Choose your own adventure! an empirical study on gamification of postgraduate learning on research project design

• Published in: Journal of Play in Adulthood Vol. 6; no. 1; pp. 18 - 43
• Main Author: Abbott, Daisy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Huddersfield, United Kingdom University of Huddersfield Press 01-05-2024
• Subjects: Academic achievement; academic development; Creative thinking; Education, Higher; Evaluation; Gamification; Graduate students; higher education; learning development; postgraduate; research skills; Social aspects; Study skills
• ISSN: 2632-1254; 2632-1254
• DOI: 10.5920/jpa.1475

It is difficult to teach complex topics such as academic research to student cohorts who are widely heterogeneous in prior knowledge, learning goals, and learning preferences. Exploratory, quest-like approaches show promise for increasing engagement, personalisation, and autonomy, however, there is a lack of empirical data on which, if any, aspects of gamification can benefit learning. This paper presents analytics and qualitative responses to a Choose Your Own Adventure for postgraduate design of research projects. It focusses on non-linear navigation for self-directed personalisation, digital badges, and the role of narrative within a gamified learning tool. Results highlight high user attrition, effective personalisation of learning, high acceptance of gamification approaches, and much lower interest in some gamification elements, contributing value to the pedagogy of learning and teaching research skills.