The Effect of the Gamification Element; Badges on Students’ Motivation in Special Education.

Abstract

Summary
Students with special needs tend to display less of a desire for participation in classroom activities, as well as completion of assignments, for a number of reasons. This is especially the case for students with autism and ADHD. A low level of motivation can, consequently, have an immense impact on their learning. For this reason, it is important to look for ways to increase students’ motivation in special needs education. The use of gamification elements, such as badges, could provide a partial solution to the problem of low motivation in special education students. Various higher education institutions in The Netherlands and abroad have examined the possibilities of implementing badges. Researchers have found that badges could have an effect on students’ learning experience and their attitude towards the lessons where badges were implemented. The results of this study show that badges have a positive effect on the intrinsic motivation of students. However, badges have no effect on the extrinsic motivation of students in this study.

Date of Award	29 Apr 2021
Original language	English
Supervisor	Hendrik Drachsler (Supervisor)