Country Studied: Cyprus / Netherlands
Types of learning difficulties the Case Study is supporting:
- Reading and writing difficulties
- Social or emotional difficulties
- General or specific learning difficulties
- Neurodevelopmental difficulties
A thesis is elaborated on the utilization of gamification in language learning with the emphasis given to the motivational area that deals with different learning problems.
1. Reading and Writing Difficulties:
Gamification helps in improving of reading and writing skills by showing immediate feedback and by introducing game-like activities that keep the learners motivated and rough about the language tasks.
2. Social or Emotional Difficulties:
Social aspect of gamification such as teamwork and social relatedness, that support learners with social or emotional difficulties, by building community and belonging feeling that gamified learning mostly creation and interaction with groupmates.
3. General or Specific Learning Difficulties:
Adaptability and interactivity are the attractive features of gamification that offer learners with general learning difficulties the opportunity to experience learning in a more accessible and fun way, which adapts to the different styles and needs of learners.
4. Neurodevelopmental Difficulties:
The gamified structure and the innate goals may help learners with neurodevelopmental challenges, offering a learning journey that is predictable and the ability to work at their own pace, hence reducing anxiety and increasing engagement.
Gamification bridges well with different learning theories opening up possibilities of satisfying diverse educational needs by making the learning process more involving, fun, and relevant to each learner’s profile.
Aims and objectives of Case Study
The study aims to:
1. Analyzing gamification influence on the experience of the secondary school students in the foreign language (FL)/second language (L2) classes. Primarily, the educational institution wants to understand how the solution of game elements in the course of teaching languages can transform into an exciting and motivating for students’ process.
2. Data analysis to identify playing patterns in the gamified online course. Here, we look at how the students relate to the gamified elements, what patterns we can see in how many people engage or what conditional outcomes are observable, which will help us to assess the effectiveness and attraction of the gamified learning activities.
3. Discover how the service provisions incorporated in the Moodle application could positively affect delivery of the gamified language program. The study investigates the user-friendly added features and capabilities in the Moodle app which could be exploited meaningfully in implementing a successful gamified learning, thus increasing the standards of the overall educational experience with focus on language acquisition.
Short description of Case Study
The case study in Bart Pardoel’s thesis focuses on a gamified course for learning German as a foreign language at Nuenens College, a Dutch pre-vocational secondary school.
– Age of Participants: The students involved in the study were between 13 and 14 years old.
– Duration: The gamified course, titled “MISSION BERLIN”, lasted six weeks.
– Setting: The setting was Nuenens College, which offers education in sectors like economics and health & personal care & welfare. The college is known for its extra support for students with special educational needs such as dyslexia or autism.
3 Key learning Principles that were used in this Case Study to support learners with LD
1. Self-Determination Theory (SDT): The theory is highly supported by the fulfillment of competence, autonomy and two separate but related psychological needs, namely competence, autonomy of the individuals and relatedness. The personality traits of attention, control, autonomy, and relationships, are also met by the gamification of learning and the use of challenges, feedback and a sense of a community that strives toward growth.
2. Theory of Flow: This theory is best explained by Csikszentmilhályi and it encompasses something nutshell a learner is so engaged and immersed in the activities, both mind and body. To suit to the challenges to the level of skills and this is so important for the mood of the learner why the task should be neither too easy and cause boredom nor too difficult and cause anxiety, thus the state of flow requires optimal flow .
3. Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): Vygotsky’s theory of ZPD will be applied through tasks that initiate learners to interact, that are beyond their current knowledge level but not far, and that require help to be seen through the experience. This principle is upheld with gamification by structural support and provision of progressive supposing building on foundation knowledge and skills.
These principles that functions in unity among the mood of the gamified environment contributes very much to make it highly interactive, encouraging and gives in rich educational experience particularly to students with LD.
Strategies used as part of Case Study
1. Adapting instruction to various learning styles:
- By using gamification so as to target the different learning preferences, anybody therefore can achieve a more personal and engaging learning experience.
2. Individualized Learning Plans:
- Despite the absence of the personally suited learning plans, the utilization of the gamified approach enabled both self-dependent progress and a certain extent of autonomy, thus, benefiting individual educational trajectories.
