The main purpose of this paper is to draw attention to some facts and ideas that perhaps can help to identify problems or fields for development and research within the evaluation of training. Topics for group discussion are preceded by material on some basic concepts of evaluation and educational measurement. The ratio scale, the interval scale, the ordinal scale, and the nominal scale are given as examples of kinds of scales used in educational measurement; the problem of norms is discussed; potential purposes of evaluation or educational measurement are outlined; and some characteristics of a good measuring instrument are explained. The author also defends the inclusion of evaluation as an Integral part of a model for planning and carrying out educational programs. (BW) *********************************************************************** Documents acquired by ERIC include many informal unpublished * materials not available from other sources. ERIC makes every effort * * to obtain the best copy available. Nevertheless, items of marginal * * reproducibility are often encountered and this affects the quality * of the microfiche and hardcopy reproductions ERIC makes available * * via the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS). EDRS is not * responsible for the quality of the original document. Reproductions * * supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original. *********************************************************************** U S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION &WELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION EVALUATION OF TRAINING

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Evaluation of Training.

Gamification of education is a developing approach for increasing learners’ motivation and engagement by incorporating game design elements in educational environments. With the growing popularity of gamification and yet mixed success of its application in educational contexts, the current review is aiming to shed a more realistic light on the research in this field by focusing on empirical evidence rather than on potentialities, beliefs or preferences. Accordingly, it critically examines the advancement in gamifying education. The discussion is structured around the used gamification mechanisms, the gamified subjects, the type of gamified learning activities, and the study goals, with an emphasis on the reliability and validity of the reported outcomes. To improve our understanding and offer a more realistic picture of the progress of gamification in education, consistent with the presented evidence, we examine both the outcomes reported in the papers and how they have been obtained. While the gamification in education is still a growing phenomenon, the review reveals that (i) insufficient evidence exists to support the long-term benefits of gamification in educational contexts; (ii) the practice of gamifying learning has outpaced researchers’ understanding of its mechanisms and methods; (iii) the knowledge of how to gamify an activity in accordance with the specifics of the educational context is still limited. The review highlights the need for systematically designed studies and rigorously tested approaches confirming the educational benefits of gamification, if gamified learning is to become a recognized instructional approach.

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Gamifying education: what is known, what is believed and what remains uncertain: a critical review

The maturing of gamification research

Does gamification improve student learning outcome? Evidence from a meta-analysis and synthesis of qualitative data in educational contexts

Learner’s motivation difficulties are recognized as a problem in diverse educational scenarios, reaching up to university degrees Among other techniques that are often applied by instructors to counteract this issue, those related to the use of gaming elements seem to very promising In this context, considering the use of game-like properties in learning scenarios, known as gamification, has received increasing interest by academia in recent years However, its application in higher education can be challenging, due to some unwanted effects caused by the lack of proven design methodologies have been detected Choosing the adequate formal process for gamification design has become an important success requirement This work presents a systematic review of the gamification design frameworks discussed in the literature, providing a useful resource to educational practitioners as well as gamification designers and researchers A total of 2314 unique works are initially recorded, based on queries in databases, libraries, journals and search engines After applying a systematic filtering process, a definitive list of 40 works is more closely analysed Next to review over relevant literature, an assessment of the main features found in the discussed approaches is given, while also categorizing them according to their main application field and its suitability in higher educational environments

Gamification: a systematic review of design frameworks

This paper presents a review of the literature on gamification design frameworks. Gamification, understood as the use of game design elements in other contexts for the purpose of engagement, has become a hot topic in the recent years. However, there's also a cautionary tale to be extracted from Gartner's reports on the topic: many gamification-based solutions fail because, mostly, they have been created on a whim, or mixing bits and pieces from game components, without a clear and formal design process. The application of a definite design framework aims to be a path to success. Therefore, before starting the gamification of a process, it is very important to know which frameworks or methods exist and their main characteristics. The present review synthesizes the process of gamification design for a successful engagement experience. This review categorizes existing approaches and provides an assessment of their main features, which may prove invaluable to developers of gamified solutions at different levels and scopes.

A Literature Review of Gamification Design Frameworks

Several studies have developed models to explain player preferences. These models have been developed for digital games; however, they have been frequently applied in gameful design (i.e., designing non-game applications with game elements) without empirical validation of their fit to this different context. It is not clear if users experience game elements embedded in applications similarly to how players experience them in games. Consequently, we still lack a conceptual framework of design elements built specifically for a gamification context. To fill this gap, we propose a classification of eight groups of gameful design elements produced from an exploratory factor analysis based on participants' self-reported preferences. We describe the characteristics of the users who are more likely to enjoy each group of design elements in terms of their gender, age, gamification user type, and personality traits. Our main contribution is providing an overview of which design elements work best for what demographic clusters and how we can apply this knowledge to design effective gameful systems.

https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3116595.3116627

Elements of Gameful Design Emerging from User Preferences

Gamification, the use of game elements in non-game systems, is now established as a relevant research field in human-computer interaction (HCI). Several empirical studies have shown that gameful interventions can increase engagement and generate desired behavioral outcomes in HCI applications. However, some inconclusive results indicate that we need a fuller understanding of the mechanisms and effects of gamification. The Gamification User Types Hexad scale allows us to parse different user motivations in participants’ interactions with gameful applications, which are measured using a self-report questionnaire. Each user type represents a style of interaction with gameful applications, for example, if the interactions are more focused on achievements, socialization, or rewards. Thus, by scoring an individual in each one of the user types of the Hexad model, we can establish a profile of user preferences for gameful interactions. However, we still lack a substantial empirical validation of this scale. Therefore, we set out to validate the factor structure of the scale, in both English and Spanish, by conducting three studies, which also investigated the distribution of the Hexad's user types in the sample. Our findings support the structural validity of the scale, as well as suggesting opportunities for improvement. Furthermore, we demonstrate that some user types are more common than others and that gender and age correlate with a person's user types. Our work contributes to HCI research by further validating the utility of the Gamification User Types Hexad scale, potentially affording researchers a deeper understanding of the mechanisms and effects of gameful interventions.

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Empirical validation of the Gamification User Types Hexad scale in English and Spanish

Many recent studies of gamification applied to higher education have demonstrated a wide range of positive results. However, most of them fail to consider any personalization factor for the student experience, despite recent studies having shown that gameful systems may be more engaging when they are personalized to each user. Therefore, the goal of this work is to investigate if gameful learning experiences can better motivate and engage students if they are personalized. In this way, we present the design and analysis of a personalized gameful learning experience within a Computer Network Design course. The general purpose of this study is to determine whether a personalized gameful learning experience affects both the students' behavioral and emotional engagement. The results of a descriptive analysis reveal that personalization works better than generic approaches in all items regarding the behavioral and emotional engagement of the students, being a promising standpoint to further investigate in subsequent studies.

Alberto Mora

Papers

A Literature Review of Gamification Design Frameworks

Gamification: a systematic review of design frameworks

Elements of Gameful Design Emerging from User Preferences

Empirical validation of the Gamification User Types Hexad scale in English and Spanish

Effect of personalized gameful design on student engagement