Gamification as tool to

increase motivation and

engagement of students
in Computer Programming
Course
 Today’s learners are digital native and have
new profile. They are the generations that grew
up with technology and have different learning
styles, new attitude and behavior towards
learning process and higher requirements for
teaching and learning. In world of IT, computer
programming courses often suffers from the image
of tedious programming, learning to low levels of
activity due to low engagement of learners. In
general, gamifications can help making tasks more
attractive. This paper aims on how gamification
can be applied and be an effective instrument
/tool to increase the motivation and engagement
of students in software development courses
activity.
Introduction
Today’s generation youth is technology-savvy
meaning they have digital and internet technology
readily available to them at their very young age.
They exposed to games or gamified activities
readily available on their smartphones or in any
computing device. They also engaged and
maintains various social media platforms like
Facebook and Twitter. They tend to prefer non-
verbal communication using digital technology
than verbal communication. Thus, leads to have a
short attention spans.
Introduction…
The mentioned nature of youth post challenges
in motivating them to engage to learn
computer programming, which is often
perceived as a boring, difficult and time
consuming and sometimes leads to the shifting
to other programs.
Introduction…
Gamification, the use of game design elements in
non-game contexts (Deterding, Dixon, Khaled, &
Nacke, 2011), might overcome the challenges faced
in the teaching of computer programming.
As gamification uses “game-based mechanics,
aesthetics and game thinking to engage people,
motivate action, promote learning, and solve
problems” (Kapp, 2012), it provides an avenue for
capturing the attention spans of people. The goal of
gamification is to maximize enjoyment and
engagement through capturing the interest of
learners and inspiring them to continue learning
Introduction…
As gamification uses “game-based mechanics,
aesthetics and game thinking to engage people,
motivate action, promote learning, and solve
problems” (Kapp, 2012), it provides an avenue for
capturing the attention spans of people. The goal of
gamification is to maximize enjoyment and
engagement through capturing the interest of
learners and inspiring them to continue learning
(Hwang, Hong, Cheng, Peng, & Wu, 2013).
Introduction…
Most computer instructors agree that there is a
problem when teaching programming or
software development courses and many
students are unable to understand
programming logic and there must be a
method to encourage them. Computer science
students need to be motivated to practice,
study and exchange ideas. With these,
Gamification will be used as a tool to motivate
students and increase their engagement in
software development activities.
Introduction…
Active learning increases student performance
in science, engineering and mathematics
(Freeman, et al., 2014). Gamification, a form
of active learning, is gaining ground in
education. Some research showed that, if
gamification was properly applied, it could
improve attendance (Fotaris, Mastoras,
Leinfellner, & Rosunally, 2016) and engagement
(Leong, Koh, & Razeen, 2011) , enhance
understanding and consequently enhance
performance (Mekler, Brühlmann, Opwis, &
Tuch, 2013)
Introduction…
Learning to program is difficult, especially for
novice programmers (Piteira & Costa, 2013).
Gamification may offer opportunities in solving
these issues. Most studies focused on the
engagement and motivation factors of
gamification.
Current Trends of the Concept
Gamification has become a well-established
technique in Human-Computer Interaction
(HCI). It refers to the transformation of
systems, services, organizations and activities
to afford similar experiences, motivations and
skills as good games (Huotari and Hamari,
2017). Over recent years, practitioners have
attempted to exploit the motivational “power”
of game design in domains as diverse as work,
fitness tracking, health and wellbeing,
education, commerce, learning,
crowdsourcing, information retrieval, and
organization engagement.
Current Trends of the Concept
In particular, research has focused on how
individual game mechanics can impact upon
individual behavioral outcomes. Such
advancements have encouraged commentators to
suggest that gamification research has reached
maturity. For example, Nacke and Deterding
(2017), in the introduction of a recent special
issue on gamification published in Computers in
Human Behavior, highlighted that gamification
research is undergoing a deep transformation
moving from fundamental questions of “what?”
and “why?,” to questions around “how?,”
“when?,” and “how and when not?.”
Current Trends of the Concept…
Despite this progress, research on gamification
still faces a variety of empirical and
theoretical challenges.
Firstly, empirical studies of gamified systems
still typically focus narrowly on evaluating and
understanding individuals’ short-term
interactions with the system, ignoring more
difficult to measure outcomes, such as changes
in people's social relationships due to
participation, and deleterious effects of
extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation.
Current Trends of the Concept…
Secondly, academic research on gamification
has been slow to improve the techniques and
methods through which gamified systems and
services are designed. In practice, gamification
applications continue to employ a limited set