3. Collaboration with support services and professionals:
- This research at Nuenens College education emphasizes the necessity of offering extra support for the students with learning difficulties such as dyslexia or autism.
4. Strategies for modifying or creating teaching materials to suit different abilities:
- Gamification in the Moodle course introduces learners to the material and activities that suit them, being engaging and flexible for both proficient and less experienced language students.
5. Creating a positive and supportive classroom environment:
- There has been an inclusion, by means of the playful learning method, so that the students found themselves in an environment that was motivating and not stigmatizing the learning weaknesses.
6. Other (Technology Integration):
- The use of the Moodle app for gamified learning highlights the integration of technology to support diverse learning needs, allowing for accessible and engaging educational content.
Results and impact
The assessment in the case study of Bart Pardoel’s thesis was mostly mixed, as it was successfully gathered data both from quantitative sources like Moodle logs and qualitative sources such as surveys and focus group discussions. The assessment was designed to describe the influence of gamification on the learners’ experience and whether the game elements influenced the performance of the Moodle app for language learning.
The level of assessment in this study was both individual and collective, focusing on:
– The data from individuals students who had to interact with gamified elements, for example in Moodle, in regard to login times, task completion, and quiz scores.
– The aggregated views of the student body, from which surveys and focus group interviews are used to characterize the extent of involvement in the gamified course and the types of experiences that students are having.
The study findings found out that gamification in a mobile environment works best in the periods of up to four weeks with more support and guidance useful especially when the course start. Specific game elements like coins, levels, and unlocking content had significant impacts on students’ experiences, indicating a nuanced relationship between gamification mechanics and learning engagement.
Why can this Case Study be useful for the project research?
The case study from Bart Pardoel’s thesis on gamification in foreign language learning can be useful for project research for several reasons:
– Practical Implementation and Outcomes: It offers a real-life demonstration of how gamification can be integrated into the educational environment. The implementation paves way for practice and shows the effectiveness of this approach which can be very useful for colleges and educational institutions that are willing to apply these techniques.
– Feedback from Learners and Evaluation: The study gathers immediate learner reaction including learners’ opinion about the gamified approach from students point of view. These feedbacks bring us closer to identifying the role of gamification in the engagement of students and the acquisition of learning outcomes.
– Research and Methodological Framework: The case study, which is a part of a Master’s thesis contributes to the area of academic research about gamification in education. It gives a methodological framework for further research and empirical data that can support same field of knowledge.
They basically boost the significance of the case study as a resource providing the learnings into the effectiveness of gamification in education and guiding future endeavors and research about the enhancement of learning through gamified techniques.
Transferability
Similar Educational Contexts:
– Language Learning: The strategies and tactics of gamification approach practicability of addressing other foreign language learning situations as appropriate and can be role modeled for curriculum designing and student concentrating.
– Other Subject Areas: The case study outcome can be adapted to nonscience subjects where engagement and learning through interaction are equally important as case studies in English, social studies or mathematics.
Diverse Learning Environments
– Different Educational Levels: Although the study case deals with the younger students at the secondary level, the concepts applied in the theory can be tweaked to suit among the university students, the primary education and the adults at large.
– Online and Blended Learning: As e-learning modules become more popular, the gamification methods that Moodle platform comprise may be moved to fully online or blended learning circumstances.
– Educational Research: The specific techniques and findings of the investigation can be used as the basis for a broad research designed to scrutinize the efficacy of gamification on numerous educational results.
– Policy and Curriculum Development: Educational policymakers, curriculum developers, and standard and practice bodies can also pick such an example to use as a gamification case study and integrate it into standards.
– Teacher Training: The research can lead to education professionals’ training programs being designed to be the ones that will enable educators to implement mostly gamification strategies into their teaching.
Last of all, one has to analyse the transferability of the case study by considering whether the new context is feasible and if all the adaptations are necessary. This keeps the gamification method, as the last consumers and the new education environment following the trend of educational gamification.
