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Supporting Student Engagement Through the Gamification of Learning Activities: A Design-Based Research Approach

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Abstract

The application of gamification for educational purposes has been widely reported with mixed results. Successful application, in most cases, is subjective and failures or mistakes are often downplayed when in reality, there is much to be learnt from these (failed) attempts. Despite the unique nature of each context and target audience, transferable principles that guide implementation are present and should be reported. This study applied a design-based research approach which offers a contextually sensitive, theoretically driven approach to the design and refinement of educational interventions. Through iterative implementations and qualitative data collection, over a 2-year period, we report on the process and outcome of gamifying the learning activities in an Industrial Psychology module to facilitate student engagement. The primary contribution of the study are proposed design principles for practitioners and researchers based on the lessons learned in this process. These highlight key considerations for applying gamification to support student engagement.

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Availability of data and material

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Notes

  1. Herrington and Reeves (2011) describe design principles as heuristic statements or recommendations for design that stem from previously researched ideas that serve as a guideline for teachers and educational designers for their own implementation and pedagogical practice.

  2. Total amount of hours expected of the student to reach the outcomes; including preparation; class attendance; study; assessment etc. In this module, 1 credit is 1 notional hour totaling 60 h.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Magda Barnard for technical support in designing the interventions used in this study and Dr Ruth Albertyn for reviews on earlier versions of this article.

Funding

This study was funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF) and Harry Crossley Foundation.

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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Samantha P. Adams and Ronel Du Preez. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Samantha P. Adams and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Samantha P. Adams.

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Adams, S.P., Du Preez, R. Supporting Student Engagement Through the Gamification of Learning Activities: A Design-Based Research Approach. Tech Know Learn 27, 119–138 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-021-09500-x

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