of game elements, such as points, badges and
leaderboards. Researchers, in turn, investigate
what practitioners have implemented.
Current Trends of the Concept…
Gamification research has typically failed to
engage critically and productively with the
diverse and rich design practice of game
designers (Rapp, 2018a, Morschheuser et al.,
2018aa).
Current Trends of the Concept…
Third, current gamification research lacks a
critical lens capable of exploring unintended
consequences of designs as well as of
questioning its own successes. Gamification
scholars still avoid investigating potential side-
effects of the game elements employed in
gamified interventions, taking for granted that
making a serious context more like a game is a
valuable outcome.
Importance of the Concept
Gamification is a subject that is often expressed
and studied in the field of education.
Gamification with potential features such as
increasing student motivation, effective
participation in the learning process, at the same
time, makes it easier to achieve academic
achievement and learning achievements.
Gamification has been used in several domains,
but gamification in education comes down to the
use of points and badges to motivate and enhance
the eLearning processes. Its importance and
effectiveness comes down to the way people
apply it to the learning practice and audience.
Advantages of Gamification
1. Increase student Engagement
Studies have shown that students are more
likely to spend time playing a learning-based
game if you are using a reward system.
Badges and points help translate the work
the student is completing into a tangible
benefit.
Importance of the Concept
2. Creates Enthusiasm
Gamification can be used to foster feelings of
enthusiasm towards the subject-matter,
especially in subjects that students struggle
with, like math.
Importance of the Concept
3. Provides Instant Feedback
Most gamification systems allow for
instantaneous feedback such as leaderboards
and dashboards, which students can use to see
where they stand among their peers. This
information can push a student to try the quiz
or activity again to get a higher placement and
creates motivation for further lesson
engagement.
Importance of the Concept
4. Makes social connections
In higher education we often find that students
have trouble creating social connections with
other students in their courses. Gamified
classrooms, seated and virtual, help students
who have trouble with social interaction and
give them a reason to work together.
Disadvantages of Gamification
1. Decreases Student Attention Span
Critics of gamified learning believe that the
fast pace and immediate feedback creates a
problem with student attention span. Students
may begin to expect the same kind of
responses from all parts of their education and
won’t find it, leading to frustration.
Disadvantages of Gamification
2. Cost
The costs of gamified learning are varied based
on the type of system you are using. There may
be equipment costs, software costs, and
training costs for instructors. Sometimes these
costs are passed on the students through
registration fees and course codes that must
be purchased, creating a higher barrier for
entry into the classroom.
Disadvantages of Gamification
3. Student Assessment
When choosing a game it is not often clear how
the results of the game will tie into your
course assessment. While most games have a
built-in way to track progress, you will need to
find a way to translate the student’s game
progress into fulfill objectives.
Disadvantages of Gamification
4. Game Logistics
Many times, setting up a game for your course
requires a lot of prior planning and logistics.
Impact of Concept to the Society
Study suggest that gamification have a great
emotional and social impact on students, as
reward systems and competitive social
mechanisms that seem to be motivating for
them.
In studies conducted by Theresa A. Papp,
gamification has been recognized as a tool that
effectively increased motivation, engagement
and learning. Gamification in education is at
the beginning point. Future research might be
deemed appropriate.
Impact of Concept to the Society
Specific researchers that have implemented and
conducted research on gamifications have
documented the effectiveness on gamification in
classrooms. Research also indicate that there are
a lot of benefits to playing video games that
improve cognitive abilities such as attention ,
focus and reaction time, motivation, emotional
and social benefits.
According to Gee, “in fact, the learning principles
that good games incorporate are all strongly
supported by contemporary research in cognitive
science – the science that studies human thinking
and learning through laboratory research, studies
of the brain, and research at actual learning sites
like classrooms and workplace”.
Research Gap / Statement
Test bed: PSU Roxas Campus

This research intended to address some CS

students problems in terms of:
• Problem-solving skills
• Engagement and Motivation
Research Gap / Statement
Test bed: PSU Roxas Campus

This research aims to investigate how

gamification can be applied and be an
effective tool to increase student’s motivation
and engagement in computer programming
courses activity. This research will focus on the
process and methodology on which
gamification would be effective.
Research Gap / Statement
1. What are the effects of gamification on
students’ learning gains and interest in
learning computer programming?
2. What best gamification model will be using
to increase the motivation and engagement
of learners in computer programming?