Grant recipients:
Kyle Scholz, Centre for Teaching Excellence
Jolanta Komornicka, St. Jerome’s University
(Project timeline: September 2018-August 2019)
Description
This project aims to research the design and implementation of a game-based course design framework. Research on gamification and game-based learning in education has primarily focused on two directions: either traditional gamification elements are embedded into educational contexts to observe the effect, or the tenets of game-based learning are discussed and applied to a single activity or assessment in the course. Rather than attempt to improve student learning as a result of game-based learning, we instead focus on encouraging and improving learner engagement.
In order to provide much-needed structure to game-based learning approaches, we will propose a game-based course design framework and implement it in a third-year history course at St. Jerome’s University. We will compare this gamified course to a non-gamified course taught by the same instructor, and by collecting data from student pre- and post-questionnaires, focus groups, and in-class observations, analyze the efficacy of this framework and its ability to engage and motivate learners.
Research Questions
- How does the game-based course design framework function as an approach to teaching, and which aspects of the framework resonate most with learners?
- To what extent does implementing the game-based course design framework result in increased student engagement?
Findings/Insights
Our findings are twofold and relate explicitly to the two aforementioned research questions. First, the very design of the game-based learning course design framework was constructed as part of this study and refined once implemented. The game-based learning course design framework is structured around four core elements which are intended to promote student engagement: 1) an authentic narrative assignment design to draw student interest, 2) learner discovery, starting with a problem and working towards learner-driven resolution, 3) the element of choice through quests (or active learning tasks) that give students a say in how they demonstrate their learning (Whitton, 2014), and 4) team-based collaboration, not competition.
Narrative assignment design provides learners with a compelling narrative that lets them see the relevance of what they are learning beyond the theory. It is intended to immerse the learners in the course and inspire them to find a vested interest in the content.
Learner discovery prioritized problem-solving; learners start with a problem and work towards a learner-driven resolution, rather than an instructor-supplied solution.
Team-based collaboration and competition argues that students learn best when teaching others. It incorporates the aim of solving a problem together, rather than trying to compete against one another to find a better solution.
Finally, embedding quests into the gamified course environment provides more complex challenges to students, and coupled with choice, allow them to select which are most meaningful to complete.
The framework can be seen below. It is intended to guide an instructor through the initial design of a course that will incorporate game-based learning principles to improve student engagement.
Many of these components may seem familiar to an instructor already invested in providing high-quality, active learning opportunities for their students; indeed, as Stott and Neustaedter (2013) argue, “a good teacher already utilizes the power of game dynamics, whether they know it or not” (p. 7). This is true, but in order to make the use of these game dynamics as powerful as possible, an underlying framework can make this more approachable.
Summative assessments are not explicitly detailed in this framework as there is more flexibility with what the instructor of the course wants to implement. Certainly, assessments that are aligned with the inductive, problem-based learning approach to the class. Assessments could therefore consist of evaluating team participation on a weekly basis, metacognitive reflections on what the learner has learnt, drawing connections between theory and task, creating a poster, writing a paper, amongst many other possibilities.
The second finding pertains to how student engagement increases in the course when the framework is implemented. We found that the team-based collaboration/competition and the narrative assignment design factored into student engagement most prominently. Although many students initially stated that they did not like group work, by the end of the course students expressed the benefits of working in teams and suggested that even more time spent in teams would have been welcome. The game-based narrative, manifested in the task-based nature of the course and the role-play mini-game that students played contributed to their feelings of engagement in the course. For some, the choice of quests was a motivating factor as well, but for others this was insufficient to provoke additional engagement and some students chose to not bother with these additional assignments, as the draw of supporting the success of their team did not outweigh the fact that they were not worth additional grades. To this end, we realize there may need to be discussion as to how we can foster engagement without requiring extrinsic motivation/incentivization, or if that remains a necessary reality.
Game-based learning does not need to be conceptualized as merely the adaptation of pre-existing ‘gameful’ principles; while there is certainly utility in these tools – their prominence in higher education over the past decade is evidence as such – there is perhaps greater feasibility in incorporating the game-based learning course design framework as it does necessitate in-depth knowledge of gaming conventions or require inauthentic application of game principles. Rather, the game-based learning course design framework relies on existing, effective teaching approaches such as problem-based learning and task-based learning, combined with the affordances of gameful principles such as a compelling narrative and player/learner agency, all positioned within a collaborative team environment to improve and propel learner engagement.
Implications
The implementation of the framework in the course has been influential in thinking about our teaching in general and the ways in which we can encourage engagement without needing to rely on summative assessment. While the course was being taught, Jolanta also taught a similar 3rd year seminar style course in History and the level of engagement was not as high, leading us to believe that taking the extra effort to incorporate the game-based learning course design framework is at least worth considering.