Gamification of Entrepreneurship Education

Gamification-the use of gameplay mechanics for nongame applications-enables learning by doing, yet questions abound about its effectiveness for education. This teaching brief reports on the gamification of an entrepreneurship course using a stand-alone gamification platform integrated with Shopify, a global e-commerce platform for online stores. Students experienced the entire entrepreneurship process from ideation to launch of a real business and beyond. A live leaderboard allows tracking of team performance and provides a competitive element to the experiential learning. The gamification involved the creation and operation of online ventures by 269 undergraduate students during a trimester-long undergraduate entrepreneurship course. The assessment of student learning outcomes shows that the gamified approach enhanced students' experience, engagement, and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. I conclude with pedagogical observations to assist instructors in implementing a gamified approach.