Potential of Gamification as Assessment Tool

Abstract

This article describes the gamification and how it can be applied to the design of innovative tasks related to formative assessment. It is argued that the inclusion of some aspects of the gamification technology can have a positive effect on the development of innovative assessment systems. Through a literature search, we show that there is room for these types of game elements on formative assessment, with reflections on: the ideas and concepts related to gamification, assessment modalities, formative assessment in the context of gamification, and the end point potential of gamification as an evaluation tool. The integration of gamification as part of evaluation tasks is a complex process that needs to take into consideration not only the surrounding or motivational aspects of the activity, but also the quality criteria that are required according to the type of evaluation that is being developed.

Gamification in psychological assessment in South Africa: A narrative review

“…This makes gamified assessment an attractive new development. Haydt ( 2008) mentioned as cited in Menezes and Bortolli (2016) that gamified assessments are used in schools to test whether students are reaching the objectives they are expected to reach, to assess student learning and to test the cognitive ability of individuals before and after instructions are administered. Because of these purposes, gamified assessments can take the form of a diagnostic, summative or formative assessment.…”

Benefits and Challenges of Using Game-Based Formative Assessment Among Undergraduate Students

“…It is mainly through formative assessment that students identify their mistakes and performance. The formative assessments also serve as a stimulus to navigate their study more systematically (Menezes & De Bortolli, 2016).…”

Performance appraisal of knowledge workers in R&D centers using gamification

“…It is mainly through formative assessment that the employees know their mistakes and successes and find stimulus for performing their tasks. (Menezes & de Bortolli, 2016). The gamification approaches have the potential to improve the way the formative assessment is conducted, involving employees in tasks that, if designed properly, will produce valuable information for the managers.…”

“…Feedback mechanism also allows managers to detect and identify deficiencies. One of the main challenges is to create immersive gaming scenarios that can be used as assessment tasks, provided that they meet the quality criteria of assessment (for example, considerations of fairness, validity and reliability) (Menezes & de Bortolli, 2016;Zapata-Rivera & Bauer, 2012).…”