Impact of Gamification on Student Motivation and Success - Insights Gained from Freshman and Junior Level Technical Courses
- Conference
- Location
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Minneapolis, MN
- Publication Date
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August 23, 2022
- Start Date
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June 26, 2022
- End Date
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June 29, 2022
- Conference Session
- Page Count
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26
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--41299
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/41299
- Download Count
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409
Paper Authors
Haolin Zhu Arizona State University
Dr. Haolin Zhu earned her BEng in Engineering Mechanics from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and her Ph.D. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from Cornell University, with a focus on computational solid mechanics. Dr. Zhu is a Senior Lecturer of the freshman engineering education team in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University (ASU) and the recipient of the Fulton Outstanding Lecturer Award. In this role, she focuses on designing the curriculum and teaching in the freshman engineering program and the mechanical engineering program. She is also the Co-Director of the Grand Challenges Scholars Program (GCSP) at ASU. In this role, she focuses on student support and tracking, curriculum, program requirements, as well as programming for current students in GCSP. Dr. Zhu was also involved in the ASU ProMod project, the Engineering Projects in Community Service program, the Engineering Futures program, the Global Freshman Academy/Earned Admission Program, and the ASU Kern Project. She was a part of the team that designed a largely team and activity based online Introduction to Engineering course. She has also co-developed two unique MOOCs, Introduction to Engineering and Perspectives on Grand Challenges for Engineering for the Global Freshman Academy/ASU Earned Admission Program. Her Ph.D. research focuses on multi-scale multiphase modeling and numerical analysis of coupled large viscoelastic deformation and fluid transport in swelling porous materials, but she is currently interested in various topics in the field of engineering education, such as innovative teaching pedagogies for increased retention and student motivation; innovations in non-traditional delivery methods, incorporation of the Entrepreneurial Mindset in the engineering curriculum and its impact. She has published over 30 papers and presented at various conferences about her work.
Alicia Baumann
Ali Baumann is a Senior Lecturer within the freshman engineering education team in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. Prior to her 8 years at ASU, she worked as a Senior Systems Engineer at General Dynamics. Her degrees are in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wyoming. Currently, she focuses on enhancing the curriculum for the freshman engineering program to incorporate industry standards into hands-on design projects. She is an instructor for the Introduction to Engineering program and the Electrical Engineering department at ASU. She is also the director of the Engineering Undergraduate Teaching Assistant program. She is a 3-time winner of the Fulton Top 5% Teaching Award and was nominated for Badass Women of ASU. Her philosophy boasts incorporating large scale systems engineering techniques into collegiate engineering curriculum to better prepare upcoming professionals and develop a student’s resume from day one.
Abstract
This paper describes the implementation of gamification in two technical courses, a freshman level Digital Design Fundamentals course and a junior level Principles of Mechanical Design course, at [Institution] and its impact on student motivation and success.
In Spring 2021, each of these two courses was gamified by making regular course assignments and project Main Quests, offering optional tasks as Side Quests/LogicCoin Challenges for students to complete in order to earn rewards in the form of tokens (Gold or Coins), and setting up an Item Shop that students could purchase various items from using their tokens to gain small motivational benefits. The optional tasks were designed to provide students (and their peers) with opportunities to gain a better understanding of the course material, practice applying the course concepts more, and reflect on their learning and mistakes from quizzes/exams. The item shop provides the students with small benefits they can “purchase” with their collected tokens, such as Crystal Ball that when used, the student gets the opportunity to receive instructor feedback on a course project report before their final submission.
A survey instrument that measures student motivation based on the Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS) [1-2] was administered to the consented participants in both classes at the end of the semester to assess the impact of this gamification on student motivation and success in these courses. A focus group discussion was also conducted at the end of the semester to better understand participants’ initial reactions to gamification, their motivation for participation in gamification, and their overall opinions and suggestions towards gamification and its implementation. Based on quantitative analysis of the survey responses, it was found that students mostly correlate to identified regulation in terms of motivation of participation. Different demographics were analyzed to see how motivational factors may differ, and it is concluded that all categories of students from different academic standings, to gender identity, to course level all identified with participating due to identified regulation. The exception to note between those categories was the amount of participation from lower-performing students versus high-performing students, which suggests that lower-performing students were not as motivated as other groups. Qualitative analysis of the free responses survey questions and the focus group discussions showed that students felt relief from stress and anxiety with this approach of gamification because it allowed for contingency plans when student performance was individually impacted. Students reported that the gamified features made the courses more enjoyable and helped them learn material better than traditional assessments.
References
[1] Guay, F., Vallerand, R. J., and Blanchard, C. (2000). On the Assessment of Situational Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: The Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS). Motivation and Emotion 24(3), 175-213.
[2] Vallerand, R. J. (2001). A Hierarchical Model of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation in Sport and Exercise. In G. C. Roberts (Ed.), Advances in Motivation in Sport and Exercise (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
Zhu, H., & Baumann, A. (2022, August), Impact of Gamification on Student Motivation and Success - Insights Gained from Freshman and Junior Level Technical Courses Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41299
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