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Gamification as a Strategy to Increase Student Engagement in Higher Education: Exploring Teachers’ Perspectives
Abstract
This chapter focuses on strategies to foster students’ engagement and motivation in higher education. The essay offers an overview of the course design process and the main results of a pilot training.
This chapter proposes recommendations and guidelines for academic bodies harmonized with the EU digital transformation plan according to research results. Its target is to provide essential tools to promote the enhancement of the digital environment for lifelong learning and the digital transformation in HE, to increase the attention paid to the standard of e-learning and, overall, it tries to be a common tool for HEIs to help them achieve their objective, namely, to educate teachers, tutors, students, technical and administrative staff in a new digital environment.
Gamification emerged as a teaching-learning pedagogy in recent years. Its usage increased during the Covid-19 lockdown and continued post-pandemic time. Its usage ranges from online to offline tools; teachers lack its awareness as a pedagogy. The present study aimed to understand perspectives of teacher educators and teacher trainees on inclusion of gamification pedagogical training in teacher preparation programmes. The study employed a mixed-method approach and included qual-quant sequential explanatory research design. Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with six teacher educators and six trainee teachers and collected the opinion of 200 teacher educators and trainee teachers. The study employed inductive thematic analysis and Chi-square analysis for qualitative and quantitative data respectively. Findings revealed six main themes and twelve sub-themes. Chi-square revealed a gender science-stereotype amid association between teacher educators and teacher trainees' opinion. Senior teacher educators did not believe in the importance of gamification inclusion in teacher preparation.
While gamification and game‐based learning have both been demonstrated to have a host of educational benefits for university students, many university educators do not routinely use these approaches in their teaching. Therefore, this systematic review, conducted using the PRISMA guidelines, sought to identify the primary drivers and barriers to the use of gamification and game‐based learning by university educators. A search of multiple databases (Web of Science, Scopus and EBSCO (Business Source Complete; ERIC; Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts)) identified 1330 articles, with 1096 retained after duplicates were removed. Seventeen articles (11 quantitative, two mixed‐methods and four qualitative) were included in the systematic review. The primary drivers described by the educators that positively influenced their gamification and game‐based learning usage were their beliefs that it encourages student interactions and collaborative learning; provides fun and improves engagement; and can easily be used by students. Alternatively, the university educators' major barriers included a lack of time to develop gamification approaches, lack of proven benefits and classroom setting issues. Many of these and other less commonly reported drivers and barriers can be categorised as attitudinal, design‐related or administrative in nature. Such categorisations may assist university educators, teaching support staff and administrators in better understanding the primary factors influencing the utilisation of gamification and game‐based learning and develop more effective strategies to overcome these barriers to its successful implementation.
Practitioner notes
What is already known about this topic
Gamification and game‐based learning may have many benefits for university students.
The majority of university educators do not routinely use gamification and game‐based learning in their teaching.
What this paper adds
University educators' major drivers that positively influence the use of gamification and game‐based learning include their perceptions that it encourages student interactions and collaborative learning, provides fun and improves engagement and can easily be used by students.
University educators' major barriers that negatively influence the use of gamification and game‐based learning include their perceptions of a lack of time to develop gamification approaches, lack of proven benefits and classroom setting issues.
These drivers and barriers may be classified as attitudinal, design‐related and administrative, with these categories providing a useful way for universities to develop strategies to better support educators who wish to use these approaches in their teaching.
Implications for practice and policy
Attitudinal factors such as university educators' intention to use gamification and game‐based learning are influenced by a host of their perceptions including attitude, perceived usefulness and ease of use.
A range of design‐related and administrative barriers may need to be overcome to increase the use of gamification and game‐based learning in the university sector.
