Affective Domain Gamification Elements

As I have mentioned before the affective domain deals with "attitudes, interest, values, beliefs and emotions." (Karp, 2012) When trying to gamify the teaching or encouragement of new behaviours and values there are several techniques that can be used to help.

Encouraging participation and getting individuals to act in contradiction to their normal behaviours has been shown to insight change in that individuals attitudes. Encouraging students to exhibit behaviours in a gamified scenario (for example helping others to complete a task) can lead to them helping others in real world scenarios.

Showing that success is possible helps to keep a student motivated. When a goal is seemingly unobtainable people will give up. If the goal is this way at first, you can try adding sub-goals to act as attainable way points and bridging the perceived gap.

Immersion is the act of immersing a student or player entirely within the gamified environment and seamlessly transitioning from one activity to the next without breaking character or story. When a student or player is immersed within the gamified world, they will carry out and absorb tasks and behaviours which can then can be seen exhibited outside of the game also.

Providing success A major part of affective change is by helping the learner to realise that success is possible. Any tasks given should be perceivable as attainable and many opportunities to succeed should be given.

These four key points should always be considered when implementing affective change. other game elements can be easily linked to the affective domain that encourage the above along with emotional growth and creating new values for the learner. Some of these elements are:

Story can be added to aid immersion, increase student engagement, and attention. This is achieved by creating a narrative in which characters exhibit behaviours and values which mimic those of the lessons outcomes. Stories should also include the learners as active characters, making meaningful decisions that affect the outcome of the story. A good way of adding story is via the use of story cubes, these are dice with pictures which you roll to help inspire a story. Always remember not to forget about the learning and the other goals when telling the story.

Cooperation is another key aspect when attempting to use gamification to reinforce an affective change. When a learner is required to assists another fellow learner during class, it encourages that learner to do the same out of class. Likewise a learner receiving help will feel less daunted by the task, will see that the goal is more attainable that previously thought and will ultimately become more willing to engage and participate.

Feedback can be used to further encourage affirm an affective change. Use conformational feedback to reinforce a sense of fiero when students do things correctly or behave in the correct way. Offer corrective and explanatory feedback to correct a student not exhibiting the correct affective change. This will push learners in the right direction without making them feed "told off" and distance themselves from the lesson tasks.

I will be using this information to create a section in my gamification tool kit to deal with lesson tasks that fall into the affective domain.



References

Wilson, L. (no date) Three domains of learning - cognitive, Affective, Psychomotor. Available at: http://thesecondprinciple.com/instructional-design/threedomainsoflearning/ (Accessed: 22 January 2016).

Kapp, K. and Learning, G. of (2014) Gamification of learning. Available at: http://www.lynda.com/Higher-Education-tutorials/Gamification-Learning/173211-2.html (Accessed: 10 November 2015).

Kapp, K. M. (2012) The Gamification of learning and instruction: Game-based methods and strategies for training and education. 1st edn. San Francisco, CA: Wiley, John & Sons.

Brathwaite, B., Schreiber, I. and Media, C. R. (2009) Challenges for game designers. 1st edn. Boston, MA: Course Technology/Cengage Learning.

Gamification Tool Kit: Breaking down the work

The first section of my tool kit will deal with breaking down the existing materials into their tasks and finding out which game elements should be used to gamify them. The teacher will separate out the sessions tasks using the narrative mapping method below and placing them into the supplied sheet to give a firm base for the task itself. Teachers will then decide if they fit into either cognitive or affective domains. To do this I have compiled a combination of characteristics for each area as well as examples.

Below is my first draught for the Breaking Down Lessons section of the tool kit.


Task Mapping

First of all take the lessons planned tasks and place them one by one into the mapping chart. Then one at a time take a look at the task and try to answer the following three questions, placing the answer in the corresponding box

• How does this allow the student to experience Mastery?
• A way in which a student can measure and improve such as accuracy
• How can the student be Autonomous?
• Can they choose what items to measure for example
• What is the Purpose of this activity? What are the learning outcomes?

