Uso de badges/emblemas em atividades para gamificação no ensino de qualidade

Abstract

In higher education institutions, one of the challenges faced is maintaining student motivation and engagement in learning. Traditional teaching often becomes overwhelming due to the volume of content students need to grasp, leading to demotivation. In this context, new engagement strategies are emerging with the aim of supporting innovative educational models, making them more collaborative and dynamic. One of the most promising approaches used is gamification, which integrates game elements into contexts unrelated to games, allowing its application in education as a means of motivating and engaging students in activities. Thus, this study proposes thematizing gamification elements, such as badges with relevant content for the Software Quality discipline. The badges were themed with researchers who have made contributions to the field of Software Quality in Brazil. The Design Thinking (DT) approach was employed for badge development, serving as a practical, critical, creative, and easily understandable tool for problem-solving. The central objective of the study is to investigate the use of badges in gamification activities for teaching Software Quality. During the research, data regarding student motivation were collected through the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) questionnaire. This instrument allowed for the comprehensive collection of perceptions about the intrinsic factors driving student motivation in the context of the gamified approach. Additionally, data were obtained about students' satisfaction levels with gamification elements, as well as their highlighted preferences and suggestions for improvements. The results highlight the positive receptivity of students towards gamification. It was observed that the implementation of gamification yielded satisfactory results in terms of student performance and engagement in activities. In conducting this study, it was noted that the incorporation of gamification elements, such as a sticker album for collecting badges, point exchange rules, exercises, and researcher badges, reinforces that the implemented gamification strategy has positive impacts. The prevalence of positive responses underscores the effectiveness of these elements in the gamification strategy, demonstrating their potential to engage and motivate students.