Gamification refers to the use of game-design elements or mechanisms in non-game contexts to promote the expected behaviours. Though theoretically promising, empirical studies reported mixed results as to the effectiveness of gamification in educational practices. To understand this issue better, this author selected 44 articles on the topic of educational gamification with the use of a bibliometric analysis software HistCite, followed by a descriptive content analysis on these articles. This author examined three issues, including how effective the educational gamification implementations were in previous empirical studies, how the effectiveness has been measured, and what factors contribute to varied effectiveness results. One significant output of the current study is the redefinition of two terms: game elements refer to “the obvious game-like elements that are frequently used in digital games or gamification, which are concrete nouns”, and gamification mechanisms refer to “the underlying guidelines that make gamification activities engaging, which are abstract nouns that relate to humans’ innate psychological needs”. What’s more, the content analysis helped summarise a framework describing what makes gamification engaging, which contains goal, visualisation, immediate feedback, adaptation, challenge, competition, reward, and fun failure. Limitations and suggestions for future studies have been discussed.
The way of thinking and the way of life of the today's children and teenagers have changed radically. Some of the well-established pedagogical methods that were used for decades have become obsolete. Therefore, we need to look for a new method to approach Generations Z and Alpha. Gamification, which has been known since 2010 and means the use of game elements in other areas of life, offers an opportunity to do so.In addition to a brief description of gamification, my article shows some possibilities for using it at the university. Furthermore, I investigate the impact of gamification on the student in "Algorithms and Data Structures" university course. Subject Classification: 97P30
Educational gamification consists of the use of game elements and game design techniques in the educational context. The objective of this study is to examine the existing evidence on the impact of educational gamification on student motivation and academic performance in the last five years in order to analyze its distribution over time, educational level, variables, and most used game elements, and know the advantages of its implementation in the classroom. For this, a systematic review is proposed through the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology in three multidisciplinary databases, through an exhaustive search with inclusion and exclusion criteria on quantitative experimental studies that explore gamification in educational centers, which provide information about the most current lines of research. Fourteen studies were included in this review. These used experimental or quasi-experimental designs. Most of them report gamification as a valid learning strategy. The results support the conclusion that educational gamification has a potential impact on the academic performance, commitment, and motivation of students. Therefore, this study implies the need to expand research on the needs and challenges of students when learning with gamified techniques.
The implementation of gamification in education has attracted many researchers to increase engagement and achieve learning more effectively. Implementing technology in science curricula has seen a massive influx over the past years to stop the decline in students’ motivation towards science learning and promote scientific thinking. This study’s objective is to present the empirical findings of the state-of-the-art literature on the use of gamification in science education. Therefore, we performed a systematic literature review of 24 empirical research papers published in various electronic databases and the web search engine for scholarly literature and academic resources, Google Scholar, between 2012 and 2020. This review reveals the latest emerging trends of gamification in science education while revealing the literature gap, challenges, impediments, and extending the possibilities for future research directions. It examines the conflicting findings of other studies and provides a framework and insight for future researchers regarding content areas, educational levels, theoretical models, outcomes, methodologies, game elements, and assessment tools.
This study investigates to what extent the popular online gaming platform called Kahoot can be used as a creative and effective tool to promote motivation, engagement and meaningful learning. For this purpose, a quasi-experimental study was conducted with a sample of 101 undergraduate students of education who participated in online Kahoot quizzes by designing their own questions as part of the formative assessment. According to the results of the pre- and post-tests, the integration of this game-based student response system into the teaching process improved students’ perception of certain concepts in social science teaching, increased their active participation in the lesson, and motivated them towards learning in a more interactive and stimulating environment. Therefore, it is recommended to take gamification to a whole new level with attractive digital participation platforms to increase motivation and enhance students’ learning experience in higher education contexts.
Gamification in education primarily aims at increasing learners’ motivation to engage in given learning activities and thereby promote desired learning behaviors. Despite its potential and the increasing number of gamified systems their success is still limited due to the fact that gamifying learning is a challenging process. Part of the challenge stems from an insufficient understanding of the motivational mechanisms of gamification on learners’ experience and from the insufficient attention to factors contributing to gameful experiences and promoting sustainable engagement. In addition, there is limited empirical evidence on motivational influences driving students to participate in gamified learning activities. Another factor slowing down the progress of successfully gamified applications is the scarcity of tools that would enable instructors to design and implement gamified activities as part of their instructional strategy. In an attempt to address these challenges, the present paper examines the difficulties inherent in the gamification of educational activities and how the OneUp gamification platform can support instructors in overcoming them with the mechanisms it provides for affording gameful experiences and sustainable engagement. To add to the understanding of the motivational influences towards gamified learning activities, the paper presents a preliminary study of student motivation to use OneUp for out-of-class practicing in a gamified Data Structures course. The outcomes of this study are based on data collected through a focus group, survey data, and system logs.
