Game-Based Learning and Middle School

5 reasons why game design is the best way to teach STEAM skills

eSchool News

JUNE 27, 2025

That’s where game-based learning comes in. Meanwhile, video games are already one of the most familiar and compelling forms of media for students–so why not use them as a learning platform? When done right, it can radically change how students learn and retain essential skills. That fuels teamwork.

Game-Based Learning

Game-Based Learning Skills Teaching Gamification

Coding, Creativity and the New Digital Fluency

Edsurge

JUNE 11, 2025

Creative Coding in the Classroom: From Game Design to Storytelling One example of creative coding comes from a curriculum that introduces computer science through game design and storytelling in Minecraft, a game-based learning platform used by millions of students worldwide.

Ethics

Ethics Science Game-Based Learning Motivation

What We Learn from the Edtech Games the Government Plays

Edsurge

JANUARY 10, 2018

Brooklyn-based KillerSnails , developed by a chemistry professor, a long-time teacher and developmental psychologist, offers everything from a board game to an augmented reality game for discovering diverse creatures in biomes that range from the Pacific Ocean to the Sahara Desert.

Learning

Learning Math English Science

How Game-Based Learning Develops Real-World Skills

Edsurge

NOVEMBER 7, 2022

Middle school Guidance Counselor Rachelle Vallon remembers the feeling, too. But she doesn't want that to be how kids experience school going forward. And that desire for change drew Vallon to Quest to Learn , a public 6-12 school in New York City focused on game-based learning.

Game-Based Learning

Game-Based Learning Skills Learning Middle School

?How Game-Based Learning Encourages Growth Mindset

Edsurge

MAY 30, 2017

What’s more, game-based learning (GBL) can address some of the most common roadblocks encountered by math teachers and students alike. At New Mexico’s Farmington Heights Middle School , teachers use game-based learning to personalize instruction.

Game-Based Learning

Game-Based Learning Learning Feedback Math

New Research Proves Game-Based Learning Works—Here's Why That Matters

Edsurge

MARCH 6, 2017

A great deal of initial research exists about blended learning techniques such as game-based learning, but adoption has stalled because of a lack of scalable, practical techniques that have also proven effective. Without proof of success, many school districts have opted not to adopt new technologies.

Game-Based Learning

Game-Based Learning Peer Review Learning Gamification

How to Roll Out Game-Based Learning—and Boost Engagement—in Your Classroom

Edsurge

APRIL 3, 2017

History in Baltimore City Public Schools, I was always looking for new ways to engage my students. When Vadim Polikov—my childhood friend and a successful entrepreneur—approached me with a game-based learning business idea in the summer of 2015, I jumped at the idea. . The Hero of Middle School.

Game-Based Learning

Game-Based Learning Middle School Middle School Learning

The critical link between scholastic esports and career pathways education

eSchool News

JULY 29, 2022

I was prepared to talk about the connections to STEM learning, the opportunity to engage otherwise disengaged students, the inclusive nature of gaming, the research behind gamification and game-based learning, and more. . At first, I provided no coaching or guidance, but instead allowed students just to play.

Gamification

Gamification Game-Based Learning Education Coaching

Carnegie Learning Awarded LEVI Grant to Double the Rate of Middle School Math Progress by 2027

eSchool News

NOVEMBER 3, 2023

The seven teams – Carnegie Learning, Carnegie Mellon University, Eedi, Rising Academies, the University of Colorado Boulder, Khan Academy, and the University of Florida – are committed to harnessing the potential of AI and machine learning to develop innovative, affordable interventions to enhance middle school math education.

Middle School

Middle School Middle School Math Game-Based Learning

4 tips for creating an elementary esports program

eSchool News

MAY 15, 2023

But esports isn’t just for the older kids, and starting an esports program in early elementary school can be an effective way to lay the groundwork for esports participation as students make their way into higher grade levels.

Game-Based Learning

Game-Based Learning Elementary School Elementary School Middle School

Can Designing Video Games Help Kids Gain Hard and Soft Skills?

