International Higher Education Teacher Award ^2024/25

We created a gamified course structure for the Algebra and Number Theory 1 course based on the concept of flow for first-year mathematics teacher students. The course was taken by 71 students. The course consisted of a lecture and a seminar each week. There were 6 seminar groups with 11-17 students each. The base of our gamified course was a point system, which we filled in with motivating gamified content for all player types: achievers, killers, explorers, and socializers. Students were able to collect points for solved problems, tests written on lectures and seminars, solutions submitted for weekly task sets, good performance during lessons and a few surprise opportunities. Students got their grades based on the amount of points they collected, if they met a minimum requirement: four complete solutions for the cumulative tests written over the semester. We included the following game elements in our course: points, leaderboards, rewards according to the SAPS system, exploration, unlockable content, easter eggs, challenges, walkthrough. We implemented acknowledged learning strategies into our gamified system, which are proved by cognitive neurosciences, such as retrieval practice, distributed practice and cumulative testing. In the last 8-10 minutes of the lectures and seminars students were given two problems: one problem from the given lecture as a retrieval practice problem and one problem from the topics of the whole semester as a cumulative testing problem. Distributed practice was applied by assigning different deadlines to different weekly tasks, and we regularly upgraded the course page. For achiever and killer types leaderboards were introduced. Each week we announced the 10 best achieving students both in points, and the number of solved problems. For explorers and socializers we introduced online forums, where they could discuss their solutions and opinions about mathematical contents. Compared to previous years' test results, the performance of the students improved by 8% on the first test, and 15% on the second test. The dropout rate decreased from 45% to 17% compared to previous years' courses. We also measured the students' engagement levels compared to their engagement to other mathematical courses. Our course outperformed the other courses in all measured dimensions. It was the only one to reach students' expectations in two dimensions (security, fairness), surpass them in one(status), and come close to in two (certainty, relatedness).

Methodology

During the planning process, we made a basic structure for the course and then tried to gather activities, so that all Bartle player types can find motivating content in the course: achievers, killers, explorers and socializers. The basic structure consisted of a point system, based on which students got their grades for the seminar, task sets for each week, retrieval practice, and cumulative testing. We included exercises motivating for all player types on the task sets. The task sets consisted of five problems relevant to the material learnt that week from easy to medium difficulty, two challenging problems, and two other exercises, which were aimed at motivating explorers and socializers. These exercises were for example helping other students by explaining previous exercises to them, which they couldn't solve previously or writing a short essay on a mathematical topic. The points were assigned to the tasks so that better performing students could get the same amount of points by completing the two challenging exercises as worse performing students, by the five easier exercises. This way students of all levels of understanding could have a chance to advance their knowledge according to the zone of proximal development. We often included so-called "easter eggs" on the task sets, such as QR codes which lead to funny videos. There were leaderboards for the points gathered on these exercises weekly for killer type students. We gathered the best solutions for the posed problems and shared them with the students. Being on these lists didn't only become great happiness and the biggest reward for students, they made it possible to use class time more effectively, looking at only the previous problems, which students couldn’t solve even with the help of the solutions. When implementing game elements, and designing the course, we consulted with Hungarian gamification experts. We had regular meetings with the experts to ensure the gamified experience’s quality throughout the semester. Five teachers worked on the course, one giving the lectures, and each leading one seminar. We had regular meetings to share our experiences on the seminars, and on correcting the task sets. By having meetings we were able to have a detailed picture on the students’ individual development, and the dynamics of the whole group. This also helped us keep the gamification and the task sets and seminar problems up to date, created specifically for this group. We implemented acknowledged learning strategies into our gamified system, which are proved by cognitive neurosciences, such as retrieval practice, distributed practice and cumulative testing. In the last 8-10 minutes of the lectures and seminars students were given two problems: one problem from the given lecture as a retrieval practice problem and one problem from the topics of the whole semester as a cumulative testing problem. Distributed practice was applied by assigning different deadlines to different weekly tasks, and we regularly upgraded the course page.

Tools, equipment, technology used

The pandemic pushed professors to use digital tools. According to institutional rule we had to use Microsoft Teams for seminars and lectures, and had an option to choose between Canvas and Moodle as a complimenting platform during the online education period. Although Moodle has an implemented PBL system, which can be useful for a gamified course, we chose Canvas as it had less bugs and an easier user multiface. Because of the course design we would have used Canvas even if we didn’t have to design the course for online education, but the pandemic gave us an opportunity to utilize the platform to the maximum, which was a unique thing in Hungarian higher education. We used Canvas for assigning quizzes, making question banks, making a wide range of different types of questions, and giving out randomized questions. We had the task sets shared, collected, and reviewed through Canvas, being able to mark students' solutions with the drawing functions and have conversations with the students in the comment section of their work. We made forums with tricky questions and encouraged students to engage in discussions over which of their answers is correct, utilizing the option to keep the comments hidden until a student writes a reply, so everybody has a chance to think over the solution before seeing what others have written. Canvas has a calendar and a complex deadline system, which was useful in implementing distributed practice. We were able to time the exercises and materials, so we could make the exercises in advance, and students also had an easier time keeping track of their tasks, and seeing how they progressed. We made a questionnaire on student engagement, and the students’ personal experiences, to further develop the course. Canvas has a great assessment system, so students and professors alike were able to easily keep track of the minimum requirements separately from the other points. Also, individual progress was easier to see, so we were able to figure out which students were having a harder time completing tasks, and who were performing best so we could differentiate during seminars, or offer consultations. The announcement option was utilized as a tool for communication, and uploading leaderboards and good students solution lists. It was also useful that we could see how many students checked these announcements, and other content, which was a way of keeping track of changes in student motivation. The peer reviewing and assessment table functions were not relevant in this course.