This meta-analysis was conducted to systematically synthesize research findings on effects of gamification on cognitive, motivational, and behavioral learning outcomes. Results from random effects models showed significant small effects of gamification on cognitive (g = .49, 95% CI [0.30, 0.69], k = 19, N = 1686), motivational (g = .36, 95% CI [0.18, 0.54], k = 16, N = 2246), and behavioral learning outcomes (g = .25, 95% CI [0.04, 0.46], k = 9, N = 951). Whereas the effect of gamification on cognitive learning outcomes was stable in a subsplit analysis of studies employing high methodological rigor, effects on motivational and behavioral outcomes were less stable. Given the heterogeneity of effect sizes, moderator analyses were conducted to examine inclusion of game fiction, social interaction , learning arrangement of the comparison group, as well as situational, contextual, and methodological moderators, namely, period of time, research context, randomization, design, and instruments. Inclusion of game fiction and social interaction were significant moderators of the effect of gamification on behavioral learning outcomes. Inclusion of game fiction and combining competition with collaboration were particularly effective within gamification for fostering behavioral learning outcomes. Results of the subsplit analysis indicated that effects of competition augmented with collaboration might also be valid for motivational learning outcomes. The results suggest that gamification as it is currently operationalized in empirical studies is an effective method for instruction, even though factors contributing to successful gamification are still somewhat unresolved, especially for cognitive learning outcomes.
Abstract In recent years, gamification is becoming popular in education development to enrich students experience in classroom. However, there is still lack of awareness among educators and the concern of whether the gamification technique is acceptable by students. This paper presents the effectiveness of gamification technique to improve students’ engagement in Database Design subject at Polytechnic Muadzam Shah Pahang, Malaysia. A framework to implement the gamification technique in higher education is also described. As for the evaluation, an empirical investigation method is adapted and data was collected based on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Student Course Engagement Questionnaire (SCEQ). The evaluation results indicate that the students positively inclined towards gamification caused by the ease of the platform used rather than the benefits that they can obtain from the gamification, concluding that Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) is a better indicator for students’ attitude towards gamification.
In recent years, flipped learning has attracted much attention around the world. This instructional approach is appealing because it can free up class time for knowledge application activities with help from the instructor and peers. However, its implementation can be fraught with challenges. Student disengagement in out-of-class activities, for example, is one of the major challenges of flipped learning. The purpose of this study is to examine whether gamification can enhance student engagement in a flipped course. A comparison study was conducted, involving two classes of undergraduate students in an Information Management course. The results indicated that students in the gamification-enhanced flipped learning group (n = 48) were more likely to complete the preclass and post-class activities on time than those in the non-gamified flipped learning group (n = 48). Students in the gamification-enhanced flipped learning group also produced higher quality artifacts than the non-gamified flipped learning group in the pre-class thinking activities. Moreover, students in the gamification-enhanced flipped learning group scored significantly higher in the post-course test than did their non-gamified counterparts.
Purpose
Gamification is the application of game features, mainly video game elements, into non-game context for the purpose of promoting motivation and engagement in learning. The application of gamification in a pedagogical context provides some remedy for many students who find themselves alienated by traditional methods of instruction. The use of gamification could provide a partial solution to the decline in learners’ motivation and engagement the schooling system is facing today. Specifically, the college environment could benefit a lot from gamifying not only their graduate recruitment strategies, but also the college course content and curricula. This critical analysis of literature on gamification is intended to be part of a sequence on the effect of gamification on motivation and engagement. A proposed methodology in the study of gamification effect on motivation and engagement in addition to an empirical study on three college courses are being finalized to complete this trilogy.
