TITLE
2021 16th Iberian Conference on Information Systems
and Technologies (CISTI)
Proceedings of CISTI’2021 - 16th Iberian Conference on Information
Systems and Technologies
23 to 26 of June 2021
Chaves, Portugal
EDITORS
Álvaro Rocha, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
Ramiro Gonçalves, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal
Francisco Garcia Peñalvo, Universidad de Salamanca, Spain
José Martins, AquaValor Research Center, Portugal
ISBN: 978-989-54659-1-0
WEB: http://www.cisti.eu/
CopyRight 2021: AISTI - Associação Ibérica de Sistemas e
Tecnologias de Informação / Iberian Association for Information
Systems and Technologies
2021 16th Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (CISTI)
23 – 26 June 2021, Chaves, Portugal
ISBN: 978-989-54659-1-0
A CASE STUDY ON THE USE OF
GAMIFICATION IN THE FLIPPED
CLASSROOM
Leticia Morais
Centro Federal de Educação Tecnologica de Minas Gerais
Belo Horizonte, Brasil
leticiamorais7@yahoo.com.br
Vitor Gonçalves
Centro de Investigação em Educação Básica, Instituto
Politécnico de Bragança
Bragança, Portugal
vg@ipb.pt
Lilian Bambirra de Assis
Centro Federal de Educação Tecnologica de Minas Gerais
Belo Horizonte, Brasil
lilian@cefetmg.br
Abstract — The present article corresponds to the result of an
internship at the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança. After
accomplishing a systematic literature review looking for the
clarification of the main concepts of gamification and flipped
classroom, it was performed a case study which main purpose was
to identify and analyze how students react to the use of educational
games as diagnostic or formative evaluation. Many tools were
evaluated, but only four were chosen, which were: Kahoot!,
Socrative, Quizizz and Nearpods. Subsequently, these tools were
distributed to the third year of the course of management degree
through Google Classroom and shared with other professors of the
European community through the platform AduLeT (Advanced
use of Learning Technologies in Higher Education). That
contributed to share and reuse strategies to face the world’s
current scenario due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We can affirm
henceforth that all the use experiences, which related a learning
method with one of the tools referred, showed satisfactory results
involving a greater dynamic and interest during the classes.
Keywords - Gamification, fllipped class, game-based learning.
I. INTRODUCTION
A certain event which happens in the society changes it. The
spectrum of this change is the one that can be different. The
worldwide event caused by the pandemic dispersion of the
corona virus SARS-CoV-2, responsible for the COVID-19, has
influenced drastically the way of teaching and learning around
the world in the past few months. All the changes have their
consequences, and to face this worldwide pandemic, some
educational institutions had to adapt their teaching and learning
methods to continue the academic year. Based on that, this
research was considered even more relevant since it verified the
applicability of the creation of interactive educational resources
using authorship tools of objects of learning namely platforms
of learning based in games which are: Kahoot!, Quizizz,
Nearpod and Socrative which would be available in a course and
shared in the platform Google Classroom. Some of these
platforms are more than formative assessment tools, but mainly
we can consider them as audience response systems and the use
of these applications, without integration with other platforms,
are small examples about the true gamification process. In fact,
we emphasize the use of this tools to implement simple game-
based strategies in classroom.
This study aimed to analyze how students react to the
application of the platforms mentioned above in their
educational content, as a way of diagnostically or formatively
evaluating their knowledge in synchronous classes through
videoconference held by the teacher of the course. Therefore, it
is important to measure the impacts generated during the
learning processes and the students' perception of these tools as
means of evaluation.
This research was based in a systematic literature review to
understand the main concepts of gamification, flipped classroom
and the mostly used tools game-based, to then carry out a case
study with a class of thirty-five students from the degree in
administration at the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança. To
evaluate all the four tools previously referred there were
performed four sessions using a different platform and its
interactive resource in each of the sessions. To map the class
profile and collect the student’s perceptions it was elaborated a
form in Google Forms.
