Game On! Students' Perceptions of Gamified Learning

Introduction The beginning of the 21st century has seen several macro-level trends challenge the traditional higher education model (Doyle, Buckley, & Carroll, 2013). Most notable is the arrival of a new generational group (Elam, Stratton, & Gibson, 2007; Howe & Strauss, 2000; Howe & Strauss, 2003). Referred to as "Millennials" or "Generation Y," they are widely seen as being the first "digital natives," exposed to information technology from birth. Other far-reaching changes have coincided with the arrival of this new cohort. Massification, a concept which refers to the enrolment of students beyond the levels required to repopulate academia and certain other high status professions, continues apace (Cornuel, 2007). This inevitably leads to larger and more diverse classes, with far more variance in student background and ability. University financing models are also changing (Altbach, Reisberg, & Rumbley, 2009). Higher level institutions have adapted to the changing financial environment by developing new revenue streams, including fee paying postgraduate and executive education courses, and by recruiting fee paying students from foreign jurisdictions, amplifying the negative effects of massification. One concern linked to these trends is that student engagement and motivation is declining. The symptoms are well documented. Lecturers report declining class attendance (Massingham & Herrington, 2006) coupled with difficulties in prompting interaction and discussion (Race, 2010). More pernicious problems such as plagiarism and cheating are reported to be rising (Flint, Clegg, & Macdonald, 2006). In response, educators are striving to develop innovative teaching practices to capture and retain the attention of students, particularly millennials. One approach, and the subject of growing interest, is gamification. This involves "using game-based mechanics, aesthetics and game thinking to engage people, motivate action, promote learning, and solve problems" (Kapp, 2012, p. 10). More generally, gamification is the term applied to a set of motivational triggers, such as rewards and competition, which are traditionally associated with games. While the application of gamification in education is still an emerging trend (Dicheva, Dichev, Agre, & Angelova, 2015), its proponents suggest that it can be employed to enhance student engagement and prompt learning. However, due to the dearth of empirical research in this area, little is known about how gamification impacts on students' motivation to engage and learn. For example, in what contexts does gamification have most impact on engagement? Do gamified learning activities work better in large or small classes? Does the level of specialism of the relevant degree make any difference to the effectiveness of gamification in education? What challenges or difficulties do gamified learning environments present for students? When attempting to influence behaviour, a comprehensive understanding of the target group's perceptions of the relevant issue is necessary (Gullifer & Tyson, 2010). To this end, a gamified learning intervention was deployed within two university modules taken by different student cohorts during the same semester. The first was a large group of undergraduate students while the second was a small postgraduate course. Focus groups were carried out with each cohort to develop a nuanced understanding of their perceptions of a gamified learning environment across different class sizes, level of education and subject specialism. Our paper makes three contributions. First, we assess students' perceptions of the effectiveness of gamification as a pedagogical technique. Second, we provide other educators with guidance on how gamification can be integrated into curricula. Finally, we use the data to identify outstanding issues and questions that must be fully addressed before gamification can be considered a mature pedagogical methodology. …