Resources used as part of Case Study
The case study in the Bart Pardoel’s thesis achieved integration of gamification in Moodle to facilitate foreign language learning, especially the German. This app was used for setting up a gamified language course employing the Moodle’s capabilities. The document, however, is not specific in the use of technology assistive materials in language teaching, but the inclusion of Moodle itself in the learning processes can be understood as integrating technology in facilitating learning. Considering this, the required Moodle functionalities that includes quizzes, online assignment submissions, and progress tracking were used in order to build the interactive and engaging learning environment.
– Resources Used: The major resource was the Moodle learning management system (LMS), designed as a game-based learning platform to promote user engagement. Moodle’s various features were used to monitor student progress and engagement through logs, assignments, and interactive activities.
– Assistive Technologies for Language Instruction: Although the case study does not enumerate assistive technologies for language learning, multimodal tools like speech recognition, text- to-speech, and personalized language learning applications could be among them. Although not explicitly mentioned, the adaptation for learners with difficulties like dyslexia or autism at Nuenens College suggests a consideration for inclusive learning practices, which could extend to using assistive technologies in language instruction.
The strategy is about the illustration of how the Moodle gamification was practically utilized to support probably diverse learning needs; for instance, the language support through assistive technologies.
Critical issues
The case study in Bart Pardoel’s thesis on gamification in foreign language learning revealed several critical issues:
1. Technology and User Experience: The students were irritated with technical issues which brought up the apps that were hogging memory on the devices and the lack of separation between school activities and their own personal life. These technical problems and the intrusion of educational activities into personal space led to dissatisfaction, suggesting a need for better integration of gamification in educational tools that respect students’ personal boundaries.
2. Instructional Design and Language Learning: Participants saw their mother tongue as an asset in language learning. As a result, they requested the introduction of the Dutch language in their multiplayer game as well. This indicates a need for a balance between immersive learning in the foreign language and support in the native language to aid comprehension and reduce frustration.
3. Game Design and Educational Content: Study proposed as necessary to have the thorough testing phase before implementation or application in order to examine the adequacy and appropriateness of instructional content and game-based components. It also highlighted the importance of visual elements and clear instructions to keep students motivated and engaged in the learning process.
Consequently, those elements explicitly indicate a thoughtful planning, simple designing including precise content which should be used in the process of applying the education purpose of gamification technologies including the wide variety of the students and settings.
Any additional learning that we can take from this Case Study, example:
The case study from Bart Pardoel’s thesis on gamification in foreign language learning provides several additional learnings that can be valuable for educational practice and research:
1. Importance of User-Centered Design: User-friendliness and customizability are the essential and critical characteristics of the educational technologies. Designing tech-based tools carry out in such a manner way that first of all it should be very user friendly and secondly they must consider the constraints and preferences of a learner including the hardware he or she uses along with the balance between educational activities and their personal space.
2. Balancing Immersion with Support: Feedback on the process of language training also draws attention to the delicate prerequisite of immersion while learning a foreign language. Even though immersion contributes to the straight advancement of language acquisition, additional support in the learner’s L1 might enable to make learners more comprehensible and not bring much cognitive stress to them.
3. Iterative Design and Evaluation: The demand for a full cycle of testing and design with subsequent changes has become clear. Undertaking a trial program along with the feedback mechanism of continuous nature as to iron-out any issues that come up during implementation of the program would however help to improve the effectiveness and engagement of the whole program.
4. Integration of Gamification with Pedagogy: Educational game designing with an appropriate level of gamification should go beyond engaging learners despite being a sound educational approach. Adequacy of the game elements integration with instructional aims and learning outcomes is a crucial facet of educational gamification’s effectiveness.
5. Flexibility and Adaptation: The showcase of a given example explains how you have to be flexible and also well-adept when implementing modern pedagogical methods. Teachers have to be taught about altering gamified aspects (score points, time limits etc.) according to the students’ reactions and the specific educational cases.
6. Consideration of Privacy and Ethical Issues: Interweaving related education into students’ personal gear and rooms propels privacy and ethical thinking that need to be reflected on critically, so that students’ rights and personal space are preserved.
The experiences of these learnings remind students of the difficulties that involve the introduction of gamification in education, and these necessitate a meticulous planning, design, and assessment to create relevant and entertaining teaching methodologies that are suitable for different learners.
Any Additional Information or Resources
Copyright: Bart Pardoel, Cyprus University of Technology