Edsurge

JANUARY 31, 2019

And when he’s not spending time with some of his favorites—StarCraft and Hearthstone—he’s teaching middle school students how to build their own. Looking at video games critically, he says, helps students understand what goes into game design, and what makes one game different from the next.

Skills

Skills Game-Based Learning Middle School Middle School

Read to Lead free web-based curriculum

eSchool News

MARCH 31, 2020

Read to Lead is a 100% free and proven blended learning solution that leverages game-based learning to help students in grades 5-9 build reading, writing, and leadership skills. If students read their way through 12 episodes, that’s equivalent to completing a middle school chapter book!

Reading

Reading Curriculum Game-Based Learning Middle School

Using technology to support learning through movement

eSchool News

MARCH 31, 2025

We were able to accomplish this in a larger-than-life way by installing a system called L that uses projectors and educational games to create an amazing physical learning experience in our school gymnasiums. We installed L systems , featuring Epson laser projectors , in every elementary and middle school gymnasium.

Technology

Technology Learning Math Elementary School

Like Minecraft? Try these 7 engaging world builders, too

eSchool News

JULY 19, 2015

“I teach game design and development, so for me it comes down to what kinds of games you can build within the environment,” said Steve Isaacs, who teaches at William Annin Middle School in New Jersey. “I I could totally see players creating their own American Ninja Warrior-like levels right in that game.”.

Middle School

Middle School Middle School Testing Game-Based Learning

Website, app uses avatars to engage students

eSchool News

JUNE 22, 2016

With school budgets being slashed around the country, access to free platforms like Voki is more important than ever for educators.

Game-Based Learning

Game-Based Learning Students Assignments Special Education

Classroom Gaming Should Be Engaging, Tied to Curriculum—and Not Require Teachers to Code

Edsurge

MAY 16, 2017

It’s one thing when master teachers successfully implement learning games in a carefully controlled research study. But engaging students through game-based learning (GBL) means little unless the games are easy to implement and effective where they matter most—in the classroom. What Not To Do.

Curriculum

Curriculum Teachers Game-Based Learning Middle School

A Decade Into Experiments With Gamification, Edtech Rethinks How to Motivate Learners

Edsurge

MAY 9, 2023

The collaborative aspect of CoCo has caught the attention of high school students like Nagamitesh Nagamuralee, who introduced the beta version in his robotics clubs in his former middle school in Lexington, Massachusetts. But it also can’t offer boring bits of information interspersed with fun games.

Gamification

Gamification Motivation Game-Based Learning Math

GlassLab Set Out to Prove Games Could Assess Learning. Now It’s Shutting Down.

Edsurge

DECEMBER 12, 2018

million grant from the Gates Foundation and MacArthur Foundation, GlassLab aimed to prove that educational games could be just as fun as their mainstream titles, and serve as reliable formative assessment tools. The first word in GlassLab’s name stands for games, learning and assessment). middle-school market.

Learning

Learning Middle School Middle School Testing

Playing Games Can Build 21st-Century Skills. Research Explains How.

Edsurge

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

“I never want to make claims that games writ-large for any kid—under any circumstances—teach these sort of skills.” On a Quest A decade ago, Salen helped design and open a Manhattan middle school with a unique proposition. That's a general finding in research in other fields, but it works in kind of a cool way in games.”

Skills

Skills Critical Thinking Game-Based Learning Failure

New to Competency-Based Learning? Here're Five Ways to Assess It

Edsurge

MAY 22, 2017

An authentic assessment in middle school might involve a cross curricular project, such as designing a community garden. D2L's Resources for Teaching and Learning. Webinars —covering topics such as using video in K-12 classrooms, game-based learning, and journaling.

Authentic Assessment

Authentic Assessment Game-Based Learning Learning Evaluation

CodeCombat adds game, web development to coding platform

eSchool News

AUGUST 30, 2016

Dozens of new levels for its Learn to Code module that extend the curriculum to 2.5 years for elementary school, 1.5 years for middle school and 1 year for high school – with new levels being added every month. Girls in CodeCombat classrooms even learn seven percent faster than boys.

