Gamification as a Pedagogical Strategy to Enhance Cognitive, Affective, and Academic Engagement in Higher Education
Abstract
This study examined the influence of gamification on student engagement in a distance higher education context, focusing on the academic, cognitive, and affective dimensions. The research specifically assessed the role of motivation, teamwork, peer interaction and teacher support as key drivers. A sample of 234 undergraduate students from a private university completed the Student Engagement in Higher Education Scale (HESES) and the Motivation for Cooperative Playful Learning Strategies questionnaire. We tested our hypothesized relationships via PLS-SEM implemented in SmartPLS. The results indicate that motivation positively predicts academic and cognitive engagement, while affective engagement boosts cognitive effort. Teacher participation was the most influential factor in affective commitment. Teamwork showed a positive, albeit moderate, impact in all its dimensions; In contrast, social interaction between students was not significant. In conclusion, gamification focused on motivational components, collaborative dynamics, and active teachers fosters student engagement at multiple levels. The importance of gamification is deduced because it highlights its potential to strengthen engagement, cognitive effort, and emotional connection in distance higher education.
Keywords
References
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.11591/edulearn.v20i3.26089
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