15. Level Up Learning Through Competition

Justin Glodowski dives into the power of competition in the classroom as a strategy to boost student engagement and active participation. Justin shares how he makes learning fun and interactive by incorporating competitive elements in everyday activities, from breakout rooms to quiz challenges and review games. He explains his approach to incentivizing students with unique prizes, including creative rewards like sandboxes and leaderboard standings.

Justin describes how he fosters competition through classroom-wide quizzes, role-play debates, and prediction challenges—like forecasting election results—giving students a real-world connection to classroom material. He also shares his “gamified” approach for review season in AP Gov, where students compete for prizes, track their progress on a leaderboard, and see their achievements displayed alongside those of past classes.