Science

Science Game-Based Learning Elementary School Elementary School

?Updates, Upgrades and Overheard: What Was Unveiled at ISTE 2017

Edsurge

JUNE 27, 2017

GOTTA CATCH ‘EM ALL: Newsela , a popular online resource which allows teachers to select and assign articles based on students’ Lexile levels, is aiming to bring its materials to younger students. Our bread and butter has always been middle school ELA,” a representative from the company explains. WHO GIVES A KAHOOT?:

Multiple Choice Questions

Multiple Choice Questions Assignments Quizzes Game-Based Learning

Why It's Important to Teach Your Students Financial Literacy—and Three Ways to Do It

Edsurge

APRIL 16, 2018

In Oakland, CA, more than 60 students at James Madison Middle School gather to talk about money. Understanding wants vs. needs is a popular lesson among middle-school students and can be a low-barrier entry point to starting conversations at home. The conversation is robust.

Teaching

Teaching Social Studies Cognitive Development Students

Classcraft Raises $7.5 Million to Turn Classrooms into Collaborative Adventure Games

Edsurge

SEPTEMBER 17, 2019

It becomes relevant to them when you turn your class into a game,” says Isaacs, a 50-year-old teacher at William Annin Middle School and Ridge High School in Basking Ridge, N.J. You’re taking out all the sterile school stuff.”

Textbooks

Textbooks Classroom Management Social Studies History

We Asked Teachers What They Want From Edtech. Here’s What They Said.

Edsurge

JANUARY 22, 2018

For example, Propel Schools, one of the fastest growing charter networks in Pittsburgh, is using shared Chromebooks and Google for Education to guide middle school students through every stage of the writing process—from research to revision. Consider the ways that technology can streamline these processes for teachers.

Teachers

Teachers Writing Feedback Assignments

Carmen Sandiego Is Back. But Can She Fix America’s Geography Woes?

Edsurge

AUGUST 27, 2019

Sara Rowe and Lennelle Gilpin, who teach middle school geography in Wentzville, Mo., Michael Milton, a high school history teacher in Burlington, Mass., recalls a childhood love of mystery novels, piecing together clues and what we might call today active learning. When asked about Carmen’s appeal, answers ran the gamut.

History

History Exams Culture Knowledge

Coding in the Classroom: Six Tips to Get Even Reluctant Teachers—and Students—Started

Edsurge

JANUARY 17, 2017

But just like Williams, she knew how crucial computer science and programming literacy was for her students at Woodland Middle School. New Jersey teacher Julie Andrew-Lamon found that delving into the world of CS for kids was daunting at first. Andrew-Lamon faced her fears and brought Hour of Code to her classroom.

Teachers

Teachers Intelligence English Science

Mindsnacks–Learning in Bite-sized Pieces

Ask a Tech Teacher

OCTOBER 7, 2016

Though these are game-based learning, there’s no plot as you might find simulated games. Each app includes personalized learning, an enhanced review mode, and additional challenges to keep students motivated. Think Number Munchers rather than Minecraft. Education Applications. Conclusion.

Language

Language Languages Learning History

Where in the World Is Planet3? An Educational Gaming CEO Seeks His Second Act

Edsurge

APRIL 17, 2019

Planet3’s Formative Years Kelly founded Planet3 in 2013 to blend top-tier commercial game designers with instructional experts and create a digital platform to teach middle-school science. He based the content on the Next Generation Science Standards , a multi-state effort at K-12 science education content completed in 2013.

Education

Education Science Middle School Middle School

5 Favorite Activities to End the School Year

Ask a Tech Teacher

APRIL 4, 2019

Common Sense Media’s award-winning Digital Passport is the gold-standard in teaching digital citizenship to grades 3-5 (or Middle School). This free-to-schools online program mixes videos, games, quizzes, and the challenge of earning badges to teach students the concepts behind digital citizenship : Communication.

Activities

Activities Schools Ethics Writing

Scholastic esports participation leads to substantial learning outcomes

eSchool News

AUGUST 3, 2021

The utility of game-based learning in education has been known for a long time, but what is beginning to emerge is an understanding of how esports are having an impact in education. His program is focused on developing college and career awareness services for middle school youth through esports and community engagement.

