Personalization, Cognition, and Gamification-based Programming Language Learning: A State-of-the-Art Systematic Literature Review

Programming courses in computing science are important because they are often the first introduction to computer programming for many students. Many university students are overwhelmed with the information they must learn for an introductory course. The current teacher-lecturer model of learning commonly employed in university lecture halls often results in a lack of motivation and participation in learning. Personalized gamification is a pedagogical approach that combines gamification and personalized learning to motivate and engage students while addressing individual differences in learning. This approach integrates gamification and personalized learning strategies to inspire and involve students while addressing their unique learning needs and differences. A comprehensive literature search was conducted by including 81 studies that were analyzed based on their research design, intervention, outcome measures, and quality assessment. The findings suggest that personalized gamification can enhance student cognition in programming courses by improving motivation, engagement, and learning outcomes. However, the effectiveness of personalized gamification varies depending on various factors, such as the type of gamification elements used, the degree of personalization, and the characteristics of the learners. This paper provides insights into designing and implementing effective personalized gamification interventions in programming courses. The findings could inform educational practitioners and researchers in programming education about the potential benefits of personalized gamification and its implications for educational practice

Simulation-based education involving online and on-campus models in different European universities

Simulation-based education (SE) refers to the use of simulation software, tools, and serious games to enrich the teaching and learning processes. Advances in both computer hardware and software allow for employing innovative methodologies that make use of SE tools to enhance the learning experience. Moreover, thanks to the globalisation of e-learning practices, these educational experiences can be made available to students from different geographical regions and universities, which promotes the development of international and inter-university cooperation in education. This paper provides a review of recent works in the SE subject, with a focus on the areas of engineering, science, and management. It also discusses some experiences in SE involving different European universities and learning models. Finally, it also points out open challenges as well as noticeable trends

Chapter 10: Game Literacy and Message Design

The popularity of video games with today’s learners requires that educators and instructional designers develop game literacy , or an understanding of game mechanics and design. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss game literacy within the context of instructional message design and to illustrate how video game designers apply and adapt principles of instructional message design to manage cognitive load through an immersive experience. These techniques include customizing the screen to display only necessary information and signaling changes in gameplay through sound cues and cinematic perspective. Game mechanics that foster germane load include tutorial missions and interface design. Similar to a narrative-driven video game, this chapter is divided into “quests” addressing cognitive load theory in video games. Completing each quest “unlocks” heuristics derived from both educational research and game design. The chapter concludes with a “Boss Battle” against research gaps and challenges, notably the expertise reversal effect in game-based learning

Responsible research and innovation in science education: insights from evaluating the impact of using digital media and arts-based methods on RRI values

The European Commission policy approach of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is gaining momentum in European research planning and development as a strategy to align scientific and technological progress with socially desirable and acceptable ends. One of the RRI agendas is science education, aiming to foster future generations' acquisition of skills and values needed to engage in society responsibly. To this end, it is argued that RRI-based science education can benefit from more interdisciplinary methods such as those based on arts and digital technologies. However, the evidence existing on the impact of science education activities using digital media and arts-based methods on RRI values remains underexplored. This article comparatively reviews previous evidence on the evaluation of these activities, from primary to higher education, to examine whether and how RRI-related learning outcomes are evaluated and how these activities impact on students' learning. Forty academic publications were selected and its content analysed according to five RRI values: creative and critical thinking, engagement, inclusiveness, gender equality and integration of ethical issues. When evaluating the impact of digital and arts-based methods in science education activities, creative and critical thinking, engagement and partly inclusiveness are the RRI values mainly addressed. In contrast, gender equality and ethics integration are neglected. Digital-based methods seem to be more focused on students' questioning and inquiry skills, whereas those using arts often examine imagination, curiosity and autonomy. Differences in the evaluation focus between studies on digital media and those on arts partly explain differences in their impact on RRI values, but also result in non-documented outcomes and undermine their potential. Further developments in interdisciplinary approaches to science education following the RRI policy agenda should reinforce the design of the activities as well as procedural aspects of the evaluation research

May\u27s Journey: a serious game to teach middle and high school girls programming

May’s Journey is a game where you help a video game character, May, finding her friend and repairing the broken game world. This is a 3D puzzle game in which players solve an environmental maze by using the game’s pseudo code to manipulate the environment. The game is aimed at 12 to 18 year old girls and the purpose is to attract them into Computer Science fields by teaching them basics of programming by focusing on logics and concepts while still asking them to type simple instructions in our programming language. Players do this in a compelling environment, with characters they can identify with, embedded in a relevant story. Our design process was based on our research on young female preferences in games and current teaching techniques for programming. Each decision we made whether for the teaching content, the art style, or the game mechanics and the techniques used to develop this game are motivated by the goal of making programming more appealing and interesting for girls. For this we developed our own pseudo-code language in order to provide an interface that bridges the gap between drag and drop approach and real programming and introduce typing as part of the experience. We tested our game with 10 teenagers aged from 14 to 17 years old for educational content. We were pleased to see how engaged with the game they were. Overall, the testing results were mostly as expected. The players liked the game (rated 4.8 out of 6) and all of them wanted to play more of it. They all felt that they learned something and 8 of them expressed the will to learn more about programming. Unfortunately, the sample of players is too small to generalize our results so we plan to take the feedback into account, iterate and test it again with a larger study group and get conclusive results. Working on this project has allowed us to understand the importance of iterative design and early play test feedback. We have also learned the importance of tutorials in games and how that might completely change the users’ experience. Finally, a crucial point was the importance of the UI helpers and targeted feedback in serious games

Self-beliefs in the introductory programming lab and game-based fantasy role-play

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of philosophy and awarded by Brunel University LondonIt is important for students to engage in adequate deliberate practice in order to develop programming expertise. However, students often encounter anxiety when they begin to learn. This can present a challenge to educators because such anxiety can influence practice behaviour. This thesis situates this challenge within the Control- Value Theory of Achievement Emotions, emphasising a need for domain-specific research and presenting new research tools which can be used to investigate the area. Analysis of data collected from three cohorts of introductory programming students on web programming (2011-12) and robot programming (2012-13 and 2013-14) courses show that programming self-concept and programming aptitude mindset can predict programming anxiety and that programming anxiety is negatively correlated with programming practice. However, levels of anxiety remained consistently high across this period. A method to enrich these psychological constructs through a multimedia-rich learning environment is proposed. Drawing upon the interplay between narrative reinforcement and procedural rhetoric that can be achieved in a fantasy role-play, students' self-concept can be enhanced. A double-blind randomised controlled trial demonstrates promising results, however small effect sizes suggest further research is needed