Running Head: Learning through Play 1 The Effects of Learning through Play on Postsecondary Student Engagement by Adam Thomas A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Social and Applied Sciences in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts In Learning and Technology Royal Roads University Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Supervisor: Dr. Tamara Leary August 2018 Adam Thomas, 2018 Learning Through Play 2 COMMITTEE APPROVAL The members of ADAM THOMAS Thesis Committee certify that they have read the thesis titled The Effects of Learning through Play on Postsecondary Student Engagement and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the thesis requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN LEARNING AND TECHNOLOGY DR. TAMARA LEARY [signature on file] DR. GEORGE VELETSIANOS [signature on file] Final approval and acceptance of this thesis is contingent upon submission of the final copy of the thesis to Royal Roads University. The thesis supervisor confirms to have read this thesis and recommends that it be accepted as fulfilling the thesis requirements: DR. TAMARA LEARY [signature on file] Learning Through Play 3 Creative Commons Statement This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- ShareAlike 2.5 Canada License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ca/. Some material in this work is not being made available under the terms of this licence: ● Third-Party material that is being used under fair dealing or with permission. ● Any photographs where individuals are easily identifiable. Learning Through Play 4 Abstract This research project investigated the effects of integrating play into postsecondary coding classes. The activities included a series of Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) themed activities such as board games, LEGO® robotics, experimenting with Internet Of Things (IOT) devices, and short online competition. The changes in student engagement was measured using a post course survey adapted from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and engagement data such as attendance, Learning Management System (LMS) activity, and assignment completion. The results of this research provided valuable insight on: a) understanding how incorporating play affects student engagement; b) what teaching methodologies align with learning through play; and c) what aspects of play activities make them more effective. Keywords: student, engagement, play, code, adult, college, postsecondary, andragogy, research, proposal, pedagogy, learning Learning Through Play 5 Table of Contents Title Page 1 Committee Approval 2 Creative Commons Statement 3 Abstract 4 Table of Contents 5 CHAPTER 1: RESEARCH INTRODUCTION 8 Personal Connection to the Study 9 Research Questions 12 Definitions of Terms 12 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW 15 Engagement Theory as a Theoretical Framework 15 Literature Review 18 Learning Code 19 Student Engagement 23 Learning Through Play 27 Summary 31 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGIES AND METHODS 32 Methodological Approach 32 Methods 33 Play Activities 33 Sampling 40 Data Collection 41 Learning Through Play 6 Data Analysis 43 Summary 44 Limitations and Delimitations 45 Faculty Tools for Student Engagement 46 The Exclusion of Gamification 48 Ethics 48 Timeline 59 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS 50 Quantitative Results 50 NSSE Survey Results 50 Engagement Data Results 52 Qualitative Results 68 NSSE Survey Results 68 Classroom Observations 75 CHAPTER 5: ANALYSIS 77 Quantitative Findings 77 NSSE, LMS Activity and Exercise Completion 77 Attendance 77 Qualitative Findings 78 Engagement Theory 80 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS 81 Recommendations 82 Addressing Limitations 83 Learning Through Play 7 Measuring Engagement 84 Developing the Play Activities 85 Conclusion Summary 87 References 88 Appendix A: Student engagement survey adapted from the NSSE 104 Appendix B: Humber College REB Letter of Approval 109 Appendix C: NSSE Item Usage Agreement with Indiana University 110 Appendix D: Monthly Research Schedule 111 Learning Through Play 8 Chapter 1: Research Introduction Within postsecondary education, student engagement is considered one of the best “predictors of learning and personal development” (Carini, Kuh, & Klein, 2006, p. 2). Axelson and Flic (2010) define engagement as “the extent to which [students] take part in educationally effective practices” (p. 40). Appleton, Christenson, Kim, and Reschly (2006) further delineate engagement as having three components: a) behavioural (participation); b) cognitive (investment); and c) emotional (attitude). Research shows that engagement in the postsecondary classroom is on the decline and postsecondary students have