Komma

Speaker  

:

Maaike Grobben

Title

:

Gamification in assessment: the effect of gamification on the response behaviour of students in an English vocabulary multiple-choice assessment

Abstract

:

Currently, gamification generates a lot of attention in education as a method to increase student motivation and engagement. Since students are often nervous or stressed before examination, gamification also appears to be a promising strategy in educational assessment. Previous research regarding game-based assessment focused on effects and how to put it into practice, but it is unclear to what extent gamification affects the response behaviour of students and with that, the validity of the test. Therefore, this research has been carried out to find out to what extent gamification of an English vocabulary multiple-choice assessment affects the response behaviour of students. A traditional computer-based test is compared to three game-based tests with an increasing intensity of game interactions: clicking, swiping, and shooting. In the design process, content validity is ensured by conducting a pilot test and making informed decisions. The results show that gamification does not affect the test scores of students, and therefore gamification seems not to affect the construct validity of the test. Research on student characteristics show that overall boys score higher than girls, but there is no significant difference within the conditions. Even though the duration of the test is longer, students in the game conditions report to be more motivated and appreciate this way of testing more than a traditional test. Also, student motivation is positively related with test score. An unexpected result is that a positive relationship has been found between game experience and test score in the traditional test and the clicking game, while it was expected that these forms of assessment require no or limited game skills. Generally, the results indicate that gamification does not influence the test scores of students and therefore this could be a valid method to increase student motivation in assessment contexts. However, further research is needed to explain unexpected findings before game-based assessment will be used for high stake decisions in education.

Date

:

January 30, 2020

Time

:

14:00 hrs.

Building/Room

:

Ravelijn 4231

Graduation     Committee    

:

prof.dr.ir. Bernard Veldkamp

dr. Hans Luyten