Interactive learning is effective learning

Learning through play is the philosophy behind gamification, which has revolutionized the training industry, particularly in continuing education and skills development. It truly engages employees, and interactive learning is clearly much more effective.

But why do people respond so positively when employee training programs include game elements? Three aspects are key:

Engagement mechanisms

Think about what made Super Mario, Pac-Man and Tetris so addictive. Gameplay revolved around achieving goals: earning points by collecting certain items or solving overarching puzzles. Games also reward behavior in a satisfying way, such as leveling up or earning badges after reaching particular goals.

Game mechanics can also help your team stay absorbed in the learning experience. If employees enjoy training, they are more likely to complete the course and retain the knowledge. This is particularly relevant when working with millennials, who, statistically speaking, are more likely to enjoy video games in their free time.

Leaderboards to strengthen interactive learning

Many games have public leaderboards where players can track who is performing best and who is falling behind.

Since the aim is not to encourage a competitive culture, managers and training and HR leaders can use this information internally to better understand which employees have mastered the concepts and which need additional training, or to gain a clearer view of the team's progress and competencies.

Microlearning as a dimension of interactive learning

You cannot fully appreciate gamification without exploring the psychology behind microlearning. This approach has changed the way we create e-learning training courses, to everyone's benefit!

Microlearning breaks a large concept into smaller pieces and then teaches each piece. Studies show that microlearning methods increase a learner's knowledge retention by at least 50 percent. That's right: by using gamification, you are embracing a microlearning mindset and putting interactive learning into practice!