Gamification in higher education and stem : a systematic review of literature

In recent years, gamification, the use of game elements in non-game contexts, has drawn the attention of educators due to the possibility of making learning more motivating and engaging; this led to an increase of research in the field. Despite the availability of literature reviews about gamification and its effects, no work to this date has focused exclusively on Higher Education (HE). Next, worldwide there is an increasing demand for skilled Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) professionals that meet the challenges related to scientific and technological innovations of the 21st Century. This lead to the need of strengthening STEM Higher Education. This brings us to the purpose of this work: presenting a systematic literature review of empirical studies about gamification STEM related Higher Education. This review study started from a systematic mapping design of 'Web of Science' articles, with following inclusion criteria: empirical gamification studies set up in HE, published between 2000 and 2016; focusing on undergraduate or graduate students; in the STEM knowledge field, and set up in authentic settings. An initial search resulted in 562 potentially relevant articles. After applying all selection criteria, only 18 studies could be retained. 12 additional articles were included by analyzing references from earlier literature reviews, resulting in 30 studies to be included. Analysis results show how a combination of game elements (e.g. leaderboards, badges, points and other combinations) positively affects students' performance, attendance, goal orientation and attitude towards mostly computer science related subjects. The analysis results also point at a lack of studies in certain STEM areas, a lack of studies that identify the particular game element associated with the positive differential impact on student performance; a lack of validated psychometric measurements, and lack of focus on student variables that could/should be taken into account as mediating/moderating variables clarifying the impact of gamification in the HE focus on STEM learning and teaching

Do Learners’ Characteristics Matter? An Exploration of Mobile-learning Adoption in Self-directed Learning

This paper aims to identify individual characteristics that motivate learners to use mobile-learning. It sheds light on our current knowledge by a) examining an m-learning adoption model which accounts for learners’ characteristics (learning style and personal innovativeness) in addition to previously studied mobile platform characteristics and b) considering the context in which learning occurs (formal and informal). A framework has been introduced and empirically tested. Results suggest that individuals’ learning style and perceived playfulness influence m-learning usage in both learning situations; while performance expectancy and personal innovativeness are only influential in specific learning contexts. This study highlights the role of learners’ characteristics in m-learning adoption and emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between various types of m-learning. This multi-disciplinary research enriches m-learning literature and offers practical implications for educators using mobile technologies as well as developers of virtual learning platforms

Identifying Player Types to Tailor Game-Based Learning Design to Learners:Cross-sectional Survey using Q Methodology

BACKGROUND: Game-based learning appears to be a promising instructional method because of its engaging properties and positive effects on motivation and learning. There are numerous options to design game-based learning; however, there is little data-informed knowledge to guide the choice of the most effective game-based learning design for a given educational context. The effectiveness of game-based learning appears to be dependent on the degree to which players like the game. Hence, individual differences in game preferences should be taken into account when selecting a specific game-based learning design. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to identify patterns in students' perceptions of play and games-player types and their most important characteristics. METHODS: We used Q methodology to identify patterns in opinions on game preferences. We recruited undergraduate medical and dental students to participate in our study and asked participants to sort and rank 49 statements on game preferences. These statements were derived from a prior focus group study and literature on game preferences. We used by-person factor analysis and varimax rotation to identify common viewpoints. Both factors and participants' comments were used to interpret and describe patterns in game preferences. RESULTS: From participants' (n=102) responses, we identified 5 distinct patterns in game preferences: the social achiever, the explorer, the socializer, the competitor, and the troll. These patterns revolved around 2 salient themes: sociability and achievement. The 5 patterns differed regarding cheating, playing alone, story-telling, and the complexity of winning. CONCLUSIONS: The patterns were clearly interpretable, distinct, and showed that medical and dental students ranged widely in how they perceive play. Such patterns may suggest that it is important to take students' game preferences into account when designing game-based learning and demonstrate that not every game-based learning-strategy fits all students. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to use a scientifically sound approach to identify player types. This can help future researchers and educators select effective game-based learning game elements purposefully and in a student-centered way

