The Impact of Gamification on Learning Outcomes of Computer Science Majors

Gamification is the use of game elements in domains other than games. Gamification use is often suggested for difficult activities because it enhances users’ engagement and motivation level. Due to such benefits, the use of gamification is also proposed in education environments to improve students’ performance, engagement, and satisfaction. Computer science in higher education is a tough area of study and thus needs to utilize various already explored benefits of gamification. This research develops an empirical study to evaluate the effectiveness of gamification in teaching computer science in higher education. Along with the learning outcomes, the effect of group size on students’ satisfaction level is also measured. Furthermore, the impact of gamification over time is analyzed throughout a semester to observe its effectiveness as a long-term learning technique. The analysis, covering both learning outcome and students’ satisfaction, suggests that gamification is an effective tool to teach tough courses at higher education level; however, group size should be taken into account for optimal classroom size and better learning experience.

1. Explore the effectiveness of gamification and different group settings on students’ learning outcomes in teaching higher education computer science courses.
2. Explore the effect of gamification and group size on students’ satisfaction level.
3. Assess the effectiveness of gamification and different group sizes on learning outcomes and students’ satisfaction over time through longitudinal experiments. (@ahmad2020a, 162)

1. !ahmad2020a-6-x56-y412.png
2. A user-oriented gamification framework, as proposed by Nicholson [52], recommends (a) focusing on fun element, (b) different ways to achieve learning goals, (c) design considering users’ benefit, and (d) combining game elements with non-gaming settings. Further, Blohm and Leimeister [53] argued that gamification in education should consist of at least two distinct layers, one for identification and development of learning objectives, realizing the learning outcome of every module and the other layer for the integration of learning objectives in game design elements. The proposed framework (illustrated in Figure 1), while adapting both the above-mentioned frameworks, comprises three main components: (a) gamification constructs, (b) game design elements, and (c) assessment about students’ satisfaction and learning outcomes.
3. Gamification elements are adapted from the work of Nah and colleagues [54], which provide guidelines to develop gamification applications in educational settings. There are five major elements:
   1. goal orientation
   2. achievements
   3. reinforcements
   4. competition
   5. fun orientation. (@ahmad2020a, 166)
4. The elements included were points, badges, rewards, levels, ranks, and leaderboard. (@ahmad2020a, 169)
5. All points attributed to grades, then badges and levels based on points.
   • Students were also grouped and the group was awarded ranks based on the average number of points among the group members.
   • No gameplay or story or any other "game" elements.
   • Three control and three experimental sections. In each section, they tested no groups, small groups $<7$, and large groups $>24$, respectively.
   • The grades were considered as a metric for improvement as well as satisfaction questionnaires throughout the semester. (@ahmad2020a, 169)
   • Procedure and method. All points attributed to grades, then badges and levels based on points. No gameplay or story or any other "game" elements.

• Results were generally positive.
• Students in the gamification groups all had better grades across the board.
• Students were more satisfied in the no group and small group settings.
• Strong correlation between the students mark and their satisfaction. (@ahmad2020a, 178)

1. S. Nicholson. 2012. A user-centered theoretical framework for meaningful gamification. In Proc. Games þ Learning þ Society. 8.0, 223–230.
2. F. Nah, V. R. Telaprolu, S. Rallapalli, and P. R. Venkata. 2013. Gamification of education using computer games. In HIMI/HCII 2013, Part III (Lecture Notes in Computer Science), S. Yamamoto (Ed.), vol. 8018. Springer, 99–107.