Simply Sara

As educators and learning designers, we often speak about tailoring learning experiences, but what if we took inspiration from game designers and thought in terms of player types? Game designers have long classified players based on their motivations and behaviours, helping them build experiences that engage, challenge, and retain a wide range of users. This same thinking has exciting implications for education.

What Are Player Types?

‘Player type’ is a classification system used to understand what drives player behaviour. According to Bartle (1996), players fall into four general types:

• Achievers – motivated by measurable progress and success,
• Explorers – driven by discovery and curiosity,
• Socialisers – thrive on relationships and interaction,
• Killers – competitive and disruptive by nature.

Bartle described player types as being about “what the player finds fun” (Bartle, 2018). The decisions players make in a game often reflect these underlying motivations.

Later, Yee (2006, 2016) introduced a more evidence-based approach, grouping player motivations into three clusters:

• Action-social,
• Mastery-achievement, and
• Immersion-creativity.

Importantly, Yee found strong links between player motivations and the Big Five personality traits, suggesting that player types reflect deeper aspects of personality and decision-making.

However, it’s crucial to note that we’re not saying learners can be reduced to just one type. Each learner holds a mix of all player types, just in different proportions. What matters is not boxing learners into rigid categories, but using these insights to design options that speak to a range of preferences and strengths.

Gamified Environments: New Models for Education

When it comes to applying these ideas in educational settings, the Hexad model by Tondello et al. (2016) is especially useful. Unlike earlier models designed for video games, the Hexad was developed specifically for gamification and has been widely tested. It includes:

1. Philanthropists – motivated by helping others and contributing,
2. Free Spirits – value autonomy, creativity and exploration,
3. Socialisers – engage through communication and teamwork,
4. Achievers – like structured tasks with clear goals,
5. Players – respond to external rewards,
6. Disruptors – motivated by innovation, change, or even breaking systems.

Some learners might have strong tendencies toward one or two types, while others are more balanced across several. That’s why it’s essential to offer diverse ways of participating and engaging, not one-size-fits-all solutions.

Why This Matters for Course Design

This isn’t about full-blown personalisation or building complex adaptive platforms. It’s about a mindset shift. By acknowledging different motivational types in our course design, we can:

• Provide varied activities that appeal to different learners,
• Create space for autonomy, structure, collaboration and innovation,
• Design learning experiences that are engaging, inclusive, and intentional,
• Encourage interactions among different learner types to promote reflection and diverse perspectives.

Now Let’s Try It: Using Player Types to Design a Reflective Practice Lesson

So far, we’ve looked at how different player-type models, like Bartle’s and the Hexad, help us understand what motivates different learners. But how can this actually shape our lesson design?

Let’s put this into practice.

In this example, we’ll design a reflective practice lesson where students are introduced to several reflective models (such as Gibbs, Kolb, Rolfe, and Schön). Students will be asked to engage with the content first, through readings, videos or interactive resources, and then choose an activity that aligns with their motivational style.

The goal? All students reach the same learning outcomes, but they get to approach the task in a way that feels meaningful and motivating to them.

We’ll build the activity with player types in mind, making sure there’s something for the:

• Philanthropist (wants to help others)
• Free Spirit (wants choice and creativity)
• Socialiser (wants collaboration)
• Achiever (wants mastery and challenge)
• Player (wants recognition or rewards)

Let’s look at how that might work in a real classroom or online module.

The Activity: Reflect and Extend
Goal: Apply a reflective model to a real or hypothetical learning experience.

Step 1: Choose Your Reflective Task (Supports Philanthropists & Free Spirits)

Choose one of the following two options:

Optina A – Creative Reflection (Free Spirit)
Reflect on a past learning experience (such as a group project, placement, or presentation) using a reflective model of your choice. You can present your reflection in any creative format you prefer, such as:

• Mind map
• Audio diary
• Illustrated comic
• Storyboard
• Infographic

Be sure to:

• Mention which reflective model you used (e.g. Kolb, Rolfe, etc.)
• Cover the main steps of that model in your own way

Option B – Peer Support Guide (Philanthropist)
Choose one reflective model and create a short guide to help another student use it. Your guide could include:

• A simple step-by-step breakdown of the model
• Prompt questions or checklists
• A short example from your own experience

You can present your guide as a one-page PDF, Canva graphic, short video or poster.

Step 2 (Optional): Share and Connect (Supports Socialisers)

If you’d like to take it further:

• Share your creative reflection or guide with a classmate using the Padlet below
• Ask for feedback, or offer feedback to someone else

Step 3 (Optional Challenge): Go Further (Supports Achievers)

Want to stretch yourself? You can complete both options (creative + guide), and then write a short reflection (200–300 words) answering:

‘Which reflective model worked better for which purpose, and why?‘

This is a great way to compare tools and show your critical thinking skills.

Earn Your Reflection Badge! (Supports Players)

Badges will be shared on the LMS and can be added to your learning portfolio.

This approach makes one core task accessible and engaging for multiple learner types.

A Note on Motivation: Same Action, Different Purpose

One of the most powerful insights from player type is this: students might do the same activity, but for very different reasons. For example, a student might complete a reflective guide:

• Because they want to help others (Philanthropist)
• Because they want to challenge themselves and do it well (Achiever)
• Because they’re trying to earn a badge (Player)
• Because they see it as a chance to connect with a peer (Socialiser)
• Because they want to express it creatively and on their own terms (Free Spirit)

The action is the same, but the underlying motivation varies. By recognising these motivational differences, we can design learning experiences that feel relevant and meaningful to more students, without having to create separate tasks for each one.

Final Thought: A Useful Lens, But Not the Whole Picture

Regards

– Sara A