It used to drive me crazy when my students talked in class. I mean, drive me absolutely crazy! If they were talking, then they weren’t working, and if they weren’t working quietly on their own individual assignments, then they clearly weren’t learning. I didn’t realize that I was missing a huge opportunity to help my students learn. Students, high school especially, are highly social. All I needed to do was learn how to redirect that social nature for the powers of good.
More Voices, More Learning, More Perspectives
Core Drive 5: Social Influence & Relatedness is all about what other people think, do, and say. As a high school teacher, this core drive has a significant impact in my classroom. Students in general, but teenagers especially, are very social. And often that is looked down on as a bad thing in the classroom. We get them to stop talking so that they can listen to us, and class become a “sit down, be quiet, and listen to me” situation. While there is nothing inherently wrong with that, we can miss some big opportunities.
Without tapping into students’ social nature, we’re missing a significant method of learning for a lot of them. Think about how effective conversations go in helping up solidify new things we learn. We’re talking and explaining, hearing other opinions and perspectives, and it forces us to synthesize all of that information together to solidify our understanding.
Utilizing things like competition, mentoring, group quests, and companionship can have a significant impact on classroom learning. However, as I’m sure you’re aware of, there is a razor-thin line between effective and chaotic when it comes to students being social. For this reason, Core Drive 5 techniques should be used with caution and intentionality. This is one of those areas where it will take a lot of training your students in the correct ways to learn socially.
While it is a double-edged sword, this game mechanic can add a lot of energy, engagement, and even fun to the other Core Drives.1 It can really boost morale and have students looking forward to coming into your room.
“Most people recognize spending time with friends as an intrinsically fun activity. Social Influence & Relatedness adds more fun to Core Drive 3: Empowerment of Creativity & Feedback as well as Core Drive 7: Unpredictability & Curiosity. It makes Core Drive 1: Epic Meaning & Calling more meaningful and Core Drive 2: Development & Accomplishment feel more like an accomplishment. Also, it gives people a benchmark on how they are doing with Core Drive 4: Ownership & Possession, as well as creates envy when others have what they don’t have (Core Drive 6: Scarcity & Impatience).”2
Yukai Chou
Game Design Techniques
When designing elements of Core Drive 5, think about ways that you can shift ownership from you to students. What kinds of things can they take control of? What kinds of things can they make for themselves?
| Technique | Description | Technique | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leaderboards | Leaderboards that show how users compare with each other. Use urgent optimism, where the user feels optimistic that they can accomplish the task, but also the urgency to act immediately. Try to position user in the middle of the display, so that they only see who’s directly above and below them. Think of refreshing leaderboards (weekly, monthly, etc.) to give everyone equal opportunity to succeed. | Brag Buttons | Action tools and mechanisms for users to broadcast how awesome they are. (Share buttons) |
| Aura Effect | A visual or status indicator that radiates from a user, symbolizing their achievements or special status. This can influence social dynamics by showcasing expertise or prestige. | Conformity Anchor | Displaying how close users are to a social norm through Feedback Mechanics |
| Anticipation Parade | The sensation reward of getting closer to a Win-State | Friendship Loop | Encouraging users to interact and collaborate with friends, creating a cycle of social engagement and mutual benefit. This strengthens social bonds and community participation. |
| High Five | A form of social recognition where users can celebrate each other’s achievements with quick, positive reinforcement. This fosters community and encourages continued effort. | Mentorship | Pairing an experienced user with a more inexperienced one. Provides training and knowledge for the inexperienced user. Keeps the experienced user involved in the End Game. |
| Crowning | Bestowing a visible, often prestigious, symbol of achievement on a user, such as a crown or title. This public recognition can motivate users through social validation and status. | Social Prods | Action of minimal effort to create social interaction, often just a click of a button. (I.e. Likes) |
| Group Quests | Collaborative effort that requires group participation before any individual can achieve the Win-State. Often utilizes various skills or abilities of individual members to complete. | Social Treasure | Gifts or rewards that can only be given by friends or other players. |
| Elitism | Form a prideful group based on certain criteria or common interest; makes members feel like part of a larger cause | Trophy Case | Mechanism that allows users to show off what they are proud of |
| Easter Eggs/Sudden Rewards | Surprises that are given out without the user acknowledging it beforehand. Rewards based on unexpected triggers. | Status Quo Sloth | Not wanting to change your behavior. Good for Endgame phases by developing highly engaging activity loops that allows users to turn Desired Actions into habits. The Hook Model (trigger, Desired Action, reward, investment) |
| Thank-You Economy | The system encourages users to continuously and generously give. There’s a social pressure to give back somehow. | Rockstar Effect | Making users feel like everyone is dying to interact with them (i.e. “earning followers”) |
| Water Coolers | Forum-type of place for users to take a break and chat. Creates a bonding experience. It’s important to create the community first, then introduce the Water Cooler. | League Rank | Ranking users within competitive tiers or leagues based on their performance. This fosters competition and encourages users to improve their standing. |
What can look like in the classroom?
Core Drive 5 can sometimes be tough to implement into class effectively, but there are a few easy ways I’ve found to utilize Social Influence in my class. The key is meaningful interactions. Here are a few ideas I’ve found.
- I utilize Group Quests a lot in class to add some social aspects to class. It’s not just group work. Often, I will embed reflection questions for groups to discuss and summarize. It takes intentionality in guiding them in the social aspect, but it works well. Another key to group quests is making something that can’t really be done alone, whether it’s the product itself or the time frame in which it needs to be completed. My boss battles and Lumio’s Monster Quiz also bring in a group quest dynamic to assessments.
- A lot of PBIS strategies utilize this Core Drive. Any kind of positive feedback and reinforcement goes a long way in developing a social culture of getting better. Even if it’s some as simple as a Hive Five (from you or from other students) can have a significant positive influence.
- I like to use the Water Cooler technique in a very informal way in class. I’ll have students take a minute or two and discuss with those near them ideas we’re working on in class. It’s the think-pair-share type of activities that can get them talking, and when they talk about content, they will get different perspectives, which will give them a more well-rounded understanding.
These are some ideas I’ve been able to come up with. What about you? What ideas sparked to life? Please share in the comments section.
The Educator's Quest 
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