PaRK International school uses game-based learning to raise student engagement and achievement



Kyriakos Koursaris



Kyriakos Koursaris holds a Music Education & Didactics degree and a Master of Choir Conducting from Charles University in Prague. In 2008 he discovered his real passion, which is educational technology. He works as Head of Technology at PaRK International School in Lisbon, Portugal, where he administers and facilitates technology-rich teaching and learning, guides collaborative curricular innovation as well as faculty and staff training/support, and ensures system service, reliability and consistency. Kyriakos also teaches the IGCSE Computer Science course in Y9 and has worked as a music teacher for almost a decade in grades K-7.

He has been honored to participate as a speaker in national and international forums such as the parliamentary conference "Tecnologia e Pedagogia: O que ensinar? Como ensinar?" at the Assembly of the Republic, EDU Day '18, the #MakeWhatsNext: Changing the Face of STEM regional event, BETT 2018, the Annual EUDojo17 Event held in the European Parliament in Brussels, as well as the ECIS Annual Educators Conference 2016.

At his school, Kyriakos has successfully implemented the use of Minecraft in the curriculum through a weekly workshop called “Minepark” and has pioneered the platform's educational use on a national level. For his contribution to connected and game-based learning he was recognized as an MIE (Microsoft Innovative Educator) Expert and Fellow, as well as a Minecraft Global Mentor.

On Gaming in the Classroom

"GBL helps us redefine learning and build stronger relationships between teachers and their students. Students are more motivated to participate in school activities and projects, and they feel more creative and take a more positive role to support each other. With tools such as MinecraftEDU at our disposal, we are not teaching students to be gamers, we are teaching gamers to be students."

Joana Simas



Joana Simas has been a Portuguese Primary and Preparatory teacher since 2009 and holds a Primary Teaching degree and a Masters of Primary and Preparatory Teaching in Math, Science, Portuguese, History and Geography.

Since 2015, she has been teaching History and Geography of Portugal at PaRK International School. She has been a Teach Coach since 2017.

In 2016 she was honored to participate as a speaker for two projects with her colleagues at ECIS Annual Educators Conference – Cultivating Curiosity (Copenhagen, Denmark).

In 2017 she was recognized as a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert (MIEE) and in 2018 as a Minecraft Global Mentor.

In 2018 she was distinguished as one of the ten finalists of the Global Teacher Prize Portugal.

On Gaming in the Classroom

"I’m a Portuguese and Universal History and Geography teacher with a passion for teaching and project-based learning (PBL), as well as using technology in the classroom. I’ve been using and trying multiple apps throughout these years with my students, but our personal favorite has become Minecraft. I follow a student-centered pedagogy, based on PBL and flipped classroom, and I integrate technology in the classroom naturally and effectively. My students explore History contents not only by learning the historical facts and concepts but also by applying that knowledge and recreating it in Minecraft."

In Their Student’s Words

“I learn more about the class because it's easier to learn with Minecraft. Work is more fun, so I go further with new topics than I used to. We also learn how important it is to cooperate with each other to complete each project. Everything is possible on Minecraft, even building things related to the project topic! We just need to make some effort, work together and it's done!”