The structure of the current article is i) show the
methodologies referring to the main results of the systematic
literature review; ii) clarify the concepts of flipped classroom
and the gamification emphasizing its benefits in motivation,
commitment, involvement or engagement; iii) show the results
of the case study emphasizing the presentation and data analysis
collected through the semi structured questionnaire and the
platforms statistic tools as well as observing each one of the
synchronic sessions of video conferencing; iv) refer that all use
experiences in which every learning method is related to one of
the technologies referred were shared with other professors of
the European community through the platform AduLeT
(Advanced Use of Learning Technologies in Higher Education);
v) finally, the main conclusions of this case study are showed.
II. METHODOLOGY
Initially, we started the systematic literature review of
scientific articles, dissertations and theses stored in the main
bibliometric basis such as Web of Science and Scopus. This
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2021 16th Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (CISTI)
23 – 26 June 2021, Chaves, Portugal
ISBN: 978-989-54659-1-0
methodology can be resumed in the following steps: (i) question
formulation; (ii) studies location of the bibliometric basis; (iii)
evaluation and selection of the studies; (iv) analysis and
synthesis; (v) results report.
The systematic literature review allowed us to reunite some
of the most relevant studies about themes such as the flipped
classroom and the gamification considering the creation of
interactive educational resources and using the most relevant
data basis which aim was to conduct a critical and extensive
literature review. The review of the systematization process
aimed to reinforce the study avoiding the disadvantages which
would probably occur in an ordinary or not systematic review
(figure 1). This systematic review does not include the meta-
analysis as the primary studies which were integrated in a
summarized way. However, its integration was not combined
statistically, it corresponded to a qualitative systematic review
[1].
Figure 1. Systhematic literature Review steps.
Source: Own elaboration, adapted from The PRISMA Group (2009) [2]
For the evaluation and selection of studies, in the second
stage, the first parameter was used by the title and year of
publication, 2005 - 2020. For the year publication, 63 studies
and, after, 83 studies were discarded due to lack of relationship
for the purpose of this research. As a result of reading the
abstract and introduction, 17 articles were also eliminated. The
criteria for verify eligibility was precisely to do application of
these concepts in the context of classroom or a case study either
in the application of the flipped classroom methodology as in the
application of any tool that applies the idea of gamification as
kahoot!, socrative, nearpod or others.
Subsequently, four interactive educational resources were
elaborated. They were applied to the third-year class of a
curricular unit of the course of management degree of the
Polytechnical Institute of Bragança. Therefore, it was applied
the case study methodology bearing in mind that it was a specific
phenomenon and that many analysis tools were used to interpret
the data. Both the external and internal factors were analyzed.
[3]. YIN (2010) [4] affirms that it is important to comprehend
how and why the problematics involved occur and also adds that
“the case study method is not just a qualitative research, even
though it can be recognized in the variety of quantitative
research options. The case study research goes beyond one type
of qualitative research, it uses a mixture of qualitative and
quantitative evidences”.
There were 35 students in the class which majority are young
people who are between 18 and 22 years old. 60% of the class is
represented by girls and 90% of it claim that they have never had
any kind of gamification experience during the classes. Based
on that, this survey is characterized as a descriptive and
qualitative research. It is also important to mention that referring
to the data treatment, three chronological poles were proposed
by Bardin (2006) [5]: i) pre-analysis; ii) material exploration and
iii) results treatment, inference, and interpretation.
In the first part, it was shown to the students the main
purposes of the project as well as the tools which were going to
be used to set the class profile and find out some criteria such as
age, gender, if the students already knew the tools and if they
preferred any kind of teaching methodology. In the second part,
the educational interactive resources were applied and
distributed into four sessions. In the final part, the reports
available in the platforms Kahoot!, Quizizz, Nearpod and
Socrative as well as the semi structured questionnaire sent to the
students by Google Forms and an interview with the professor
through email were used to interpret and understand the results.
