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

Jordanian EFL Sixth-Grade Students’ Attitudes towards Using Gamification in Reading Comprehension اتجاهات طلاب الصف السادس الأردنیین متعلمي اللغة الانجليزية لغة أجنبية نحو استخدام الألعاب التحفيزية في فهم المقروء

Abstract: This study investigated the Jordanian EFL sixth-grade students ’attitudes towards using gamification in reading comprehension lessons. The participants of the study were 35 students from a public school in Jordan. They studied reading comprehension activities through gamification. A questionnaire with 31-items was designed to explore students’ attitudes towards using gamification in reading comprehension lessons. The results indicated that the sixth-grade students had positive attitudes towards the use of gamification in reading comprehensionlessons. ملخص: بحيث هذه الدراسة في اتجاهات طلاب الصف السادس الأردنیین متعلمي اللغة الانجليزية لغة أجنبية نحو استخدام الألعاب التحفيزية في دروس فهم المقروء. بلغ عدد المشاركين في الدراسة 35 طالبًا من مدرسة حكومية في الأردن, درسوا أنشطة فهم المقروء عبر الألعاب التحفيزية. تم تصميم استبانة تحتوي على 31 فقرة لاستكشاف اتجاهات الطلاب نحو استخدام الألعاب التحفيزية في دروس فهم المقروء. اظهرت نتائج الدراسة أن طلاب الصف السادس لديهم اتجاهات إيجابية نحو استخدام الألعاب التحفيزية فيدروس فهم المقروء

WEB SURVEY GAMIFICATION – INCREASING DATA QUALITY IN WEB SURVEYS BY USING GAME DESIGN ELEMENTS

Researchers and survey designers face the challenge of low data quality as web surveys are often not compelling. Thus, participants’ engagement declines while completing a survey resulting in participants tend to apply satisficing behavior (e.g., speeding, straight-lining) in order to complete the questionnaire or even break-off the completion of the questionnaire. Due to satisficing behavior, researchers are faced with the challenge of low data quality. Addressing this challenge, survey gamification promises to make web survey participation enjoyable, which might also engage participants to complete questionnaires by providing high-quality data. However, the research on the effects of gamifying web surveys (in particular on behavioral outcomes) is still inconclusive. Addressing this short-coming, we propose to examine the effects of two common game design elements – badges and a meaningful story – in an experimental study. Based on the theoretical background of gamification and the theory of cognitive absorption, we derive hypotheses and outline in detail our experimental design in this research-in-progress paper. Our proposed research study will contribute to research and practice by addressing an important challenge when conducting online surveys: the motivation to process surveys accurately

Experimenting with Model Solutions as a Support Mechanism

We describe an experiment from an introductory programming course where we provided students an opportunity to access model solutions of programming assignments they have not yet completed. Access to model solutions was controlled with coins, which students collected by completing programming assignments. The quantity of coins was limited so that students could buy solutions to at most one tenth of the course assignments. When compared to the traditional approach where access to model solutions is limited to only after the assignment is completed or the assignment deadline has passed, students seemed to enjoy the opportunity more and collecting coins motivated some students to complete more assignments. Collected coins were mostly used close to deadlines and on more difficult assignments. Overall, the use of coins and model solutions may be a viable option to providing students additional support. Data from the use of coins and model solutions could also be used to identify students who could benefit from additional guidance.Peer reviewe

The Agony of Choice – Analyzing User Preferences regarding Gamification Elements in Learning Management Systems

Gamification is an approach to motivate users of information systems by implementing game elements. Despite its potentials, the use of gamification in practice has also received criticism because most gamification elements are integrated into systems without considering the preferences of the respective users and without considering contextual aspects. Hence, we aim at identifying which elements users of learning management systems prefer. Furthermore, we want to identify their preferences regarding the amount and combination of gamification elements. To identify user preferences, we conducted a discrete choice task among learning management system users following the best-worst scaling method. Our results show that users prefer a bundle of four gamification elements: level, goals, status, and points. This is especially interesting since popular elements, such as a leaderboard or badges, are not most preferred. This highlights the need to consider user preferences and contextual aspects to ensure a successful implementation of gamification elements