Once you have done this, again one at a time, take each task and decide if it falls into the Cognitive Domain, the Affective Domain, or neither. A brief guide to these domains is listed below with some examples. If you are unsure then consider it to not fit either and move on to the general gamification elements section.

Cognitive Domain

Most traditional education such as maths and science fall into this category. This domain focuses on the following areas.

• The acquisition of knowledge
• Learning definitive facts such as rules or constants 
• The acquisition of mental skills
• Problem solving and application of gained knowledge to evaluate
• Comprehension of a given subject matter or new problem
• Learning how to assess and apply learned knowledge to find solutions to previously unmet challenges

Examples of cognitive tasks would be: 

• Learning the rules of forces and how they apply in the real world.
• Learning the multiplication table
• Learning the recipe to bake bread pudding

If your task fits into this category proceed to the cognitive domain breakdown. If not then continue to affective domain.

Affective Domain

The affective domain focuses more on teaching behaviours, attitudes, and values. While these may seem abstract many tasks will fall into this domain. Focuses of this domain are as follows:

• Receiving or awareness
• Attention to details, observing changes etc.
• Responding 
• To observations or the ability to pose questions in response to stimuli
• Valuing - learning to appreciate something or learning of its importance
• Organization
• Of thoughts, values, or beliefs
•  Characterization
• Forming structures from the organized knowledge and values.

Some examples of these types of tasks are:

• Discussing what will happen if jump at different running speeds
• Learning the importance of taking accurate measurements
• Sorting random data and forming conclusions from them

If your task falls into this category then proceed to Affective Domain Breakdown. If you do not feel your task fits into either of these two categories then proceed straight to the general gamification elements section. 

The Affective Domain

In a previous post I covered off the taxonomies of learning with a focus on cognitive learning. This time I would like to go into more detail about the other side of the coin, affective learning. Acording to Donnald Clark (1999) "The affective domain includes the manner in which we deal with things emotionally, such as feelings, values, appreciation, enthusiasms, motivations, and attitudes."

This taxonomy was created by Krathwohl, Bloom, and Masia in 1973 and outlines the 5 main categories of this domain as Receiving, Responding, Valuing, Organization, and Characterization. Again these are arranged in a hierarchy as shown below.

From Donnald Clark (1999)

Bellow is the break down of these from Donnald Clark's website nwlink.com:



I plan on using these definitions along with the ones from the taxonomy of cognitive leaning to help define classroom tasks when gamifying worksheets and lesson plans. I will be using a flow diagram with these along with narrative mapping to help users of my tool kit divine which game elements to apply and how to apply them. 



References:

Clark, D. (1999) Bloom’s Taxonomy: The Affective domain. Available at: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/Bloom/affective_domain.html (Accessed: 22 January 2016).
Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains: The Cognitive Domain. 2015. Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains: The Cognitive Domain. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html. [Accessed 17 January 2016].

Gamification Design Document (GDD)

Over the last week I have created a first draft of my Gamification Design Document (GDD). This is something I have created to help myself stay on track and clarify what I am to include within my final product.

This document is dynamic and will most likely undergo many changes as the project continues, however it should serve as a guide on what to expect and keep everybody concerned up to date with my aims and goals. I am currently creating the first section of this kit and I will post that section up along with readings when it is complete in the next few days. I will also periodically post the updated GDD after it has undergone any serious revision.

I am also waiting to hear back from contacts that Dr Erica Joslyn has introduced me to in regards to having my Gamification Tool kit handed out to trainee teachers for evaluation and feedback. I will update you all when I know more.

Below is my current GDD as of 17th January 2016.

Gamification Design Document – Gamification of Learning Toolkit

Intro

This document contains the end goals of my final year project, The Gamification of Learning. It will outline the components I wish to include along with a list of requirements. This document is a living breathing archive of my plans and as such, is subject to change and evolve as I progress.

The goal of this project is to produce a tool kit that can be passed out to primary school teachers working with upper key stage 2 students (years 5 and 6). This tool kit will enable teachers to take existing learning materials such as lesson plans and worksheets and gamify them successfully to increase student engagement, motivation, and ultimately increase their learning potential.

