - [Life at MIND](https://2024.mindresearch.org/careers) - Resources - [Blog](https://2024.mindresearch.org/blog) - [Math Discourse](https://2024.mindresearch.org/puzzletalks) - [Podcast](https://2024.mindresearch.org/edtech-podcast) - [News](https://2024.mindresearch.org/news) - [Activities](https://2024.mindresearch.org/stem-resources) - [Donate](https://store.mindresearch.org/pages/donate) **Student privacy****:** learn more about our commitment to keeping students safe [Read More](https://www.mindresearch.org/privacy-policy) ![MIND-on-Math_Blog-Header-5](https://2024.mindresearch.org/hs-fs/hubfs/graphics/headers/_blog-headers/MIND-on-Math_Blog-Header-5.png?width=2000&height=667&name=MIND-on-Math_Blog-Header-5.png "MIND-on-Math_Blog-Header-5") Category Community Teaching & Learning Technology & Games Research & Outcomes Neuroscience Celebrations & Successes [![Subscribe](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/237516/a35fb57d-2960-4554-a0f3-e7bb5946fc70.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/237516/a35fb57d-2960-4554-a0f3-e7bb5946fc70) [Technology & Games](https://2024.mindresearch.org/blog/topic/technology-games) # 5 Things I Learned About Game-based Learning in 2015 By [Calli Wright](https://2024.mindresearch.org/blog/author/calli-wright) - - - - - [mailto:?subject=5%20Things%20I%20Learned%20About%20Game-based%20Learning%20in%202015&body=5%20Things%20I%20Learned%20About%20Game-based%20Learning%20in%202015%20https://2024.mindresearch.org/blog/5-things-about-game-based-learning](mailto:?subject=5%20Things%20I%20Learned%20About%20Game-based%20Learning%20in%202015&body=5%20Things%20I%20Learned%20About%20Game-based%20Learning%20in%202015%20https://2024.mindresearch.org/blog/5-things-about-game-based-learning) - We see it on the playgrounds, we see it on the fields and courts, and now we're seeing it in some classrooms too. Students of all ages are engaged in various types of play: the pretend play of pirates on a ship, the coordination of running a play in football, and the creation of digital monoliths in Minecraft, for a few examples. What is similar in all these examples is the intense look of concentration on students' faces, the collaboration between students, and the self-directed ambition toward accomplishing goals, all at a level of engagement that is often lacking in the traditional classroom.   If children are [most engaged when they are playing](http://time.com/3726098/learning-through-play-teenagers-education/), how can we facilitate play in such a way that students are encountering meaningful problems? Game-based learning has emerged as the term for bringing games into the classroom in meaningful ways, but *how* to do so is often left up to educators. Here's five things I learned this year from Sums & Solution's most popular posts about game-based learning:   ![hop_to_it.jpg](https://2024.mindresearch.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Photos/hop_to_it.jpg?width=720&name=hop_to_it.jpg "hop_to_it.jpg")1. Games can be difficult, but the best games are hard in a **[tantalizingly tricky](http://blog.mindresearch.org/blog/making-educational-games-tantalizingly-tricky)** way that compels students to keep going, to persist and to try new strategies.   2. **Games can create connections between the [physical body and the mind](http://blog.mindresearch.org/blog/game-based-learning-tips-from-math-educator)**.    3. Just introducing games and technology won't automatically provide an [active learning environment](http://blog.mindresearch.org/blog/active-learning). **Games and technology are tools**; you need the right types of tools and deliberate facilitation of games to create an environment where students are learning by doing.   4. **Games can [prepare students for the 21st ![Math_Camp_Girls_Gaming.jpg](https://2024.mindresearch.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Math_Camp_Girls_Gaming.jpg?width=766&name=Math_Camp_Girls_Gaming.jpg "Math_Camp_Girls_Gaming.jpg")century and for careers in STEM fields](http://blog.mindresearch.org/blog/11-lessons-game-based-learning-stem-fields)** by helping students develop problem-solving skills, critical thinking skills, perseverance and a growth mindset.   5. **[Games make brains grow](http://blog.mindresearch.org/blog/game-based-learning-infographic-strong-math-practices)** in the prefrontal cortex (abstract thinking, analyzing, making choices, making decisions), the hippocampus (memory, spatial navigation, learning) and the cerebellum (movement). If leveraged well, game-based learning can harness student's intrinsic motivation and love for play and lead them toward complex problem solving. **Interested? Read more facts and insights in this [game-based learning infographic](http://blog.mindresearch.org/blog/game-based-learning-infographic-strong-math-practices):** [![New Call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/237516/f87acad6-d639-4caf-88e6-32c68f21b3d8.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/237516/f87acad6-d639-4caf-88e6-32c68f21b3d8) ![Calli Wright](https://2024.mindresearch.org/hubfs/Blog/Authors/calli-wright-board-games.jpg) ### About the Author Calli Wright was the Marketing Manager at MIND Research Institute. She loves playing and designing board games, which she often talks about on twitter [@CalliWrights](https://twitter.com/CalliWrights). ### Comment #### [7 Tips for Getting Grants for School Technology](https://2024.mindresearch.org/blog/getting-grants-for-school-technology) [JiJi Furnishes Classroom for Students with Autism](https://2024.mindresearch.org/blog/jiji-furnishes-classroom-for-students-with-autism) ### Search Result By: ![feature image](https://2024.mindresearch.org/hubfs/Blog/Images/Inside-our-Minds-logo-teal-800x800.png) [Featured Podcast](https://2024.mindresearch.org/blog/topic/featured-podcast) ### [Rethinking Attendance in Edtech](https://2024.mindresearch.org/blog/rethinking-attendance-in-edtech) [Listen Now](https://2024.mindresearch.org/blog/rethinking-attendance-in-edtech) ##### LATEST PODCAST EPISODES ###### BY MIND RESEARCH INSTITUTE - [Rethinking Attendance in Edtech](https://2024.mindresearch.org/blog/rethinking-attendance-in-edtech) - [People, Process, and Penguins: Designing Math Experiences](https://2024.mindresearch.org/blog/people-process-penguins) - [Bridging STEM Gaps with STEMconnector CEO Jo Webber](https://2024.mindresearch.org/blog/bridging-stem-gaps-with-stemconnector-ceo-jo-webber) - [The EdTech Genome Project: Talking Implementation with Elizabeth Birie](https://2024.mindresearch.org/blog/edtech-genome-project) - [From Meeting the Moment to Foundational Change](https://2024.mindresearch.org/blog/from-meeting-the-moment-to-foundational-change) ##### [See all podcasts](https://www.mindresearch.org/edtech-podcast) ## Interested in Contributing? 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