Increasing student engagement through gamification
Abstract
Despite the fact that much literature heralds student engagement as an essential component to
improve learning and increase course completion rates, confusion persists on how to accomplish
this in an e-learning environment. In recent years, gamification has emerged as a potential
strategy to achieve these goals, yet its application in educational contexts, to date, has remained
limited. This paper seeks to examine how gamification principles could be incorporated into
online contexts to engage learners, build independence and increase student academic success.
This was done through the creation of a French gamified learning environment (GLE) at the A1
level as outlined in the Common European Framework Reference. The GLE consisted of a series
of learning activities presented as quests woven together by a single narrative and was presented
to peer reviewers for feedback. This project was intended as a practical application of
educational theory rather than as a formal research project. Peer review feedback was largely
positive and supported the notion that this was a successful application of gamification principles
and would increase engagement. Gamification should be considered as a serious strategy to
increase engagement and student success.