Gamification

Gamification is a pedagogical approach that has gained attention for enhancing student motivation through game elements. This approach adds game-like features to a non-game activity by introducing elements such as badges, levels/leaderboards, achievements, and points (Deterding, Dixon, Khaled, & Nacke, 2011; Nicholson, 2015) to make coursework more engaging. Studies suggest that gamification can positively influence student motivation in higher education by integrating gamified learning activities (Goshevski, Veljanoska, & Hatziapostolou, 2017; Llorens-Largo et al., 2016; Oktaviati & Amril Jaharadak, 2018). In CS education specifically, gamification has been associated with higher enthusiasm and persistence. For example, when game elements were added to a peer review system in a programming course, students showed greater willingness to participate in PCR than in a non-gamified setting (Indriasari, Denny, Lottridge, & Luxton-Reilly, 2023).

Gamifying PCR can take various forms. One approach is to use a dedicated platform that tracks and rewards peer review contributions. Students might earn points for each piece of feedback they provide, unlock badges for reviewing a certain number of peers or identifying critical issues, and see their progress on a class leaderboard (Khandelwal, Sripada, & Reddy, 2017). These systems introduce elements of competition and achievement, making the peer review process more engaging. Researchers have tested these ideas, demonstrating that incorporating challenges and progression levels into PCR increased both the quantity and certain aspects of the quality of student feedback (Indriasari, Luxton-Reilly, & Denny, 2021).

While gamification has been shown to be most effective when it satisfies SDT's psychological needs (Kam & Umar, 2018), it primarily relies on extrinsic motivation, where students are encouraged to participate to earn rewards or avoid penalties rather than out of genuine interest in the task. For example, students may be more inclined to complete peer reviews if doing so earns them points or a higher leaderboard ranking. While gamification can increase participation, it does not always lead to deeper engagement or higher-quality peer feedback (Khandelwal, Sripada, & Reddy, 2017). A key limitation of gamification is that motivation often declines once rewards are removed or the novelty fades (Papastergiou, 2009). This pattern is consistent with the overjustification effect, which posits that external rewards can reduce intrinsic motivation in a task over time (Deci, 1971; Lepper, Greene, & Nisbett, 1973). This raises the question of whether a more immersive, intrinsically motivating approach could be more effective.

Ideas

• Debugging race/escape room type game where they have to debug and the answer to the bugs gives them different weapons or keys they can use to defeat the boss and escape.
• Space invaders style game where they have to shoot the proper parameter to a function or evaluate a line or something.
• Something with Scrimba? Not sure since it's not really gamey.
• RPG Maker where they can walk around talking to NPCs... Something with narrative.
• Code katta/advent of code style problems.
• A Papers Please style game where the player plays as a literal code reviewer at some big faceless corporation.
  • The student can create their own programmer avatar.
  • Their supervisor hands them 3-5 codebases to be assessed.
  • The assessment can be run through a LLM to look for elements based on the Hamer framework of general, specific, positive, negative etc. types of feedback.
    • Ask Indriasari for their data and platform
  • It will also use the Moodle algorithm for grading an assessment based on deviation from the mean.
  • Based on the quality of the feedback, the player is awarded money with which they have to feed their family, keeps the lights on, etc.
    • Maybe they could buy things to decorate their desk?
  • The student can also rate if the feedback was useful which will also affect the user's grade.
  • The leaderboard would be a list of character names/avatars. The student can choose to toggle their real name on if they wish to be identified in the leaderboard.

📚 References