expressed discontent with stagnant teaching pedagogies (Arcidiacono, Aucejo, Maurel, & Ransom, 2016; DiLullo, McGee, & Kriebel, 2011; Hess, 2018). With attrition rates on the rise (Fisher & Engemann, 2009) and with the increasing number of postsecondary education alternatives for prospective students, increasing student engagement must be a high priority for postsecondary institutions in order to compete for student recruitment and retention in the higher education sector (Coates, 2007). Learning through play, defined by Smith and Pellegrini (2008) as “activity done for its own sake, characterized by means rather than ends” (p. 1), has been shown to have a positive effect on student engagement (Gordon, 2009; Huizinga, 1955). However, most of the academic research related to learning through play excludes adults (Sutton-Smith, 2009) even though research has found that there is no significant difference between the way youth and adults learn (Delahaye, Limerick, & Hearn, 1994). Pedagogies, defined as “the art and science of teaching children” (Holmes & Abington-Cooper, 2000, p. 1) often include learning through play (Ozuah, 2016). However, adragogies, defined as “the art and science of helping adults learn” (Holmes & Learning Through Play 9 Abington-Cooper, 2000, p. 1) rarely utilize play (Ozuah, 2016; Huizinga, 1955). The term play in general is too often only associated with children (Sutton-Smith, 2009). Given that play has a positive effect on student engagement and that student engagement is pertinent to postsecondary student retention, it is worth considering what if any relationship might exist between play and postsecondary student engagement. This research examined how incorporating play into college level coding courses affected student engagement. The thesis is presented in six chapters. This chapter outlines the circumstances in which the need for this research arose as well as identifies foundational knowledge on the topic that helped to guide the study. The theoretical frameworks and a literature review which highlights the gap in academic literature on this topic are presented in chapter two. Chapter three provides the methodology followed by chapter four which presents the findings. Chapter five offers an interpretation of the findings. The final chapter offers the conclusions based on the findings and offers a series of recommendations. Personal Connection to the Study I have been teaching code at Humber College in Toronto, Ontario Canada for over fifteen years. Humber College has two urban campuses in Toronto and one rural campus in Orangeville, Ontario. Humber College is the second largest community college in Canada with over 31,000 full-time students, 4700 international students, 220,000 alumni, and 10,000 graduates annually. In the courses I teach students use languages such as JavaScript, PHP, and Python to learn the fundamental concepts that almost all coding languages are built on: creating output (document.write or echo), storing data (variables), making decisions (if and switch statements), repeating code (for and while loops), and creating code routines (predefined and user defined Learning Through Play 10 functions). Students learn code by analyzing complex problems and applying systematic step by step approaches to develop a solution. Based on my experience as a faculty member I have observed two factors that negatively influence a student’s level of engagement in the classroom: 1) being enrolled in the course as part of their program requirements rather than being interested in learning code, and 2) possessing little confidence in the ability to learn code. I teach students to code in three different programs: Multimedia Design and Development; Web Design and Interactive Media; and Graphic Design. These are not computer science programs, they focus more on design and multimedia. In my experience, students in these programs usually identify as either a graphic designer or web developer. Designers are least likely to look forward to learning code (McGill, 2012) as they are: a) under the impression it is unrelated to design; or b) intimidated by the idea of coding as coding courses have a reputation for being difficult (Jenkins, 2002). However, McGill (2012) found that students who learned code using robotics, despite their initial interest in learning code, experienced an increased enjoyment, curiosity, and understanding. Learning to code is hard Crow, 2014; Hsu & Mimura, 2017; Jenkins, 2002; Silcoff, 2012). It requires a variety of skills such as basic computer proficiency, advanced problem solving, and basic math skills that students in college often lack (Oblinger, 2003). Learning a new difficult topic, combined with missing these foundational skills, can quickly overwhelm students (Gomes & Mendes, 2007; Jenkins, 2002), which can