Abstract:

Classroom gamification has been a buzzword for a few years now, but much of the research either focuses on how rewarding badges isn't enough (Hamari, 2017) or how adding game elements to online learning environments can slightly increase engagement (Jang, Park, Yi 2015). There is not much research on the effects gamifying an on-ground university course.

I would like to present on how I added gaming elements to my Introduction to Mass Media survey course and how these changes increased engagement, attendance and student outcomes even though the actual course content was identical to the previous term.

Kim (2015) suggests that gamification requires specific goals before implementation. My goal was strictly to make the large, introductory class more engaging for the students and myself since countless research contends that the lecture format is no longer the most effective content delivery system. The design of much gamification is still guesswork: it depends on the content of the course, the willingness of the instructor and the buy-in of the students. More research is required in this area - but the findings of my one course are promising.

My presentation would include my motivation, my hesitation, my implementation and my findings regarding the gamification of my college classroom in the hopes of encouraging other educators to try new pedagogical practices.

Keywords:

Gamification, pedagogy, engagement, innovation.