Outcomes and outputs, main results

Compared to previous years' test results, the performance of the students improved by 8% on the first test, and 15% on the second test. The dropout rate decreased from 45% to 17% compared to previous years' courses. We also measured the students' engagement levels compared to their engagement to other mathematical courses. Our gamified course outperformed the other courses in all measured dimensions. Our course was the only to reach the students' expectations in two dimensions (security, fairness), surpass them in one (status), and come close to in two (certainty, relatedness).

Lessons learnt

When implementing this practice, it is important to take the workload into consideration. Taking into account that reviewing all the solutions given by the students is a time consuming process, we suggest using tests that can be automatically corrected by a system. Constant attention is needed to maintain students’ attention and motivation. Therefore, it might be needed to add new elements, or change the structure of the course if student motivation is decreasing.

Adaptability and sustainability of the best practice (for other institutions)

The combination of game elements and acknowledged learning strategies can be implemented into any institution, taking the time factor into consideration. Two of the used learning strategies: retrieval practice, cumulative practice, can be implemented into any course, by using tests with automatic reviewing options, and having a point system, in which students’ grades are influenced by the points they get for these tests. This way students are motivated to actively pay attention during lectures and seminars and take part in these learning strategies, achieving long-term knowledge from the studied material. The other gamified elements we used can be time consuming, so it is important to assess our goals before implementation. If the institution’s goal is to maximize student engagement or minimize dropout rates, the good practice can be fully implemented. If the institution’s goal is to maximize student performance or achieving long-term knowledge the emphasis should be put on retrieval practice and cumulative testing having the gamified elements complement the system by giving the students extra motivation.

Promotion of best practice

The structure of the course was presented in several forums. The institution's Educational Reform Committee asked us to give a presentation on our course design at the Physics faculty of our university. This course design and another two were presented in a series of five presentations. Two of the collaborating instructors were students who conducted a study on the course, which they presented at our institute’s Scientific Student Conference, getting 1st place, and at the National Scientific Student Conference, getting 3rd place. We are currently writing a paper on our findings, which we wish to publicate in an internationally recognized journal.

Scope and impact

• Course/department level
• Faculty level
• Institutional level
• Cross-institutional level
• National level

In Hungary, currently around 10 000 more teachers are needed in primary and secondary education, while university application to this field has been on the decrease, and dropout rates have been on the rise for years. Therefore it is crucial to minimize the dropout rates of the students, and maximize their engagement, so they stay in teacher education and strive to perform well. In our institution, Eötvös Loránd University, an educational reform is taking place. There is a new committee in charge of educational development, and a conference was held with professors from all around Hungary to share good practices. In this conference there was a big emphasis on sustaining student attention during lectures. In line with this aspect, we introduced the “pomodoro technique”. Studies have found that every 20 minutes attention has a decrease, and that this phenomenon can be combated by interrupting lessons with a different topic every 20 minutes. Therefore the lecturer told the students about a practical use or the historical background of the taught material every 20 minutes. The retrieval practice tests also help counter this problem, as students have more motivation to pay attention all through lectures and seminars if they are tested on the material right afterwards. The institutional reform also wishes to make good use of digitalization. In our good practice, we used the Canvas platform for sharing course material, students uploading their solutions, reviewing and keeping track of the students’ points, to make it easier for students to complete and keep track of their tasks, and to be able to see their development and progression in the material by seeing their points. The combination of gamification, proven learning strategies and tracking individual progress are all parts of the education our institution strives for, education for the 21th century. We have started the dissemination of our innovative good practice by giving a presentation on our course design at the Physics faculty of our university but we plan to broaden the scope. This course design can be applied universally regardless of the topic or the level of instruction (bachelor/master/PhD).

6.1 Digitalization

• Outstanding, innovative, excellent practices of online / blended / hybrid learning
• Innovative, novel methodology in using digital tools/devices in teaching
• Digital skills development and assessment both general and profession-related, embedded in course design, in teaching and assessment

Reasoning: This way of gamification is a new topic with its scientific background still forming. Our framework is without precedent as it implements further science-based, highly efficient learning techniques.

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6.2 Internationalization

• International projects/research results embedded into course development and T&L

Reasoning: Gamification, testing effect and its application in education via retrieval-enhanced learning/practice testing is a relatively new research area, independent of language and culture.

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6.3 Inclusion and diversity, universal design

• NOT RELEVANT

Reasoning: Students come to university with different mathematical backgrounds. Our course design promotes equity in the sense that the system is suitable for several types of personality and learning style via giving options; and also makes offering individualized support to students possible by the continuous monitoring of performance and engagement.

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6.4 Sustainability

• NOT RELEVANT

Reasoning:

3.3 Public contact datas

Name	Email address	Website
Csaba Szabó	szabo.csaba.mathdid@ttk.elte.hu	http://web.cs.elte.hu/index.html?lang=en