Academic Scientific JournalsGamification as a method supporting the adaptation of first-year students to the university life
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26881/bp.2024.2.01Keywords:
university dropout, first-year students, adaptation to study, gamificationAbstract
The phenomenon of mass student attrition before graduation is a pressing challenge faced by universities globally, including those in Poland. Between 2012 and 2020, over 1.3 million individuals withdrew from Polish universities, failing to resume their studies within a year of deregistration. Notably, the highest dropout rates – up to 70 % –occur within the first two semesters of study. This trend is driven by a confluence of individual factors, such as a lack of interest in the chosen field of study or personal difficulties, and institutional factors, including curriculum design and the pedagogical competencies of ac-ademic staff. A key determinant of student retention is the ability to adapt to the distinct norms and expectations of academic life. The suc-cessful transition of first-year students to university life is crucial for their subsequent personal and professional development. However, many first-year students struggle with high academic standards, an extensive curriculum, difficult subjects, and monotonous theoretical lectures. Addressing dropout rates necessitates pedagogical reforms, including the adoption of more active teaching methods that promote student engagement, foster critical thinking, and enhance problem- solving skills. Such reforms empower students to take greater respon-sibility for their learning, thereby improving their academic experience and retention.
The objective of the project conducted under the Masters of Didac-tics – Advanced Program was to develop a method aimed at increasing student engagement and improving academic performance among first-year students in an engineering program at Lodz University of Technology. The introduction of gamification elements in one of the courses led to a marked improvement in student attendance and heightened willingness to undertake additional challenges. Although the impact of these modifications on students' final academic achieve-ments yielded mixed results, gamification demonstrates significant potential as an effective strategy, particularly for first-year students, to enhance engagement and support their adaptation to the academic environment.
Downloads
References
Abeysekera, Lakmal, and Phillip Dawson (2015). "Motivation and cog-nitive load in the flipped classroom: Definition, rationale and a call for research". Higher Education Research & Development 34/1: 1–14. doi: 10.1080/07294360.2014.934336.
Andrews, Tessa, Mary Leonard, C. A. Colgrove, S. Kalinowski (2011). “Active learning not associated with student learning in a random sample of college biology courses”. CBE Life Sciences Education 10: 394–405. doi: 10.1187/cbe.11-07-0061.
Antonowicz, Dominik, Marcelina Smużewska, Krzysztof Wasielewski (2015). “Niepowodzenia w studiowaniu z perspektywy uczelni i stu-dentów”. Edukacja 4: 130–46.
Arslan Namli, Nihan (2016). “Gamification and effects on students’ sci-ence lesson achievement.” International Journal on New Trends in Education and Their Implications 7: 41–48.
Barata, Gabriel, Sandra Gama, Joaquim Jorge, and Daniel Gonçalves (2013). “Improving participation and learning with gamification”. In: Lennart E. Nacke, Kevin Harrigan, Neil Randall (eds.). Proceed-ings of the 1st International Conference on Gamification. Toronto: Association for Computing Machinery, 10–17. doi:10.1145/258300 8.2583010.
Berkling, Kay, Christoph Thomas (2013). “Gamification of a software engineering course and a detailed analysis of the factors that lead to its failure”. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (ed.). 2013 International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning, ICL 2013. Kazan: IEEE, 525–530. doi:10.1109/ICL.2013.6644642.
Birzina, Rita, Dagnija Cedere, Liva Petersone (2019). “Factors influ-encing the first year students’ adaptation to natural science studies in higher education”. Journal of Baltic Science Education 18: 349– 361. doi: 10.33225/jbse/19.18.349.
Cameron, Rose B., Candice A. Rideout (2022). “‘It’s been a challenge finding new ways to learn’: first-year students’ perceptions of adapt-ing to learning in a university environment”. Studies in Higher Ed-ucation 47/3: 668–682. doi: 10.1080/03075079.2020.1783525.
Carroll, Meredith, Summer Lindsey, Maria Chaparro, Brent Winslow (2021). “An applied model of learner engagement and strategies for increasing learner engagement in the modern educational environ-ment”. Interactive Learning Environments 29/5: 757–771. doi: 10.1080/10494820.2019.1636083.
Clinciu, Aurel Ion (2013). “Adaptation and stress for the first year uni-versity students”. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences 78: 718–722. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.04.382.
