Is Gamification a Curse or a Blessing? Teacher and Student Perspectives About the Use of Blooket in a High School Classroom

Abstract

The action research study was conducted to understand how the use of Blooket in high school science classrooms impacts the learning environment. After implementing the specific software into my classroom, I have questioned the value of the integration of such a program as a result of student behavior. In other words, I was looking to investigate whether this gamification detracts from the lesson objective or supports it. This was completed among seventeen, ninth-grade Earth Science students at a suburban New York high school. A total of five science teachers participated in the study as well. After collecting data, three themes were established with the research questions in mind. These themes focused on the various opinions derived from perspectives of both the students and the teachers. Based on the findings and developed themes, I have come to the recommendation of avoiding certain game modes that instigate competitive nature and are found to lead to negative behavior that further disrupts the learning environment.