Is it all about having Fun? – Developing a Taxonomy to gamify Information Systems

Gamification is a well-known approach that refers to the use of game design elements in information systems to make monotonous and tedious tasks more enjoyable. However, research and practice show that game design elements are oftentimes chosen and integrated in information systems randomly, therefore impeding the outcomes of such systems. In this regard, taxonomies can guide system developers, i.e., in selecting and combining game design elements to gamify their information system. Nonetheless, existing taxonomies do not provide such guidance for gamifying information systems. Therefore, the goal of our research is to consolidate the state of the art of gamification research and rigorously develop a gamification taxonomy. To achieve our goal, we conducted a systematic literature review and developed a taxonomy based on a rigorous taxonomy development process. We evaluate our theory by providing evidence of its feasibility with two practical cases: First, we show how the taxonomy helps to analyze existing gamification approaches, and, second, how the taxonomy guides to gamify information systems. Overall, we enrich theory by introducing a new taxonomy to better explain the meaning and characteristics of game design elements. Likewise, practitioners will be guided in selecting and combining game design elements for their gamification approaches

Undergraduate Dental student’s perceptions of the effectiveness of gamified Biochemistry module

Gamified learning activities in higher education has gained significant interest in recent years. Despite less evidence on the effectiveness, gamification of basic science subjects is suggested to benefit both educators and students compared to the conventional learning method. This cross-sectional study investigated the perception of 52 dental undergraduate students in the School of Dental Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia towards gamification in learning, towards the effectiveness of a biochemistry gamified teaching module, and assess the association between the effectiveness of the module and positive gamified learning outcomes. Overall, students perceived gamification to improve their understanding of topics and eased the learning process, encouraged them to participate in the discussion, and further stimulated their learning capacity through an appropriate variety of methods used. They also have positive perception towards the effectiveness of the module. A significant association was recorded between an effectively designed module and the learning environment's stimulation. In conclusion, students viewed gamification as having a positive effect on their learning progress and interpersonal skills. This study adds evidence that gamified modules are well-received by 21st-century students in delivering the course content and have huge potential for application in higher education

La Gamificación como estrategia didáctica para la enseñanza/aprendizaje de la programación: un mapeo sistemático de literatura

The incorporation of gamification into Programming courses has been identified as a potential strategy that could maximize student participation and have a positive impact on learning. To our knowledge, there is no study aimed at collecting and analyzing research results on this subject using a systematic method. To fill this gap, a systematic mapping of literature was carried out with the aim of summarizing the studies on the use of gamification as a didactic strategy for teaching/learning of Programming. Initially, through the search in four (4) digital libraries, 186 studies were obtained. Then, after a careful analysis of each of them, we verify that only 78 match our needs. Finally, we have categorized the contributions of these studies to present an overview of the results produced by the research community.La incorporación de la gamificación en cursos de Programación ha sido identificada como una estrategia potencial que podría maximizar la participación de los estudiantes y tener un impacto positivo en el aprendizaje. Hasta donde sabemos, no existe un estudio dirigido a recopilar y analizar los resultados de investigación sobre este tema utilizando un método sistemático. Para llenar este vacío, se realizó un mapeo sistemático de literatura con el objetivo de resumir los estudios sobre el uso de la gamificación como estrategia didáctica para la enseñanza/aprendizaje de la Programación. Inicialmente, mediante la búsqueda en cuatro (4) bibliotecas digitales, se obtuvieron 186 estudios. Luego, después de un cuidadoso análisis de cada uno de ellos, verificamos que sólo 78 coinciden con nuestras necesidades. Por último, hemos categorizado las contribuciones de estos estudios para presentar una visión general de los resultados producidos por la comunidad investigadora