Deterding, Sebastian, Dan Dixon, Rilla Khaled, Lennart Nacke (2011). “From game design elements to gamefulness: Defining gamifica-tion”. In: Artur Lugmayr, Heljä Franssila, Christian Safran, Imed Hammouda (eds.). Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference: Envisioning Future Media Environments. Ta-pere: Association for Computing Machinery, 9–16. doi:10.1145/2 181037.2181040.
Dichev, Christo, Darina Dicheva (2017). “Gamifying education: what is known, what is believed and what remains uncertain: a critical review”. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education 14: 1–36. doi: 10.1186/s41239-017-0042-5.
Dicheva, Darina, Christo Dichev, Gennady Agre, Galia Angelova (2015). “Gamification in education: A systematic mapping study”. Educational Technology & Society 18: 75–88.
Fall, Anna-Maria, Greg Roberts (2011). “High school dropouts: Inter-actions between social context, self-perceptions, school engage-ment, and student dropout”. Journal of Adolescence 35: 787–798. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.11.004.
Fashola, Olatokunbo S., Robert E. Slavin (1998). “Effective dropout prevention and college attendance programs for students placed at risk”. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk (JESPAR) 3/2:159–183. doi: 10.1207/s15327671espr0302_5.
Fuchs, Kevin (2023). “Challenges with gamification in higher educa-tion: A narrative review with implications for educators and policy-makers”. International Journal of Changes in Education 1/1: 51–56. doi: 10.47852/bonviewIJCE32021604.
Gibson, David, Nathaniel Ostashewski, Kim Flintoff, Sheryl Grant, Erin Knight (2013). “Digital badges in education”. Education and Information Technologies 20: 1-8. doi: 10.1007/s10639-013-9291-7.
Heublein, Ulrich (2014). “Student drop-out from German higher edu-cation institutions”. European Journal of Education 49/4: 497–513. doi: 10.1111/ejed.12097.
Kapp, Karl M. (2012). “Games, gamification, and the quest for learner engagement”. Talent Development 66: 64–68.
Kehm, Barbara M., Malene Rode Larsen, Hanna Bjørnøy Sommersel (2019). “Student dropout from universities in Europe: A review of empirical literature”. Hungarian Educational Research Journal 9/2: 147–164. doi: 10.1556/063.9.2019.1.18.
Ketrish Evgeniya V., Andryukhina Tatyana V., Tretyakova Nataliya V,. Permyakov Oleg M., Barakovskikh K. N., Safronovich Irina E. (2017). “On the problem of first year students adaptation to the learning process in a university”. Journal of Fundamental and Ap-plied Science, 9/7: 1016–1031.
Kim, Jihoon, Darla Castelli (2021). “Effects of gamification on behav-ioral change in education: A meta-analysis". International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18: 3550. doi: 10.339 0/ijerph18073550.
Koivisto, Jonna, Juho Hamari (2019). “The rise of motivational infor-mation systems: A review of gamification research”. International Journal of Information Management 45: 191–210. doi: 10.1016/ j.ijinfomgt.2018.10.013.
Kumari, Ragni, Ramanand Tiwari, Ramlah Akhtar, Sunil Kumar Gupta (2023). “Traditional teaching method vs modern teaching method”. GPH-International Journal of Educational Research 6/11: 80–85. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.10429275.
Kupisiewicz, Czesław (1982). “Szkolnictwo w procesie przebudowy. Kierunki reform oświatowych w krajach uprzemysłowionych 1945–1980”. WSiP: Warszawa.
Lee, Joey, Jessica Hammer (2011). “Gamification in education: What, how, why bother?” Academic Exchange Quarterly 15: 1–5.
Lorenzo-Quiles, Oswaldo, Samuel Galdón-López, Ana Lendínez-Turón (2023). “Factors contributing to university dropout: A review”. Fron-tiers in Education 8. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2023.1191708.
Marciniak, Zbigniew, Ewa Chmielecka, Andrzej Kraśniewski, Tomasz Saryusz-Wolski (2013). Self-certification Report of the National Qual-ifications Framework for Higher Education. Warsaw: Instytut Badań Edukacyjnych.