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes Participation Game-Based Learning STEM

Age of Learning’s Latest Is a $100 Million Educational Game

Edsurge

MAY 1, 2019

That’s roughly how much Age of Learning estimates it will have spent by the end of this year on “ Adventure Academy ,” a multiplayer online game to teach elementary- and middle-school age children subjects including math, social studies and language arts.

Game-Based Learning

Game-Based Learning Mobile Devices Social Studies Education

How scholastic esports helps students’ academic achievement

eSchool News

DECEMBER 1, 2021

The utility of game-based learning in education has been known for a long time, but what is beginning to emerge is an understanding of how esports are having an impact in education. His program is focused on developing college and career awareness services for middle school youth through esports and community engagement.

Achievement

Achievement Game-Based Learning STEM Students

?Meet Intel Education Accelerator’s Newest Cohort of EdTech Visionaries

Edsurge

DECEMBER 2, 2016

This year’s cohort, whose products range from game-based learning to AI-generated flashcards, has a lot to be excited about. based startup is building online game worlds akin to World of Warcraft and other deep-dive games, but where users are introduced to Next Generation Science Standards and real-life learning opportunities.

Education

Education Mobile Devices History Game-Based Learning

Google continues its classroom climb

eSchool News

JULY 26, 2017

classrooms and is becoming an increasingly popular choice for computers, while Apple’s iOS platform holds the lead on mobile devices, according to a new survey from game-based learning provider Kahoot! Google’s Chrome OS is spreading throughout U.S. Chrome OS accounted for 58 percent of the computer market in U.S.

Mobile Devices

Mobile Devices Game-Based Learning Middle School Middle School

Teaching Vanguard

5 reasons why game design is the best way to teach STEAM skills

Coding, Creativity and the New Digital Fluency

Trending Sources

What We Learn from the Edtech Games the Government Plays

How Game-Based Learning Develops Real-World Skills

?How Game-Based Learning Encourages Growth Mindset

New Research Proves Game-Based Learning Works—Here's Why That Matters

How to Roll Out Game-Based Learning—and Boost Engagement—in Your Classroom

The critical link between scholastic esports and career pathways education

Carnegie Learning Awarded LEVI Grant to Double the Rate of Middle School Math Progress by 2027

4 tips for creating an elementary esports program

Can Designing Video Games Help Kids Gain Hard and Soft Skills?

Read to Lead free web-based curriculum

Using technology to support learning through movement

Like Minecraft? Try these 7 engaging world builders, too

Website, app uses avatars to engage students

Classroom Gaming Should Be Engaging, Tied to Curriculum—and Not Require Teachers to Code

A Decade Into Experiments With Gamification, Edtech Rethinks How to Motivate Learners

GlassLab Set Out to Prove Games Could Assess Learning. Now It’s Shutting Down.

Playing Games Can Build 21st-Century Skills. Research Explains How.

New to Competency-Based Learning? Here're Five Ways to Assess It

CodeCombat adds game, web development to coding platform

?Updates, Upgrades and Overheard: What Was Unveiled at ISTE 2017

Why It's Important to Teach Your Students Financial Literacy—and Three Ways to Do It

Classcraft Raises $7.5 Million to Turn Classrooms into Collaborative Adventure Games

We Asked Teachers What They Want From Edtech. Here’s What They Said.

Carmen Sandiego Is Back. But Can She Fix America’s Geography Woes?

Coding in the Classroom: Six Tips to Get Even Reluctant Teachers—and Students—Started

Mindsnacks–Learning in Bite-sized Pieces

Where in the World Is Planet3? An Educational Gaming CEO Seeks His Second Act

5 Favorite Activities to End the School Year

Scholastic esports participation leads to substantial learning outcomes

Age of Learning’s Latest Is a $100 Million Educational Game

How scholastic esports helps students’ academic achievement

?Meet Intel Education Accelerator’s Newest Cohort of EdTech Visionaries

Google continues its classroom climb

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