Abstract:

The importance of soft skills is increasingly recognized in the job market due to the automation of work and the growing need for human decision-making in this process. Universities play a crucial role in recognizing and certifying these informal skills. Through extracurricular activities, universities can offer students opportunities to become more appealing to potential employers, while also establishing a closer relationship with their students.

The University of Aveiro (UA) acknowledges the importance of soft skills, and this concern is reflected in various initiatives. One of these initiatives is the Student-to-Student Program (STSP), which started at the academic year of 2021/2022. This project had a peer tutoring structure, designed on a gamified approach, with a focus on badges awarded at different moments, from curiosity about the STSP functioning and participation in sessions or as an organizer of training sessions.

For the STSP operation in 2021/2022, the participants were students registered as facilitators or participants in peer-to-peer training activities. A total of nine training sessions were available. At the end of each training activity, a “Trainee” badge was offered by the facilitator. The students that had effectively participated in the training activities (registered and attended), received this badge by capturing a QRCode.

This study seeks to understand how participation in a gamified environment is perceived and whether there is motivation, internalized or through external incentives, to continue participating according to the proposed strategy. The data was gathered from a survey sent by email to all participants in the end of 2021/2022. This survey was structured into four main topics, including a general profile of the participants (Topic A), previous knowledge about gamification and badges (Topic B), knowledge about OpenBadges (Topic C), and an adapted Likert scale questionnaire on gamification and badges (Topic D).

The focus of this study was the last topic, with 14 questions, and was based in the Self-Determination Theory (SDT). It used the SIMS approach, adapted from a Portuguese validated version. The answers varied according to a Likert scale, ranging from degree 1: “Completely Disagree” to 7 “Completely Agree”. They were grouped in four main dimensions: Intrinsic motivation (Answers 1, 5, 9, 11); identified regulation (Answers 2, 6, 12); external regulation (Answers 3, 7, 13); and amotivation (Answers 4, 8, 10, 14).

There was a total of 18 valid respondents, in a total of 48 accepted badges. The main question was “Given the specific importance of badges in the Student-to-Student Program, I will continue to participate because...”. This was followed by the previous 14 questions. From the data collected, responses associated with intrinsic motivation and identified regulation yielded the highest results. Participants show satisfaction from the activities themselves, rather than external benefits. Despite badges serving as natural extrinsic motivators, the strategy proved positive as it encouraged a more "internalized" trajectory of motivation.

The UA perpetuate the STSP in other years, showing an interest in continuing with a gamified strategy based on badges. The collection of new data from these years could provide valuable insights related to other motivational factors. Furthermore, a structured framework developed in the future could enhance the comprehension of these influencing elements.

Keywords:

Gamification, Badges, Peer-mentoring, Motivation.