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The Effect of Gamification on Students’ THE EFFECT OF GAMIFICATION ON STUDENTS’ ENGAGEMENT AND MOTIVATION IN THREE WSU COURSES By RAED S. ALSAWAIER A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY Department of Teaching and Learning DECEMBER 2018 © Copyright RAED S. ALSAWAIER, 2018 All Rights Reserved © Copyright RAED S. ALSAWAIER, 2018 All Rights Reserved To the Faculty of Washington State University: The members of the Committee appointed to examine the dissertation of RAED S. ALSAWAIER find it satisfactory and recommend that it be accepted. Linda Mabry, Ph.D., Co-Chair Deanna Day, Ph.D., Co-Chair Barbara Ward, Ph.D. Don McMahon, Ph.D. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENT Praise be to Allah (God) and best blessing and mercy be upon His prophet Mohammad. I owe to Him who always heard my prayers and guided me in the most difficult times of my life. My sincerest thanks and appreciation to my wife, Dina, who continuously supported me throughout my Ph.D. research with her immense dedication and love. I would like also to extend my gratitude to Dr. Linda Mabry, who never failed to be in my support even when it was geographically impossible, and most importantly for being the one who reminds me that everything will work out. I am equally indebted to my co-chair Dr. Deanna Day for her tremendous help and motivating words. I feel that I also need to thank my wonderful committee members Dr. Barbara Ward and Don McMahon for their support. I would like to thank my mentor Dr. Robert Eddy for his words of wisdom and early support during the pilot study and the data collection. Special thanks to Dr. Peter Chilson and Dr. Jonah Firestone for allowing me to conduct research in their classes. iii THE EFFECT OF GAMIFICATION ON STUDENTS’ ENGAGEMENT AND MOTIVATION IN THREE WSU COURSES Abstract by Raed S. Alsawaier, Ph.D. Washington State University December 2018 Co-Chairs: Linda Mabry and Deanna Day The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of the use of gamification on students’ motivation and engagement in the college environment. The study was conducted at Washington State University in three university courses. Forty-four students and three professors participated in this study over the course of six months covering two semesters: Spring and Summer of 2017. The study followed the guidelines of convergent mixed-methods design where qualitative and quantitative data sources were used to ensure triangulation. A total of fifteen participants, including twelve students and the three faculty members, were interviewed. The qualitative components of the mixed-methods design were supported with the selected evidence based on interviews, observations, documentary, and artifactual data. The quantitative data were supported through multiple regression results based on survey in addition to frequency results which were worked in discussion side by side with qualitative components. Game metrics and game scores were incorporated where they were deemed relevant. iv The main findings of this study were that gamification positively affected students’ learning in their respective courses. This was demonstrated through their increased motivation to learn, their promoted engagement to participate and collaborate, meeting their psychological needs of competence and autonomy, and their improved appreciation of the task value in addition to task completion. The study showed avatars, quests, and the fun components to be the most effective gamification elements in fostering motivation and enhancing engagement. However, the findings showed that some game features, such as points and badges, had either no influence or a negative effect on students’ motivation and engagement. Based on this study, gamification facilitated a learning environment supportive of reading and writing literacy skills. Additionally, it fostered a number of desirable behaviors and attitudes in the learning environment such as increased participation, altruism, the desire to try multiple times, and the positive change of beliefs toward the use of instructional technology. The study highlighted the need to consider contextual differences among students and professors when applying gamification, specifically in the college environment. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENT.................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ...............................................................................................................x LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 o Overview of Dissertation .........................................................................................5 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................................6 o Conceptualizing Gamification ...............................................................................11 o Theoretical Connections to Gamification ..............................................................13 o Self-Determination Theory ....................................................................................13 o New Literacy Studies .............................................................................................15 o Behaviorism ...........................................................................................................16 o Advantages of Gamification Over Game-Based Learning ............................ 17 o Connecting Gamification to Motivation and Engagement ....................................19 o Fun and Play in Gamification ................................................................................24 o Player Types and Gamification Features ...............................................................26 o Avatars ...................................................................................................................28 vi o Quests and Challenges ...........................................................................................29 o Badges ....................................................................................................................31 o Points and Levels ...................................................................................................32 o Gamification in Action ..........................................................................................34 o Implementation Guidelines47 CHAPTER THREE o Methodology ..........................................................................................................43 o Mixed-Methods Design .........................................................................................43 o Convergent Mixed-Methods Design ......................................................................44 o Research Sites ........................................................................................................47 o Participants .............................................................................................................49 o Types of Subject Samples ......................................................................................49 o English 298: Writing and Research Honors-Pullman Campus ..............................50 o Background of the TCH LRN 518 Professor and Students ...................................52 o Background of the English 402 Professor and Students ........................................53 o Data Collection: Qualitative ..................................................................................54 o Observations ..........................................................................................................54 o Interviews ...............................................................................................................55 o Artifacts and Documents........................................................................................57 o Data Collection: Quantitative ................................................................................57 o Survey ....................................................................................................................57 o Quantitative Documents: Game Metrics ................................................................58 o Data Analysis: Merging Data Types ......................................................................59 vii o Data Analysis Outline ............................................................................................60 o Ethical and Confidentiality Issues .........................................................................62 o Limitations of the Study.........................................................................................62 CHAPTER FOUR o Data Observation and Analysis63 o Effect on Motivation ..............................................................................................63 o Competence............................................................................................................63 o Autonomy ..............................................................................................................65 o How Lack of Autonomy in Some Instances Affected Motivation
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