Based on the information collected, the following terminal
categories were defined to study: i) motivation and engagement
ii) students’ and professor’s educational perception iii) technical
and functional factors.
III. CONTRIBUTION TO THE STATE OF THE ART
Due to the globalization, the pedagogical methodologies can
be implemented with the educational technologies resources
which can support and most of the time can also promote
disruptive processes. According to Hiltz and Turoff (2005) [6],
the conventional model of in person courses focused on the
teacher loses space for a pedagogy supported by digital tools and
focused on the students. It is important to emphasize that one of
the biggest challenges in every single educational process is to
keep the student motivated, which is a major factor in the
learning process and in their engagement during the activities
proposed [7].
A. Motivation and engagement
One of the problems faced during the classes is the level of
the students’ participation and how well the teachers are able to
make them motivated and engaged during the proposal
activities, which is an ancient question when analyzing the
teaching and learning process [8]. Referring to this main
question, this study approaches two strategies, which are the
gamification and the flipped classroom, to verify their
applicability as important factors which can increase the
students’ participation, motivation, and engagement. Bishop and
Verleger (2013) [9], while studying the flipped classroom,
recognize the importance of the interactive learning activities in
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2021 16th Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (CISTI)
23 – 26 June 2021, Chaves, Portugal
ISBN: 978-989-54659-1-0
group and the use of computers in extra activities outside the
classroom. This is related to the gamification and the use of
online platforms to create interactive educational resources once
the strategy based in educational games can embrace many
motivational factors. Monteiro et al. (2012) [10] defends that one
of the determining factors would be the fact that the professor
combines different languages resources and provides more
interaction and discussion during the classes where the students
can feel free to express their opinions and the professor can
interfere in a more effective way.
First, it is important to highlight that motivation can be
intrinsic and originated inside the individual or extrinsic and
related to external factors. Busarello (2016) [11] in his book
“gamification: principles and strategies”, in the fourth chapter
writes about that in the games context and recognize that to make
an individual interested, intrinsic motivation, it is fundamental
that the activity makes him curious, entertained and satisfied. On
the other hand, referring to the motivation generated by external
factors, the author affirms that it is necessary an external reward
and, in the games, it is represented by the scores and ranking.
Besides that, the author emphasizes that the strategy used
during the games approaches cognitive, emotional, and social
areas and, because of that, it tends to be assertive. The first one
is related to the individual autonomy provided by the stage’s
functionalities inside the game. The emotional area is related to
the success and the failure and the satisfaction after completing
a task. The last cognitive area, which is the social one, is just the
competition promoted between the classmates.
B. Flipped Classroom
The search for new methods, which can provide the students
participation, motivation and can, even, reduce their absences, is
constant in literature. Valente (2014) [12] reinforce the
educational professionals’ engagement and their attempt to
innovate their teaching methods and he mentions the flipped
classroom as a great solution which is used by some famous
universities worldwide. The flipped classroom consists in
inverting the logic inside the class. In the traditional method, the
students learn the subjects at school and do the homework at
home. In the flipped classroom the students are supposed to
study the school subjects at home and do their homework inside
the class [13].
In his study, Amstelveen (2019) [14] indicates this approach
as an alternative to the professors who want to use more
technological resources, change the classes schedule, and focus
on the student. Yang (2015) [15] alredy points it out as a
significant method to innovate and to renovate the educational
model. In general, when we compare the flipped classroom with
the more traditional methods, we find out that it shows more
promising results (Valente, 2014) [12], but Amstelveen (2019)
[14] mentions that there is no guarantee to increase the
apprenticeship when comparing it to a more traditional method
once it depends on the professors’ capacity to maximize the
apprenticeship.
Some other studies and reflections such as Hamdan and
McKnight (2013) [16] could be highlighted once they
demonstrate the convenience that this method could provide to
the students. They would be able to do the activities anytime,
anywhere and they would be able to do it as many times as they
need. Rolo (2016) [17] also quotes that the young people can
adapt better in this new scenario because of their abilities to deal
with technological tools. It also influences the exploitation
during the flipped classroom once the multimedia tools are one
of the main bases.
