Boosting Student’s Motivation through Gamification in Physical Education

Students are becoming less motivated towards current education. For this reason, teachers are investigating several innovative methodologies to learn how they affect student motivation, such as gamification. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of gamification on the motivation of el...

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Main Authors: Víctor Javier Sotos-Martínez, Juan Tortosa-Martínez, Salvador Baena-Morales, Alberto Ferriz-Valero
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-02-01
Series:Behavioral Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/2/165
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author Víctor Javier Sotos-Martínez
Juan Tortosa-Martínez
Salvador Baena-Morales
Alberto Ferriz-Valero
author_facet Víctor Javier Sotos-Martínez
Juan Tortosa-Martínez
Salvador Baena-Morales
Alberto Ferriz-Valero
author_sort Víctor Javier Sotos-Martínez
collection DOAJ
description Students are becoming less motivated towards current education. For this reason, teachers are investigating several innovative methodologies to learn how they affect student motivation, such as gamification. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of gamification on the motivation of elementary physical education students. A total of 72 elementary school students from two different Spanish elementary schools participated (38 boys and 34 girls), separated into a gamified group (<i>n</i> = 35) and a control group (<i>n</i> = 37). Ten gamification sessions were performed using a technological app called ClassDojo. The gamified proposal was based on both a PBL model and an MDA model. A questionnaire, “Motivation Questionnaire in Physical Education” (CMEF-EP) was used to measure the motivation of the students before and after the intervention. An increase was observed in all the variables for the gamified group: intrinsic motivation (<i>p</i> < 0.001), identified regulation (<i>p</i> < 0.001), introjected regulation (<i>p</i> = 0.001), and external regulation (<i>p</i> = 0.002), except for the amotivation (<i>p</i> = 0.120). No changes were observed in the control group. A significant interaction effect over time was seen only for intrinsic motivation for the gamified group versus the control group (F(1) = 5.263; <i>p</i> = 0.025; η<sup>2</sup> = 0.070). The results show the efficacy of gamification to increase the motivation of elementary physical education students. However, it does not decrease amotivation. This will enable the subject to contribute to achieving the United Nations’ proposed Sustainable Development Goal 4, which is to ‘Improve Quality Education’.
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spelling doaj.art-ac56fc0ec2084c6491534e979454f9b42023-11-16T19:09:26ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2023-02-0113216510.3390/bs13020165Boosting Student’s Motivation through Gamification in Physical EducationVíctor Javier Sotos-Martínez0Juan Tortosa-Martínez1Salvador Baena-Morales2Alberto Ferriz-Valero3Department of General and Specific Didactics, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, SpainHEALTH-TECH Research Group, Department of General and Specific Didactics, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, SpainFaculty of Education, Valencian International University (VIU), 46002 Valencia, SpainEDUCAPHYS Research Group, Department of General and Specific Didactics, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, SpainStudents are becoming less motivated towards current education. For this reason, teachers are investigating several innovative methodologies to learn how they affect student motivation, such as gamification. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of gamification on the motivation of elementary physical education students. A total of 72 elementary school students from two different Spanish elementary schools participated (38 boys and 34 girls), separated into a gamified group (<i>n</i> = 35) and a control group (<i>n</i> = 37). Ten gamification sessions were performed using a technological app called ClassDojo. The gamified proposal was based on both a PBL model and an MDA model. A questionnaire, “Motivation Questionnaire in Physical Education” (CMEF-EP) was used to measure the motivation of the students before and after the intervention. An increase was observed in all the variables for the gamified group: intrinsic motivation (<i>p</i> < 0.001), identified regulation (<i>p</i> < 0.001), introjected regulation (<i>p</i> = 0.001), and external regulation (<i>p</i> = 0.002), except for the amotivation (<i>p</i> = 0.120). No changes were observed in the control group. A significant interaction effect over time was seen only for intrinsic motivation for the gamified group versus the control group (F(1) = 5.263; <i>p</i> = 0.025; η<sup>2</sup> = 0.070). The results show the efficacy of gamification to increase the motivation of elementary physical education students. However, it does not decrease amotivation. This will enable the subject to contribute to achieving the United Nations’ proposed Sustainable Development Goal 4, which is to ‘Improve Quality Education’.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/2/165methodology innovationelementary educationprimary schoolgamified learningmotivational regulationquality education
spellingShingle Víctor Javier Sotos-Martínez
Juan Tortosa-Martínez
Salvador Baena-Morales
Alberto Ferriz-Valero
Boosting Student’s Motivation through Gamification in Physical Education
Behavioral Sciences
methodology innovation
elementary education
primary school
gamified learning
motivational regulation
quality education
title Boosting Student’s Motivation through Gamification in Physical Education
title_full Boosting Student’s Motivation through Gamification in Physical Education
title_fullStr Boosting Student’s Motivation through Gamification in Physical Education
title_full_unstemmed Boosting Student’s Motivation through Gamification in Physical Education
title_short Boosting Student’s Motivation through Gamification in Physical Education
title_sort boosting student s motivation through gamification in physical education
topic methodology innovation
elementary education
primary school
gamified learning
motivational regulation
quality education
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/2/165
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