We evaluated the use of gamification to facilitate a student-centered learning environment within an undergraduate Year 2 Personal and Professional Development (PPD) course. In addition to face-to-face classroom practices, an information technology-based gamified system with a range of online learning activities was presented to students as support material. The implementation of the gamified course lasted two academic terms. The subsequent evaluation from a cohort of 136 students indicated that student performance was significantly higher among those who participated in the gamified system than in those who engaged with the nongamified, traditional delivery, while behavioral engagement in online learning activities was positively related to course performance, after controlling for gender, attendance, and Year 1 PPD performance. Two interesting phenomena appeared when we examined the influence of student background: female students participated significantly more in online learning activities than male students, and students with jobs engaged significantly more in online learning activities than students without jobs. The gamified course design advocated in this work may have significant implications for educators who wish to develop engaging technology-mediated learning environments that enhance students' learning, or for a broader base of professionals who wish to engage a population of potential users, such as managers engaging employees or marketers engaging customers.
Learners in the higher education context who engage with computer‐based gamified learning systems often experience the novelty effect: a pattern of high activity during the gamified system's introduction followed by a drop in activity a few weeks later, once its novelty has worn off. We applied a two‐tiered motivational, online gamified learning system over 2 years to a total number of 333 students. In a mixed methods research design, we used 3‐year worth of longitudinal data (333 students for the treatment group and 175 in the control group) to assess students' engagement and performance in that period. Quantitative results established that students engaged and performed better in the gamified condition vis‐à‐vis the nongamified. Furthermore, students exhibited higher levels of engagement in the second year compared with the first year of the gamified condition. Our qualitative data suggest that students in the second year of the gamified delivery exhibited sustained engagement, overcoming the novelty effect. Thus, our main contribution is in suggesting ways of making the engagement meaningful and useful for the students, thus sustaining their engagement with computer‐based gamified learning systems and overcoming the novelty effect.
This study aims to provide a comparison between Pakistani and the UK consumers' purchase intentions towards counterfeit luxury products by focusing on the relationships between the following factors: perceived quality, status consumption, low price and ethics. A sample of 251 university students from Pakistan (137) and the UK (114) was used. Data was analyzed using AMOS and SPSS. Results show that Pakistani consumers are satisfied with perceived quality of counterfeit products while the UK consumers are not. Status associated with the counterfeit products and prices of these products were found to be important factors for both samples. Pakistani consumers show less ethical behaviour compared to the UK consumers. Considering a single product category, i.e. luxury products, is a limitation of the study and selecting a single product category may possibly restrict the potential generalizability.
This article explores how artefacts invoke practices that encourage, support and sustain trajectories of collective learning. Analysis is drawn from three longitudinal case studies of small firms. Illustrations are offered of how learning activities are mediated by symbolic and material artefacts that are present in day-to-day work activities. Artefacts are shown to have a mediating effect on discourse, identity formation, learning routines, politics and conflict, and to create space and time for reflection and learning. The theoretical contribution lies in the explication of the pliable and multifaceted role that artefacts play in supporting learning processes. We also argue for a nuanced understanding of how artefacts might be used to shape learning trajectories. Our conclusions indicate that understanding the role of artefacts can enable more effective policy making and facilitate the development of support mechanisms for small firms. The perspectives we offer also have implications for learning in larger organizations.
The importance of understanding students' engagement is prominent in higher education. Assessment is a main driver of student engagement, a phenomenon known as backwash. I argue that students' engagement with learning is often driven by an aesthetic motivation. I establish the connections between Burke's (and Kant's) conceptualisation of aesthetics as a dichotomy of beauty and the sublime (which I label the Burkean pendulum) to motivation. I explore the links between this aesthetic motivation and the assessment regime focusing on the Burkean/Kantian sublime and suggest four communication strategies to manage the sublime when it arises in students' education journeys. My contributions are twofold: firstly, I introduce the Burkean Pendulum as a means for educators to reflect on the aesthetic aspects of their designed assessment regimes. Secondly, I propose a framework of communication strategy narratives (Thriller, Horror, Exploration, and Action) that could be used to manage the sublime of the assessment regime.
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