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Improved student achievement through gamification and the flipped classroom
Emerging teaching strategies for educating informational-age students include gamification and the flipped classroom. Use of game design elements in non-game contexts are thought to not only make the classroom more enjoyable for students, but also assist them in mastering knowledge. Game design elements can also potentially increase critical thinking skills based on gaming elements utilized. The flipped classroom as a pedagogy is defined as students viewing asynchronous lectures on their own and participating in learning activities during scheduled meeting times. For this experiment, students enrolled in an Introduction to Equine Science course were instructed in a flipped classroom learning environment and participated in weekly educational games over the course of a 16-week semester. Students were administered the Cornell Critical Thinking Test (CCTT: Level X) on the first and last day of the semester. Students’ exam scores and overall course grades were compared to the previous three course offerings taught in traditional lecture format. Finally, students were asked to evaluate their experiences based on a 5-point Likert scale: 1 (strongly disagree), 2 (disagree), 3 (neutral), 4 (agree) and 5 (strongly agree). For CCTT, students’ scores (n = 67) increased mean 50.5 ± 0.76 from the pretest to a 55.8 ± 0.78 for the posttest (P < 0.001). When given similar exams, students’ scores increased a mean 5.6% ± 1.1 for Exam 1 (P < 0.001), a mean 4.8% ± 0.9 for Exam 2 (P < 0.01) and a mean 3.8% ± 1.1 for Exam 3 (P < 0.05) compared to the previous three years (n = 166). Overall course grades improved 4.0% ± 1.1 (P< 0.05) compared to the previous three class grades. Students (n = 55) when asked to evaluate their experience ranked the "flipped classroom has been enjoyable" as mean 4.5 ± 0.09, "flipped classroom is an effective teaching strategy" as mean 4.25 ± 0.08, "I would prefer to watch lectures online and do learning activities in class" as 4.43 ± 0.12, "in-class activities are a wise us of class time" as 4.43 ± 0.08, "this course encourages independent, creative and critical thinking" as 4.45 ± 0.09, and" I would recommend this course to a friend" as 4.67 ± 0.07. Gamification was viewed as an excellent teaching tool, particularly as review prior to an exam. Overall, the flipped classroom as a teaching strategy led to greater student critical thinking, achievement and satisfaction.
Keywords: flipped, gamification, critical thinking