Gamification in software engineering education: a systematic mapping

TLDR: It is found that the purpose of applying gamification in the SE field is mostly directly related to improving student engagement and, to a lesser extent, to improvingStudent knowledge, although other targets are the application of SE best practices and socialization.

About: This article is published in Journal of Systems and Software.The article was published on 2018-07-01 and is currently open access. It has received 137 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Student engagement.

Figures

Fig. 9. Distribution of primary studies by gamification approach followed.

Fig. 8. Distribution of primary studies by the addressed SE process.

Fig. 11. Patterns of how often gamification components and mechanics are used together.

Fig. 12. Distribution of primary studies by type of implementation.

Fig. 2. Thematic analysis process.

Fig. 10. Distribution of primary studies by gamification dynamics, mechanics, and components.

Frequently asked questions

Q1. What have the authors contributed in "Gamification in software engineering education: a systematic mapping" ?

However, as SE educators the authors are particularly interested in understanding how gamification is pollinating their field and the extent to which the above claim is valid in their context. A systematic literature mapping has underscored the difficulty in fully corroborating the above claim because few empirical data are available so far. The authors have also discussed insightful issues regarding the implementation cost of gamification, patterns in the most often used gamification elements, and the SE processes and teaching activities addressed. Of the identified challenges, the authors should highlight the complexity of deciding which gamification approach to follow, the lack of information for choosing gamification elements and the need to control the impact of gamification.