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Motivation and Engagement of Final-Year Students When Using E-learning: A Qualitative Study of Gamification in Pandemic Situation

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  • Flourensia Sapty Rahayu

    (Departemen Teknik Elektro dan Teknologi Informasi, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia
    Departemen Informatika, Universitas Atma Jaya Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia)

  • Lukito Edi Nugroho

    (Departemen Teknik Elektro dan Teknologi Informasi, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia)

  • Ridi Ferdiana

    (Departemen Teknik Elektro dan Teknologi Informasi, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia)

  • Djoko Budiyanto Setyohadi

    (Departemen Informatika, Universitas Atma Jaya Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how the education system operates. The shift from face-to-face learning to online learning generated many problems, including decreasing students’ motivation and engagement. Gamification has been used as one of the solutions to overcome the problem of low motivation and engagement in learning. The current study aims to examine students’ behavioral change when using e-learning with gamification, investigate gamification elements that are important to students and how it influences students’ motivation and engagement, and investigate whether population characteristics may influence students’ motivation and engagement. Qualitative methods were employed to gather and analyze the data. The thematic analysis resulted in six main themes. The findings revealed that there were behavioral changes in students during gamification implementation, i.e., from negative to positive and from positive to negative. Four gamification elements were found to be the most important gamification elements to students, i.e., points, leaderboard, badges, and gamified test. The mechanism of how these elements influenced motivation and engagement was discussed. The population characteristics of final-year students also had an impact on gamification effectiveness. Despite gamification’s capabilities to influence motivation and engagement, there are some concerns related to negative impacts that must be addressed in the future.

Suggested Citation

  • Flourensia Sapty Rahayu & Lukito Edi Nugroho & Ridi Ferdiana & Djoko Budiyanto Setyohadi, 2022. "Motivation and Engagement of Final-Year Students When Using E-learning: A Qualitative Study of Gamification in Pandemic Situation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-22, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:14:p:8906-:d:867481
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Lui-Kwan Ng & Chung-Kwan Lo, 2022. "Flipped Classroom and Gamification Approach: Its Impact on Performance and Academic Commitment on Sustainable Learning in Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-23, April.
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