Medical Students' Perceptions of Play and Learning:Qualitative Study With Focus Groups and Thematic Analysis

BACKGROUND: In times where distance learning is becoming the norm, game-based learning (GBL) is increasingly applied to health profession education. Yet, decisions for if, when, how, and for whom GBL should be designed cannot be made on a solid empirical basis. Though the act of play seems to be intertwined with GBL, it is generally ignored in the current scientific literature. OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to explore students’ perceptions of play in leisure time and of GBL as part of a mechanistic, bottom-up approach towards evidence-informed design and implementation of GBL in health profession education. METHODS: We conducted 6 focus group discussions with medical and dentistry students, which were analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: A total of 58 students participated. We identified 4 major themes based on the students’ perception of play in leisure time and on the combination of play and learning. Our results indicate that, while play preferences were highly various in our health profession student cohort, pleasure was the common ground reported for playing. Crucially, play and the serious act of learning seemed paradoxical, indicating that the value and meaning of play are strongly context-dependent for students. CONCLUSIONS: Four key points can be constructed from our study. First, students play for pleasure. Perceptions of pleasure vary considerably among students. Second, students consider play as inefficient. Inefficiency will only be justified when it increases learning. Third, play should be balanced with the serious and only be used for difficult or tedious courses. Fourth, GBL activities should not be made compulsory for students. We provide practical implications and directions for future research

Gamification and entrepreneurial intentions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how gamification can influence entrepreneurial intentions (EI) of a group of users of an online platform provided by a private company.Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative research strategy was used with a sample of 220 respondents. These respondents were tested before and after the gamification experience.Findings – Main findings support literature suggesting a clear effect of attitudes towards behaviour and perceived behavioural control on EI, in line with the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Once the basic assumptions of TPB were confirmed, the authors tested the effects of gamification comparing before and after results. Main findings highlight an increase of these effects after the gamification experience, aligned with the self-determination theory.Practical implications – These findings suggest that gamification is able to influence entrepreneurial behaviours. This contributes to both companies and educators’ knowledge on training for EI with gamification and the use of online platforms to this effect. Recommendations are provided.Originality/value – This is the first study that investigates the impact of gamification on EI and howgamification can influence the different relationships between the antecedents of EI

Gamification for student engagement: a framework

Gamification, the application of game elements to non-game situations, has gained traction in education as a mechanism for improving motivation and/or learning outcomes. Although it is widely accepted that gamification enhances these aspects of engagement in business and education settings, there is equivocal supporting evidence. Research has emphasised behavioural responses to gamification, although there is some evidence that gamification can support deeper cognitive and affective aspects. It continues to remain unclear how gamification influences student engagement and leads to learning, a significant gap in the literature to date. In this conceptual article, we fill the gap between practice and theory through the synthesis of student engagement and gamification literature into a new Gamification for Student Engagement Framework. The provisional Framework should, for the first time, enable practitioners to systematically design gamified learning experiences, through the purposeful selection of game attributes according to the desired student experience, and consequence of, engagement. Although we focus on learning outcomes, the Framework has the potential to improve others such as student satisfaction and wellbeing across many settings and disciplines. It can also be used to gather much needed empirical evidence about the effectiveness of the approach on desired outcomes

IMPLEMENTING GAMIFIED VOCABULARY LEARNING IN ASYNCHRONOUS MODE

Gamified online quizzes have gained popularity for their potential in enhancing student learning motivations, creating engaging lessons, and improving learning outcomes. Yet, its application and effectiveness in support of student vocabulary learning have only been explored in synchronous learning setting. This study, hence, extended the exploration by examining the implementation of gamified vocabulary learning in an asynchronous mode and analyzing the impacts on students’ learning outcomes in class. The study was carried out for 10 weeks, involving 300 2nd year students at a Thai university. The instrument and measure comprised 500 English academic words made into 10 vocabulary sets on Quizizz.com, and 10 in-class vocabulary tests. The findings of the study revealed that students’ vocabulary learning practice in asynchronous mode had positive correlations with and could significantly predict their in-class vocabulary results. Female students outperformed male students; nonetheless, there was no significant difference across academic majors

