This study aims to identify the needs for developing teacher leadership–based gamified teaching materials to strengthen students’ mental resilience in remote school settings. Employing a Research and Development (R&D) approach using the ADDIE model, the study focuses on the analysis phase as a preliminary investigation. A qualitative descriptive design was used, with data collected through classroom observations, analysis of instructional documents, and semi-structured interviews with teachers and students in five junior high schools in remote areas of Madura. The findings indicate that learning practices remain predominantly conventional and text-based, offering limited opportunities to foster student engagement and mental resilience. Although instructional documents meet curriculum standards, they lack visual, progressive, and challenge-oriented activities. Both teachers and students express a strong need for interactive learning media that support teacher leadership while enhancing students’ confidence, persistence, and psychological safety. These results highlight a significant gap between current instructional practices and the pedagogical requirements for developing students’ mental resilience, providing a strong foundation for the development of context-appropriate gamified teaching materials for remote schools.