Abstract:

Gamification has received much attention over the last decade as a powerful tool for promoting student motivation and active learning. Thus, the educational community increasingly uses this strategy to train students to learn by playing. It is a tool capable of arousing the student's interest, transforming a routine activity into a dynamic and stimulating one.

This study describes the first observations made within the framework of a teaching innovation Project on the Introduction of Gamification in Engineering courses at the University of Jaén, focusing on the potential effect of gender. Specifically, the study involves 2nd and 3rd-year students in Materials Science and Engineering and Environmental Technology courses taught during the first semester of the 2022/2023 academic year. These core courses are taught in the Degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Electronic Engineering, and Industrial Organization. More than 260 students have participated in the proposed activities. The participants were 80% male and 20% female, with an average age between 21 and 22 years.

Among all activities proposed, a quantitative survey was provided to the students to analyze and assess their' attitudes and self-perception regarding gamification. This questionnaire consists of ten questions and closed-response options using a Likert-scale assertion from 1 to 5: Strongly disagree. The ten questions in this survey were grouped around the perception of three concepts, motivation, attention/learning, and competitiveness, which can be deemed as core objectives of gamification. From the answers to this second quantitative survey, a generalized perception of improvement in education can be seen. The main results are discussed below, considering the gender perspective:

- Motivation. The idea of fun is described in a general way as a trigger for increasing motivation within the gamification strategy. The average results of these questions show that more than 85% of female and 75% of male students perceive this aspect of gamification positively.
- Attention and learning. The assessment of these aspects is very positive, with more than 90% of female and 85% of male students agreeing or strongly agreeing with this perception of improved attention in the learning process.
- Competitiveness. Students generally agree that gamification increases the natural competitiveness among students. In this case, female and male students coincide in a percentage of positive assessment of 80%.

In general, the perception or assessment of female engineering students about gamification as an educational strategy is somewhat higher than that of male students. However, considering the low ratio of female students in the analyzed sample (20% of the total) and the possible effect of other factors (age, course, subject, or grade completed), a more in-depth analysis is required to confirm this trend.

Keywords:

Gamification, Engineering, Gender perspective, Materials Science, Environmental Technology, Attitude, Student self-perception.