Improving participation and learning with gamification

Abstract

In this paper we explore how gamification can be applied to education in order to improve student engagement. We present a study in which a college course was gamified, by including experience points, levels, badges, challenges and leaderboards. The study was five years long, where the first three were non-gamified years, and the last two regarded two successive experiments of our gamified approach. To assess how gamification impacted the learning experience, we compared data from both gamified and non-gamified years, using different performance measures. Results show significant improvements in terms of attention to reference materials, online participation and proactivity. They also suggest that our approach can reduce grade discrepancies among students and help them score better. Modeling course activities with game challenges and properly distributing those over the term seem to enhance this effect.

Gamification: The effect on student motivation and performance at the post-secondary level

“…Gamification has been used in a variety of settings, including healthcare, business, education, and productivity (Barata et al, 2013;Muntean, 2011;Pedreira et al, 2014). For example, Khan Academy rewards users for watching videos and solving math problems with points and badges (Barata et al, 2013;Haaranen, Ihantola, Hakulinen, & Korhonen, 2014) and Fitocracy uses gamification to motivate users to be more physically active (Barata et al, 2013;Goehle, 2013).…”

“…For example, Khan Academy rewards users for watching videos and solving math problems with points and badges (Barata et al, 2013;Haaranen, Ihantola, Hakulinen, & Korhonen, 2014) and Fitocracy uses gamification to motivate users to be more physically active (Barata et al, 2013;Goehle, 2013). The purpose of this research paper is to explore the effects of gamification on student motivation and performance at the postsecondary level.…”

“…As shown in Table 2, points were examined in 11 of 19 studies (Barata et al, 2013;Berkling & Thomas, 2013;Charles, Charles, McNeill, Bustard, & Black, 2011;Dominguez et al, 2013;Gåsland, 2011;Li et al, 2013;Mayer & Johnson, 2010;Mekler et al, 2013a;Mekler et al, 2013b;Meyer, 2008;O'Donovan, Gain & Marais, 2013) and are the basis of many gamified elements such as leaderboards and levels (Mekler et al, 2013a). Points can be awarded for a wide variety of tasks such as completing quizzes, attending lectures, taking part in class exercises, solving puzzles, creativity in assignments (Charles et al, 2011;O'Donnell et al, 2013), completing practice questions, or correct answers (Mekler et al, 2013a).…”

“…As shown in Table 2, levels were reported in eight of 19 studies (Barata et al, 2013;Berkling & Thomas, 2013;Goehle, 2013;Li et al, 2013;Mayer & Johnson, 2010;Mekler et al, 2013b;Turner et al, 2013;Watson et al, 2013). To implement levels, users must gain points.…”

“…Badges are a common element of gamification introduced into courses, reported in 11 of 19 studies that are listed in Table 2 ( Abramovich et al, 2013;Barata et al, 2013;Charles et al, 2011;de-Marcos et al, 2014;Dominguez et al, 2013;Goehle, 2013;Hanus & Fox, 2015;Haaranen et al, 2014;McDaniel et al, 2012;O'Donovan et al, 2013;Turner et al, 2013). Badges introduce a social element to courses by allowing students to identify with other learners who are working towards the same goals (O'Donnell et al, 2013;Turner et al, 2013).…”