Gamification
R. Tohand; M. Alinejad; B. Daneshmand
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The gamification approach is one of the newest and most attractive developments in recent years, which has been effective in various fields, including education. This approach attracted the attention of its audience by creating excitement and interaction. Gamification means ...
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Background and Objectives: The gamification approach is one of the newest and most attractive developments in recent years, which has been effective in various fields, including education. This approach attracted the attention of its audience by creating excitement and interaction. Gamification means the application of game elements and components in a non-game situation, which, according to an attractive and predetermined process, considers certain goals. The gamification approach with the effectiveness of the curriculum created a dynamic and interactive environment for the learners and improved their educational and learning status in a suitable context. This research was conducted with the aim of identifying the experiences of experts in connection with the application of the elements of the gamification approach in the higher education curriculum.Methods: This qualitative research was conducted using a phenomenological (descriptive) approach in the year 1401. In this study, a deep question was posed to experts to obtain their experiences, and if necessary, elements of the gamification approach were explained for the interviewees to express their experiences related to them. The participants included experts from across the country who were involved in education, research, the production of electronic content for higher education systems related to gamification. Based on targeted sampling and snowball technique, 18 participants were identified at the national level. The interviews, which lasted for one hour each, continued until theoretical saturation was reached. After conducting and recording the interviews, they were transcribed full. The transcriptions were then reviewed multiple times, comparing the text with the audio, and subsequently subjected to a coding and analysis system.Findings: Based on the experts' experiences, the elements of gamification approach that can be employed in higher education curriculum were as follows: Create excitement (presenting engaging content, using active teaching methods, behavioral cues, competitions and questionnaires, adventure and avoiding repetition), Create partnership and interaction (instructor with learners, utilizing virtual space, through content and among learners), Create competition (group competitions, time constraints, individual competitions, and lottery-based competitions), Create motivation (creative techniques, fostering intrinsic motivation, fostering extrinsic motivation, motivational statements), Provide feedback (appropriate feedback for effort, qualitative feedback, immediate feedback after the test), Scoring (opportunity for remediation, progress bar, irregular scoring, and role determination), Rewarding (giving rewards, types of incentives, designing certificates, and awarding them), Create challenge (by posing questions and using tools), Determining rules and regulations (setting multidimensional goals for the lesson and announcing them at the beginning of the term, drawing a roadmap by the teacher, and sweet penalty) and Leveling (leveling the content and progressing step by step from easy to difficult, from concrete to abstract, from known to unknown).Conclusion: The gamification approach has elements that, by implementing it in the curriculum of higher education, could lead to the attractiveness and dynamism of teaching and facilitate the learning process. Therefore, it is possible to use the experiences of the experts of the gamification approach in the educational process to change the class from a dry and boring teacher-centered atmosphere, go out and use the elements of the gamification approach to move towards inclusiveness and make the learning process attractive, enjoyable and lasting. This approach has paid special attention to the audience and their interests and considered the participation and interaction of learners to put learning in a happy, attractive, active and effective process.
