Kickstarting Our 8-Part Blog Series on Motivation and Engagement in Education
What makes children want to keep learning even after the school bell rings?
How do we capture their attention, fuel their curiosity, and help them build learning habits that last?
The answer for millions of Sumdog users, lies in the power of gamification.
At Sumdog, we’ve built our learning platform around the idea that learning should be joyful, motivating, and meaningful. That’s why gamification is at the heart of everything we do and in this new blog series, we’ll be unpacking exactly how and why it works.
Put simply, gamification means applying game design elements — like points, rewards, challenges, and progress tracking — to non-game settings, such as education. But true gamification goes deeper than badges and leaderboards. It’s not about adding games to learning, it’s about making learning feel like a game.
That’s because gamification taps into human psychology. It draws on what motivates us: achievement, social connection, exploration, and even a sense of purpose. At its core, gamification is Human-Focused Design; and it works because it speaks to what drives us as people.
From video games to sticker charts, we’ve all experienced how progress, competition, and rewards can drive action. When it comes to education, gamification helps in three big ways:
Increases motivation – Encourages pupils to start and keep going, even when learning gets tricky.
Boosts engagement – Turns practice into play, making learning something to look forward to.
Builds confidence – Gives children ownership over their progress and celebrates every step forward.
Gamification makes learning exciting and inclusive, especially for those learners who might struggle with traditional approaches.
To better understand how gamification works, we’re using a model called Octalysis.
Created by gamification expert Yu-kai Chou, Octalysis identifies eight core drives that motivate human behaviour. From the thrill of uncertainty to the joy of mastery, these drives can be activated through intentional design — and when done right, they can turn any experience into something meaningful and motivating.
Here’s a quick look at the eight drives:
Meaning – Feeling part of something bigger
Accomplishment – Progressing and achieving goals
Empowerment – Creativity and problem-solving
Ownership – Customising and collecting
Social Influence – Connecting and competing
Scarcity – Wanting what’s rare
Unpredictability – Curiosity and surprise
Avoidance – Preventing loss or missing out
We designed Sumdog to harness all eight of these motivational drives so every child can find something that keeps them coming back.
🎤 Our Kids Product Manager, Anne Lancaster, shares how Octalysis helps us think about the different ways children are motivated:
"Octalysis helps me to think about children who find different core drives motivating, so that there's some gamification that works for every child. For example, some children love to collect all the badges, some want to be top of their class leaderboard for a particular game, whilst some love to decorate their garden to feel a sense of accomplishment."
Whether it’s earning coins to personalise their avatar, rising up the leaderboard in a friendly class competition, or unlocking a new trick for their pet, every game and feature on Sumdog is designed around a trusted, research-backed approach to motivation.
Here are just a few examples of how Sumdog brings gamification to life:
Badges and rankings – Track progress and celebrate growth
Contests and multiplayer games – Build a sense of shared purpose and friendly rivalry
Avatars, houses and gardens – Offer personalisation and ownership
Surprise rewards and store items – Add delight and anticipation
Weekly prizes – Provide short-term goals and ongoing motivation
By weaving these elements into the learning journey, we help children want to practise their maths, spelling and grammar — regularly, independently and happily.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll explore each of the eight core drives in its own dedicated blog post — with real-life examples of how Sumdog uses that drive to motivate learners.
You’ll discover:
How earning badges taps into the joy of achievement
Why a well-timed reward sparks curiosity and drive
How personalisation builds confidence and ownership
And much more!
Whether you’re a teacher, school leader, or education professional, this series will help you better understand what makes your pupils tick and how to tap into those motivations using Sumdog.
Want to understand what truly drives learner motivation?
Looking for ways to increase classroom engagement?
Curious about the science behind Sumdog’s success?
Follow along as we explore gamification in depth, one core drive at a time, using the Octalysis Framework as our guide to understanding what motivates and engages young learners.
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Let’s reimagine learning — through the power of play.