Lesson gamification is a hot trend. By incorporating game-play features into instruction, teachers see increases in both student engagement and achievement. 

So said Lee Sheldon, an associate professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. Sheldon is an associate professor in the college's Games and Simulations Arts and Sciences Program, and he believes using games and storytelling maintains student interest in what's going on in the classroom. 

"They are participating, they are engaged," he told Quartz. "If, for example, somebody doesn't do well on an exam, they can take the exam again. I'm trying to teach them, I'm not trying to trick them."

Sheldon's students reportedly stopped cutting class, there was almost perfect attendance, and the average grade went from a C to a B. 

"The reason it works," he explained, "is that games themselves actively engage players cognitively, emotionally and socially to keep them motivated to play," said the article. 

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Article by Kassondra Granata, EducationWorld Contributor