Gamification Rewards in Motivating Tertiary Students during a Pandemic

Abstract

Gamification is being used in education to motivate students through various game elements, one of which is rewards. However, rewards should be relevant and suitable otherwise it will not have the desired effect. The aim of this study was to determine the types of redeemable rewards that students in an Institution of Higher Learning would like to obtain to motivate them to do well in their modules or programmes. A questionnaire, which included close and open ended questions, was distributed to students in a local private institution. 158 completed questionnaires were obtained from students who were in Foundation, Diploma, Bachelors and Masters degree programmes. The questionnaire included some suggestions of rewards and students were asked to rank them. They were also asked to suggest some rewards which they thought would motivate and engage them to attempt and complete work given in class or as homework. The results show that students would like to receive tangible as well as intangible rewards in return for points collected during the semester. Many preferred tangible rewards like additional marks which go to the end of the semester grade and monetary rewards. There were a few who wanted some personal feedback on assignments or homework given to them. The implication of the findings is: if instructors chose to reward students using gamification, they will be able to ensure that the right type rewards are used to increase students’ motivation and engagement to do well in their modules.