Re-framing Engagement for Applied Games: A Conceptual Framework

Although games are frequently described as ‘engaging’, what exactly this means continues to be subject of debate in game literature. Engagement is often defined through related concepts like immersion and positive emotions. However, this neglects the fact that applied games aim to provide more than an entertaining experience, and that engagement with the applied purpose can exist separately from engagement with the game’s systems. To make this di↵erentiation more apparent, this article introduces the Applied Games Engagement Model (AGEM), a theoretical model that distinguishes between an applied game’s systems and its non-entertainment purpose. It poses that game systems and purpose can overlap in varying amounts, both from game to game, and from moment to moment within a single game. The value of the model is in the explicit acknowledgement that the attention necessary for engaging with content is a limited resource, and that measures for engagement in applied games need to consider that not all engagement is purposeful. The article lays the conceptual foundation for the study of engagement in applied games, and provides a framework for how to design for an applied purpose. It illustrates its use in analysing applied games and their designs through three case studies

Why so serious?:game-based learning in health profession education: state of the art and future directions

If you look around carefully, you see a lot of use of game elements that aim to motivate people towards a certain behaviour. From smileys on posts that aim to lower your driving speed, to earning stars in language learning apps. Game-based learning is the use of game elements to make learning more attractive and to encourage people to continue their learning. This is logical right? The longer you learn, the better the outcome. Or not? This doctoral thesis examines the effects of using game-based learning in medical education. Why and when should it be applied? We have investigated whether it is advisable to develop a game suitable for everyone. We discovered that there are 5 different game personas (player types): competitors, socializers, social achievers, explorers and trolls. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to social interactions and achieving goals within a game. From this we were able to develop a taxonomy, which has been tested at almost all medical universities in the Netherlands. It shows that medical students are mainly socially oriented players. While most game based learnings are not at all. This doctoral research can offer perspective in current developments, gives direction where it could go, but also has a critical note on the use of game-based learning that is should not be applied too much

The Perceptions of College Faculty Toward Gamification: Opportunities and Challenges

Gamification is the use of game elements (storytelling, leaderboard, badges, points, and progress bars), mechanics (rules, objectives and challenges), and game designs in non-game contexts (Deterding, 2012; Kapp, 2012; Wiggins, 2016). The use of gamification in learning environments has been on a steady increase since 2010 (Deterding, 2017). This may be due to the limitations of game-based learning, and the need for specialized instructors (Simoes, Redondo, & Vilas, 2013). However, researchers such as Boer (2014) believe the effects of gamification on students’ engagement and motivation appear lower than expected. This is because studies such as Dichev and Dicheva (2017) indicated that its effect on motivation was lower than anticipated and argued that the design of a successful gamified learning experience that could motivate learning and change behaviors remained a guessing practice. This study used the collective case study method for data analysis and the syntheses of studies from gamification researchers to investigate and understand faculty members’ perceptions of the opportunities and challenges inherent in the use of gamification in adult students’ learning. The study then developed a robust framework for scientifically designing successful gamification learning experiences using Keller’s (1979, 1987) attention, relevance, confidence and satisfaction (ARCS) model of motivation, and Freire’s (2013) critical thinking concept as guiding lenses. Among other findings, the study found that a well-designed gamified learning experience engenders the following opportunities: (a) reduces the barriers to learning through the use of meaningful storytelling, which enables the opportunity to inject humor and experiential learning; (b) stimulates intrinsic motivation through the use of the game element of teamwork or group work, which induces good student-to-student and students-to-faculty relationships; and (c) creates the feelings of autonomy in students with the use of the game design principle of repetition