Design/methodology/approach
Themes covered in the literature review include: conceptualizing gamification, advantages of gamification over game-based learning, theoretical connections to gamification, motivation and engagement, connecting gamification to motivation and engagement, emotions and fun in gamification, player types and gamification features, gamification in action, and implementation guidelines.
Findings
The literature on the effect of gamification on motivation and gamification is still limited on multiple levels. There is a gap between theory and practice in the study of gamification. There is limited literature on the implementation guidelines of the gamified designs.
Practical implications
This critical analysis of literature is followed by connecting it to future research by the same author as part of a sequence on the effect of gamification on motivation and engagement. The second project, will be proposing a methodology for any successful design to provide a holistic understanding of the topic of gamification. Finally, an empirical study on the effect of gamification on students' motivation and engagement in three college courses will be submitted to complete the trilogy.
Originality/value
The paper is a literature review, so there is a strong connection to literature on this topic. However, the synthesis of the themes and ideas are original. The literature review is extensive and covers the different aspects of the topic of gamification and its relationship to motivation and engagement.
Gamification is the use of game design elements in non-game contexts and it is gaining momentum in a wide range of areas including education. Despite increasing academic research exploring the use of gamification in education little is known about teachers’ main drivers and barriers to using gamification in their courses. Using a phenomenology approach, 16 online structured interviews were conducted in order to explore the main drivers that encourage teachers serving in Higher Education institutions to using gamification in their courses. The main barriers that prevent teachers from using gamification were also analysed. Four main drivers (attention-motivation, entertainment, interactivity, and easiness to learn) and four main barriers (lack of resources, students’ apathy, subject fit, and classroom dynamics) were identified. Results suggest that teachers perceive the use of gamification both as beneficial but also as a potential risk for classroom atmosphere. Managerial recommendations for managers of Higher Education institutions, limitations of the study, and future research lines are also addressed.
Gamification of education is a developing approach for increasing learners’ motivation and engagement by incorporating game design elements in educational environments. With the growing popularity of gamification and yet mixed success of its application in educational contexts, the current review is aiming to shed a more realistic light on the research in this field by focusing on empirical evidence rather than on potentialities, beliefs or preferences. Accordingly, it critically examines the advancement in gamifying education. The discussion is structured around the used gamification mechanisms, the gamified subjects, the type of gamified learning activities, and the study goals, with an emphasis on the reliability and validity of the reported outcomes. To improve our understanding and offer a more realistic picture of the progress of gamification in education, consistent with the presented evidence, we examine both the outcomes reported in the papers and how they have been obtained. While the gamification in education is still a growing phenomenon, the review reveals that (i) insufficient evidence exists to support the long-term benefits of gamification in educational contexts; (ii) the practice of gamifying learning has outpaced researchers’ understanding of its mechanisms and methods; (iii) the knowledge of how to gamify an activity in accordance with the specifics of the educational context is still limited. The review highlights the need for systematically designed studies and rigorously tested approaches confirming the educational benefits of gamification, if gamified learning is to become a recognized instructional approach.
Gamification has drawn the attention of academics, practitioners and business professionals in domains as diverse as education, information studies, human-computer interaction, and health. As yet, the term remains mired in diverse meanings and contradictory uses, while the concept faces division on its academic worth, underdeveloped theoretical foundations, and a dearth of standardized guidelines for application. Despite widespread commentary on its merits and shortcomings, little empirical work has sought to validate gamification as a meaningful concept and provide evidence of its effectiveness as a tool for motivating and engaging users in non-entertainment contexts. Moreover, no work to date has surveyed gamification as a field of study from a human-computer studies perspective. In this paper, we present a systematic survey on the use of gamification in published theoretical reviews and research papers involving interactive systems and human participants. We outline current theoretical understandings of gamification and draw comparisons to related approaches, including alternate reality games (ARGs), games with a purpose (GWAPs), and gameful design. We present a multidisciplinary review of gamification in action, focusing on empirical findings related to purpose and context, design of systems, approaches and techniques, and user impact. Findings from the survey show that a standard conceptualization of gamification is emerging against a growing backdrop of empirical participants-based research. However, definitional subjectivity, diverse or unstated theoretical foundations, incongruities among empirical findings, and inadequate experimental design remain matters of concern. We discuss how gamification may to be more usefully presented as a subset of a larger effort to improve the user experience of interactive systems through gameful design. We end by suggesting points of departure for continued empirical investigations of gamified practice and its effects.
