TRANSFORMING THE SCHOOL CONTEXTS WITH GAMIFICATION

Buciega, A. Educational coordinator from 0 to 18 years old

Campos, C. Coordinator of Master's of Secondary Teachers

Uixera, L. Coordinator of International Projects

Florida Universitària

Context is a key dimension for education and learning. Space also educates and in fact it is fundamental for socialization, for the generation of learning dynamics, and for the construction of knowledge, in fact, regarding this, Vygotsky (1934: 138) said: “learning awakens a series of internal evolutionary processes capable of operating only when the child is in interaction with the people around him and in cooperation with somebody else”. Having said this, lots of innovation have occurred in the frame of new methodologies and didactic strategies that try to promote more participative and democratic processes, and more stimulating ways of learning. However, the school system seems to be more reticent to modify the classroom spatial context, and changes often do not go further than making different aggrupation of tables when cooperative team working takes place. It is also surprising how the aggrupation of tables for promoting team working has become a current practice in the childhood education level, and however it gradually gives pass to pairs or lineal distribution as the educative levels increases.

Educative contexts are scenarios for teaching and learning processes, and traditionally the location of furniture has primarily been teachers-orientated, (in the same sense that the process of giving birth has been doctors-orientated, we could say). Fortunately, more experiences are taking place in the direction of considering the school spaces as educative tools themselves. Different reasons can support this argument:

- The Bologne plan promoted a more practical and more significant education. A rigid scenario mainly shows the existence of a hierarchy. If we want learning to be effective it must be relevant to students. Mere transmission of knowledge is not enough, and we must move toward critic thinking, trust in oneself, motivation and compromise.

- Teachers are not the relevant actors in a classroom, students are. The end of education is learning, and we must use all the tools available to achieve so. Furthermore, our society requires a citizenship that will be able to face social, environmental, technological challenges that we can't currently even predict. In this sense, the acquisition of transversal and horizontal competencies that will move citizens to face these challenges incorporating an ethical look is a fundamental role for the educative system. This also implies to teach in new ways of working that emphasize the importance of collaborative working and more horizontal networks.

- Emotional education and multiple intelligences. The space is also part of educative strategies aiming at promoting empathy, solidarity and care among groups' members.

Wearing all this in mid, the methodology we propose has a high potential for the promotion of these values and for improving social interaction and the quality of these interactions among students. This methodology results from a strategic partnership Erasmus+ project (2015-2017) that involved partners from four different European countries. CReativity in Action to promote YOung eNtrepreneurShip (CRAYON's) has developed this methodology that has been tested in the different national contexts with young university students.

Even when the project's focus is entrepreneurship, the methodological process that has been designed may be applied in different contexts; for instance, in a school centre, with students or teachers, and for groups' management or for the development of ideas. This is because we understand entrepreneurship as a person's capacity to get the rid of his/her life, and to participate in changes that take place around.

The combination of different methods and approaches (gamification, motivation 3.0. LEGO®, design thinking) allows teachers and mentors to work with teams the management of emotions, the symbolic construction of concepts and realities, metaphors, and storytelling, all these facilitating and creating a new space for work and a better climate in the classroom context.