On the use of gamification tools for blended learning approaches in Thermodynamics courses

Abstract

[EN] During the last year 2020, education in European universities has suffered a challenging transformation from an established pedagogical model to a digital one. The face-to-face formal lectures have been replaced to on-line sessions and blended learning approaches. The courses related to the Thermodynamics subject of two Bachelor of Science Degrees (Mechanical Engineering and Automatic and Industrial Electronic Engineering) have been also adapted to the blended learning approach, in this case combining the use of screencast videos, interactive slides with comments, synchronous on-line lectures and tutorials, and virtual laboratories. This recent methodology has been demonstrated to be effective due to its flexibility and ubiquitous characteristics. However, one of the difficulties is tracking the engagement and the evolution of the students due to the reduced direct interaction between them and the instructors. Among the technological tools that are used to benefit the learning process of students, gamification tools have been demonstrated to be effective and positive for academic performance. The aim of this study is to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of the gamification in the Thermodynamics courses where the proposed blended learning approach is used. One of the goals is to identify the specific competences acquired by the students after watching the audio-visual content (videos and slides). For this purpose, a Kahoot was played before starting the on-line lecture (synchronous), and according to the score, the instructor could recognize the level of understanding of the concepts. Based on the results, the instructor was able to focus more on the weaker learning objectives, capturing their attention during the session. At the end of the session the Kahoot was played again to recognize if the concepts were consolidated during the lesson. The results show that the use of this gamification tool achieved high levels of engagement and improved the attention and participation of the students.