Views & Opinion
The future of education: how AI and gamification are shaping the classroom of tomorrow
Comment by SEAN D’ARCY, Chief Solutions Officer at Kahoot!
The classroom of the future isn’t about digital blackboards or robots replacing teachers; it’s about using innovative tools to keep students engaged and support teachers in their vital role. As the government moves forward with their plan to roll out AI across the public sector, it’s essential to explore how this technology will affect education in the UK.
Having already announced plans in August 2024 to invest £4 million into enhancing the ability of AI tools for teachers, the government’s move to double down on AI
commitments marks an important step towards supporting teachers and breaking down barriers to opportunity. Within the government’s plans is the use of AI to assist with teacher’s time-consuming tasks, enabling them to have more face to face time with children. Rather than replacing educators, the goal is to use AI in education to enhance the teaching experience.
For teachers, AI tools can automate tasks, giving them more time to focus on delivering lessons. Teachers can use AI question generators, for example, to generate gamified quizzes for their classroom. This helps educators take a more efficient approach to their teaching while improving the quality of learning experiences for students. Classroom technology is set to play a key role in easing teacher’s workload and
providing them with greater work-life balance.
Furthermore, technology in education empowers teachers to identify learning gaps and address them in real time, ensuring that students stay on track. By monitoring student engagement and offering instant feedback, teachers can quickly pinpoint areas where students need extra support to reinforce knowledge. This insight allows for personalised learning paths, promotes active participation, and keeps students both challenged and motivated.
Gen Z students are digital natives, which makes traditional methods of teaching often feel disconnected from their learning preferences. Addressing this gap, gamification integrates elements like leaderboards, polls, and challenges to make lessons more engaging as they compete with their classmates. This interactive approach has been shown to motivate students, demonstrated by an independent study that found students using Kahoot! were more enthusiastic and engaged whilst also experiencing reduced anxiety levels.
Furthermore, the multisensory nature of games - incorporating visuals, sounds, and interactive elements - caters to different learning styles, making the experience more inclusive. Games incorporate repetition in ways that feel enjoyable, allowing students to reinforce their knowledge without the monotony that often comes with traditional methods. By combining AI with gamified learning platforms, we can bridge the gap in a stretched education system, ensuring that students not only succeed academically but also enjoy the process of learning.
The awe, wonder and delight of immersive learning Comment by ELIZABETH BOOTH, former headteacher and trustee at Punchdrunk Enrichment
Teachers have a profound effect on the lives of children within our schools. It is our responsibility to help them to be successful learners, but it’s also crucial that we stimulate and engage the children in our care. This is why I passionately believe that children should be educated through a broad and balanced curriculum, with the Arts at its core. It was after experiencing immersive theatre company Punchdrunk’s production of Faust, that I began wondering if that
kind of experience could be made available for children. This led to me collaborating with Peter Higgin, founder and Artistic Director of Punchdrunk Enrichment, a charity that creates immersive theatre for families in schools and communities, and my school hosting the company’s first production for primary school audiences, Under the Eiderdown. We agreed the focus should be on raising standards in two curriculum areas: Speaking & Listening and Writing. The school buzzed with excitement when small groups of children visited the magical bric-a-brac shop that had mysteriously appeared within the school over the weekend. The shop was filled with curious objects relating to a story book already familiar to the children. The shopkeeper told the visitors that the shop could only stay in business with a supply of fresh stories, prompting our excited children to produce a flood of wonderful writing. Punchdrunk Enrichment’s first foray into immersive learning was a success.
Alongside installations, Punchdrunk Enrichment have devised a 24
www.education-today.co.uk
number of accessible ‘teacher-led’ projects that can be easily replicated in classrooms. This includes the recently launched The Creature Chronicles, which gives teachers their first taste of delivering an immersive learning project in class.
The question of why immersive learning matters is worth careful consideration. That’s why the new research report by the Centre for Education and Youth (CfEY), The Enjoyment and Impact of Immersive Learning, which looks at the impact of Punchdrunk Enrichment’s programmes in 16 London schools, is so important. The report makes a compelling case for immersive learning’s value. Immersive learning instills elements of playfulness, exploration and adventure with children’s learning, embedding creativity and risk- taking in teachers’ professional development journey. Participation in immersive learning programmes is associated with improvements in pupils’ happiness, wellbeing, positive attitudes towards learning, and their ability to learn from their mistakes. Pupils show marginal but promising improvements in their sense of agency, motivation, self-efficacy and positive attitudes towards their local community. Finally, immersive learning is a joyful experience, leading potentially to more positive attitudes towards learning and wider school life. Personally, what has proved immersive learning’s worth most conclusively is hearing of its impact on former pupils. Whenever I bump into one I’ll ask them what they recall from their time at Dalmain. These memories often feature the bric-a-brac shop, The Lost Lending Library, or another Punchdrunk Enrichment experience. It’s clear that these brief episodes of theatrical magic have lasting impact, not only by improving children’s learning, but also by enriching their lives.
February 2025
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