Certainly, there are also some negative aspects as in any
other teaching learning approach. Soldevilla (2015) [18] in his
study share the negative results that he obtained due to the lack
of resources, time and the lack of the students’ consciousness
face to the importance of their participation in the method
success. Referring to the students that are not very autonomous,
it can increase significantly in the flipped classroom. Bergmann
& Sams (2012) [13] point out that the fact that the students have
already studied the subjects at home may not solve their doubts
immediately, on the other hand they can study in their own
rhythm and because of that they can make questions more
precisely in the classroom. Therefore, the beginning of the class
is used to clarify the doubts and to solve and correct the exercises
which prevent the student to apply incorrect concepts on his
lessons. Referring to that, it is clearly that the time logic during
the classes is also flipped. In the traditional method, the
beginning of the class is focused to solve the homework and to
comprehend the students’ problems. Moran & Milsom (2014)
[19] used this method in a fifteen-student class in a University
of the United States whose problem had been the lack of the
students’ content applicability and their miss understanding
during the class reading. Due to that fact, they use the flipped
classroom in attempt to make the class environment more
interactive and collaborative. In that class, the results were
satisfactory. The students were more satisfied with the increase
of discussions during the classes and with the opportunity to
learn with each other.
In short, it can be said that the benefits when using this
method surpasses the most traditional methods. However, it is
important to mention that changing a learning teaching process
which has been used for decades is very complex for both the
students and the professors. Therefore, it is required dedication
and conscious about the change’s necessity [20].
C. Gamification
Searching for the innovation and the students’ engagement,
another strategy mentioned in the literature is the gamification.
It is defined by Kapp (2012) [21] as the use of the applied
principles in the game development and other contexts which are
not applied to games with the potential to intrigue and motivate
people. Referring to that, it is essential the applicability of this
approach to the educational software and many methods can be
used besides the gamification such as videoconferencing,
quizzes, mental maps, and simulation.
Signori and Guimarães (2016) [20] point out that the
difference present in the gamification is “the use of the game
elements as rewards systems and competitive social
mechanisms”. That results in a positive and directed connection
between the motivation and the engagement. This statement
befits with the conclusion Kapp (2016) [22] made in his research
in which the gamification allows the students to dedicate more
and to assume bigger responsibilities and consequently
individualizing their learning. It is also considered a method
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2021 16th Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (CISTI)
23 – 26 June 2021, Chaves, Portugal
ISBN: 978-989-54659-1-0
which allows to involve the student, reinforce the content,
expose the progress and the following direction which are
important motivation agents. Another important aspect is the
competition promoted by the game model. França and Reategui
(2013) [23] point out that the use of gamification can promote
both a collaborative and competitive environment and although
there is not an agreement in the literature about the positive and
directed relationship between competition and motivation in
their study, the students showed a very satisfactory result.
In the literature, there are many interactive educational
platform applications in which one of them is the use of the
Kahoot! instead of a traditional test in the Pharmacy College of
the Federal University of Minas Gerais. The quiz had 25
questions and the timing was between 60 to 120 seconds. In the
students’ perception, it was possible to take a fair review. 80%
of the students considered this method as something more
attractive than the traditional tests and the competitiveness was
able to surpass the limitations that this tool had [24].
IV. STUDY CASE RESULTS
The use of educational games has great potential to engage
the student in the learning process [22]. However, the way the
sessions will be guided can influence the results considerably
and because of that it is necessary that the professors pay
attention during the creation of the project in three steps: the
game presentation, the game execution, and its discussion
according to Kapp (2016) [22], mentioning Hays (2005) and
Sitzmann (2011). In the first session, the class dynamic and how
to use the tool were explained to the students. The first three
session were accomplished in a synchronized way with the
platforms Kahoot!, Quizizz, and Nearpod. Only in the last one it
was used the platform Socrative in which was applied the flipped
classroom, mainly because fit well with the strategy of the
teacher for those type of contents. In all these platforms the
questionnaires had ten questions and were used in the end of the
classes with the duration of approximately 30 to 40 minutes. In
the first session, we opted to start with the platform Kahoot!.