Mattanah, Jonathan, Gregory Hancock, Bethany Brand (2004). “Pa-rental attachment, separation-individuation, and college student adjustment: A structural equation analysis of mediational effects”. Journal of Counseling Psychology 51/2: 213–225. doi: 10.1037/002 2-0167.51.2.213.
Midford Sara, Sara James, Anastasia Kanjere (2023). “Understanding the commencing student mindset to better support student suc-cess: A typology of first-year students’ motivation, preparedness and perceived support.” Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice 20/3: 8–20. doi: 10.53761/1.20.3.08.
OBW (Ogólnopolskie Badanie Wynagrodzeń) (2023). Sedlak & Sedlak. https://wynagrodzenia.pl. Date of access: 1. 10. 2024.
Oliveira, Wilk, Juho Hamari, Lei Shi, Armando M. Toda, Luiz Ro-drigues, Paula T. Palomino, Seiji Isotani (2023). “Tailored gamifica-tion in education: A literature review and future agenda”. Educa-tion and Information Technologies 28/1: 373–406. doi: 10.1007/ s10639-022-11122-4.
Oliveira, Wilk, Juho Hamari, Sivaldo Joaquim, Armando M. Toda, Paula T. Palomino, Julita Vassileva, Seiji Isotani (2022). “The ef-fects of personalized gamification on students’ flow experience, mo-tivation, and enjoyment”. Smart Learning Environments 9/1: 16. doi: 10.1186/s40561-022-00194-x.
OPI Raport zlecony przez Ministerstwo Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego (2020). https://irsw.pl/raport-opi-pib-zjawisko-drop-outu-na-pol-skich-uczelniach. Accessed 24.06.2024.
Quinn, Jocey (2013). “Drop out and completion in higher education in Europe among students from under-represented groups: An inde-pendent report authored for the European Commission”. NESET European Commission. https://nesetweb.eu/wp-content/uploads /2019/06/2013-Drop-out-and-Completion-in-Higher-Edu-cation-in-Europe-among-students-from-under-represented-groups.pdf. Accessed 25.06.2024.
Ratajczak, Sabina, Jacek Uroda (2016). “Innowacje dydaktyczne jako element przewagi konkurencyjnej na rynku uczelni wyższych”. In: Anna Francik, Katarzyna Szczepańska-Woszczyna, Jaroslav Daďo (eds.). Procesy innowacyjne w polskiej gospodarce: Potencjał zmian. Dąbrowa Górnicza: Wyższa Szkoła Biznesu w Dąbrowie Górniczej, 221-231.
Reason, Robert D., Patrick T. Terenzini, Robert J. Domingo (2006). “First things first: Developing academic competence in the first year of college”. Research in Higher Education 47/2: 149–175. doi: 10.1007/s11162-005-8884-4.
Seaborn, Katie, Deborah I. Fels (2015). “Gamification in theory and action: A survey”. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 74: 14–31. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhcs.2014.09.006.
Seixas, Luma, Alex Gomes, Ivanildo Melo Filho (2016). “Effectiveness of gamification in the engagement of students”. Computers in Hu-man Behavior 58: 48–63. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2015.11.021.
Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Poland, GUS, 1992.
Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Poland, GUS, 2011.
Stiburek, Šimon, Ales Vlk, Václav Švec (2017). “Study of the success and dropout in the higher education policy in Europe and V4 countries”. Hungarian Educational Research Journal 1: 43–56. doi: 10.14413/herj.2017.01.04.
Tinto Vincent (1993). Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition. 2nd ed. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Tinto, Vincent (1975). “Dropout from higher education: A theoretical synthesis of recent research”. Review of Educational Research 45/1: 89–125. doi: 10.2307/1170024.
Toda, Armando, Pedro Henrique Valle, Seiji Isotani (2018). “The dark side of gamification: An overview of negative effects of gamification in education". In: Alexandra Ioana Cristea, Ig Ibert Bittencourt, Fer-nanda Lima (eds.). Higher Education for All: From Challenges to Novel Technology-Enhanced Solutions. Cham: Springer, 143–156. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-97934-2_9.
Yakovleva, Nadezhda, Evgeny Yakovlev (2014). “Interactive teaching methods in contemporary higher education.” Pacific Science Review 4. doi: 10.1016/j.pscr.2014.08.016.
Zichermann, Gabe, Christopher Cunningham (2011). Gamification by Design: Implementing Game Mechanics in Web and Mobile Apps. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media.
