Abstract:

The learning process can be divided into the sub-processes of understanding, storing, retrieving and using the acquired knowledge. The acquisition of knowledge in turn takes place through facts and statements based on the subject matter and by repetition in exercises. Providing game elements in university teaching, students should be more motivated and deal with the teaching content more intensively. The knowledge imparted is to be prepared more attractively for the students and a greater bond to the respective module is to be built up. Game-typical elements can efficiently link the individual sub-processes of learning with each other and thus maximize a student's performance, knowledge level and motivation. Due to the Covid19 pandemic and the ever-advancing technology development, digital teaching and learning have become essential components of university teaching in the long run.

Because quality management is a field that is closely related to practice, the focus is not only on teaching theoretical knowledge but also on practical relevance. The Chair of Quality Management offers the module Project Management every summer semester. The learning objective of the module is to enable students to plan projects and organize their implementation. The module Project Management consists of a lecture, a seminar and a semester project. In the lecture, students are taught the basics of project management. In the seminar, students learn to select and apply project management methods for different problems. Practical exercises are supported by media and software demonstrations. In the semester project, students get together in groups and plan a project during the semester. With the help of the project, the students should practically implement the acquired knowledge from the lectures and seminars. The topics are provided by the company partners of the chair. To increase the realism of the projects, the handing out of an event card is linked to the interim deadlines. The event card implies an adjustment of already planned resources, activities and/or funds.

To optimally adapt the gamification elements for the module, a target group analysis was first conducted as part of the research work. Based on the findings, an action plan was created on how the gamification approach could be transferred into the teaching concept of the module. After implementation, the module was further investigated in the course of a teaching evaluation and a survey of the participating students. The main goal of the investigation was to find out to what extent game-typical elements promote the learning process and how practical projects support the learning process. On the one hand, the survey confirmed the promotion of motivation and the learning process by means of game-typical elements among the students. The results show that the creative and diverse way of conveying the learning material is accepted by the students. On the other hand, the study showed that too many of these elements can have a negative effect and a possible saturation effect occurs. Furthermore, the authenticity of the module or the chair may decrease. The results and knowledge from the research work flow into the adjustments of the module and are to be transferred to further modules of the chair in the future.

Keywords:

Gamification, teamwork, virtual teams, new work.