The aim of this study is to examine the attitudes towards use of computers among pre-service teachers. A sample of 139 pre-service teachers was assessed for their computer attitudes using a Likert type questionnaire with four factors: affect (liking), perceived usefulness, perceived control, and behavioural intention to use the computer. The results of this study showed no gender or age differences among pre-service teachers on computer attitudes. However, there were significant differences for computer attitudes by the subject areas that pre-service teachers had been trained during their university education: Humanities, Sciences, Languages and General (Primary). Correlation analyses revealed significant associations between years of computer use and level of confidence, and computer attitudes. Implications for teacher training and suggestions for further research are provided.
The adoption of gamification in learning and instruction is perceived to have mass appeal among the learners in stimulating motivation, learner engagement and social influence. This study is an attempt to present a summary of the empirical findings of state-of-the-art literature in the emerging field of gamification within the educational domain of learning and instruction. It reveals the latest scientific research evidence on the emerging trends of learning technologies and gamification plugins along with extending the possibilities for future research directions in revolutionizing learning and instruction through gamification. A systematic literature review examined the thematic and content analysis of 46 empirical research papers published in the Web of Science database between 2016 and 2019. The review critically appraised and evaluated the various contradictions found in the literature along with setting the stage for the significance of future research studies to re-examine the theoretical foundations of gamification, its methodological approaches, theoretical models, gaming platforms and apps, game mechanics and learning outcomes. This study not only attempts to shed light on the novelty of gamified learning perceived as a game-changer and key enabler of motivation, engagement, and user experience but also sought to outline the key challenges and barriers of gamification.
The ubiquitous presence of technology in classrooms has inspired a shift from traditional classroom lectures to integrated digital learning environments. These interactive learning environments present the opportunity to evolve the teaching process through the incorporation of game elements that have been shown to capture user attention, motivate towards goals, and promote competition, effective teamwork, and communication. Gamification and game-based learning systems aim to bring these benefits into the learning and teaching process. This paper presents a systematic literature review of game-based learning systems, frameworks that integrate game design elements, and various implementations of gamification in higher education. A systematic search of databases was conducted to select articles related to gamification in education for this review. The objective is to identify how gamified learning systems have been used and categorize its use in higher education. The findings of this literature review allow higher education institutions to employ and explore efficient gamified learning and teaching systems to improve student engagement, motivation, and performance.
Gamification is a modern technique in science education that involves the participation of the student as a gamer in a playful structure. As a result of this activity, the student should be motivated for learning the specific academic content, becoming a player rather than a spectator in an increasing creativity environment. This work presents a gamification experience within prospective primary teachers in a General Science Classroom. A scoring game-based methodology was used for teaching Matter and Energy contents. In an effort for promoting collaborative dynamics rather than competitive ones in the entire group, a new variable was introduced once the game was started. It was called Game-index and took into account the scoring of the whole class, similarly to H-index. The results evidenced the need for these correcting measures in the gamifications processes, since a positive correlation amongst scoring and academic marks was confirmed, but also some kind of competitive-by segreggation inside the class group.
Interest in game-based learning for K-12 is growing. Thus, helping teachers understand how to use these new pedagogies is important. This paper presents a cross-case study of the development of teacher professional development for the River City project, a games-based multi-user virtual environment science curriculum project for middle school children, over three years of its development. Successful professional development required attention to multiple factors including teacher efficacy in using the software, pedagogical issues and school culture. A theoretical model for successful technological implementations is discussed.
About gamified education/training. Gamified Education Training and the Frameworks of AI, AR, VR and Blockchain
- V Palilis