During the game, it was guided by the professor who was
responsible to read the questions and the alternatives with the
students in attempt to encourage them mentioning some
comments about the subject.
In the second session, we used the platform Quizizz and as
the students had already known the platform, it was slightly
more intuitive and because of that the timing to enter the game
classroom was lightly smaller. The same happened to the
Nearpod. However, with the Socrative platform we chose the
asynchronous mode to understand better how the flipped
classroom worked. We also used this mode because this
platform does not show an immediate feedback, so the questions
could be discussed during the class.
A. Motivation and engagement
Motivation and engagement are the factors responsible for
these tools applicability and responsible to modify the class
traditional methodology. In the students comments the words
funny and interesting were very used. That is one of the main
strategies of the gamification applicability which motivates and
engages the students during the classes [23]. One student
affirmed: “I thought quite interesting the fact that we can learn
in a different and funnier way” another one said: “I didn’t know
the games, but I found them good tools to attract the students’
attention during the classes”. They both reinforced both
innovation and satisfaction during the activity.
The professor also confirmed the platforms benefit.
Previously, she had experienced only in person methodologies
which were mainly expositive and traditional. She also affirmed
that she wants to use the platforms, especially in the synchronous
mode, but during the in-person classes.
B. Students’ and professor’s educational perception
During the classes, the students were satisfied face to the
application of the tools. Besides their verbal comments, the
questionnaire also showed that they considered the tools as a
good feature to learning and evaluation. Before the activities,
77.4% of the class preferred the traditional method and despite
this number falling to 50% it is yet an important data. Referring
to this, another important aspect to point out is the students’ lack
of interest face to the flipped classroom which was known by
only 25% of the class beforehand. Initially, only one student
preferred this methodology and that number reduced to zero
after the activities were done. Therefore, it is concluded that this
method is still not very implemented in the academic community
both by the students and professors. That was their first
experience and as Amstelveen (2019) [14] said before it changes
the experience directly. Despite that, the students considered the
Socrative as the most potential platform to achieve the
pedagogical aspects and also the flipped classroom.
In attempt to evaluate the experience, it was proposed to the
students a seven-level scale in which (1) very bad, (2) bad, (3)
not satisfactory, (4) satisfactory, (5) good, (6) very good, (7)
excellent. The criteria were the use as evaluate method,
contribution to the learning process, means of learning the
content and class strategy and its dynamic. In all of the criteria
the most used term was the very good and the terrible one was
not indicated in none of the criteria. These data were reinforced
in the students’ comments in the end of the questionnaire. One
student defined the learning as funny in the comment: “I think
that’s a funnier way of evaluating our knowledge and to give
more joy to the classes”. Another one defined as innovative in
the statement: “It is a very innovative method and despite its
small use, it has such a great potential”.
Comparing the criteria in the different platforms by students,
figure 2, the criteria were: (i) interactivity , (ii) easy handling,
(iii) visual resources, (iv) pedagogical potentiality, (v) learning
intuitiveness, (vi) dynamism, (vii) funniest learning. These
referenced items were mentioned in the literature as important
gamification means which may be applied in the educational
context [19]. Considered the most interactive tool, the Kahoot!
obtained 16 votes, followed by Socrative which had 7. It is also
interesting to point out that the interaction created by the
Socrative was in the following class, during an available
moment for discussion once the simulation happened in an
asynchronous way. The Kahoot! and the Quizizz were
considered the easiest tools, but the Kahoot! won with a three
points difference. The class also preferred the Kahoot! when
compared to the other virtual resources.
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