The kit will be constructed from two angles, Lesson Gamification and Subject/Module Gamification. The Lesson Gamification section will take the lesson itself and introduce the teacher to new tools with which to modify lesson content and worksheets undertaken in the classroom. The second section of Subject/Module Gamification will provide tools and examples on how to gamify things outside of the classroom. These will include the gamification of homework, pre-class activities (when students are settling down) gamified systems of progress tracking in form of leader boards and area progress breakdown for individual students and the class as a whole. This will also cover ways that feedback can be delivered to students in order to stimulate intrinsic learning and personal learning.

The kit will also include some light theory to back up its tools and hopefully inspire teachers to find their own unique ways of enhancing their lessons.

Kit Components

In Lesson Components

• Breaking down of existing materials into their core outcomes
• The different types of learning outcomes
• How to determine these outcomes
•  List of game elements that can be used for each type of outcome
•  Which elements fit which leaning outcomes
• How to apply them in practice
•  Examples of existing lesson materials that have been gamified
• I will gamify worksheets and lessons using my own kit to show its validity
• These examples will help guide understanding if necessary.
•  How to add narrative/story to enhance a lesson
• Story creation and fitting it to the lesson
• Examples of these stories in practice

Subject/Module Gamification

•  Gamifying homework
• Pre-Class Activity Examples
• Gamified Progress Tracking
• Gamified Feedback Examples

Extrinsic vs Intrinsic Motivation

According to Karl Kapp (2014) there is some controversy when it comes to gamification as many believe it relies far too heavily on extrinsic motivation in lieu of intrinsic motivation. This may be the case in many early adoptions of gamification however intrinsic motivation is easily incorporated into the gamification of learning with intelligent and meaningful application of game elements. First of all I want to define the two forms of motivation.

According to Carol Bainbridge (2014) "Extrinsic motivation refers to motivation that comes from outside an individual. The motivating factors are external, or outside, rewards such as money or grades. These rewards provide satisfaction and pleasure that the task itself may not provide." 
In gamification this type of motivation is achieved with game elements such as badges, rewards, and accolades. Extrinsic motivation is best applied when a leaner can not see the initial value of the materials or if they have no interest in the first instance. Extrinsic learning is almost always shot lived however as once the activity has been completed and the reward received, there is no longer a motivating force to propel the learner any further.

Carol Bainbridge (2014) also defines intrinsic motivation as "motivation that comes from inside an individual rather than from any external or outside rewards" she then goes on to state "The motivation comes from the pleasure one gets from the task itself or from the sense of satisfaction in completing or even working on a task." In gamification this is best applied when learners see a high value to the materials or if they already have an interest in the subject prior to the lesson. Game elements that can be used to encourage intrinsic motivation are points and leader boards used as feedback, and incorporating mastery into the subject topic.  

Karl Kapp (2014) states that it is not a case of one being good and the other bad but the two should be looked at as equals. All learners learn in slightly different ways and where some may be better motivated extrinsically, others may find intrinsic motivation a better fit. Because of this, where possible, anybody applying gamification should look to find an equilibrium between the two and even combine elements to incorporate both. For example using points to both reward and give feedback to learners can both be extrinsic where they are rewarded with points and intrinsic with the feedback as it gives scope for mastery. 

An examples of these elements outside of learning are loyalty points at supermarkets and frequent flyer miles for airline companies. These are both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, as accumulating these points can be intrinsic and the rewards at the end (money off etc.) can be seen as extrinsic motivators.

In my final product I will have a selection of gamification options and modifiers to choose from. Each will be listed with their intrinsic and extrinsic potentials along with usable examples for combinations of these elements. This will help users of my kit to easily and intelligently pick and apply meaningful elements when gamifying their sessions. 

References

Kapp, K. and Learning, G. of (2014) Gamification of learning. Available at: http://www.lynda.com/Higher-Education-tutorials/Gamification-Learning/173211-2.html (Accessed: 10 November 2015).

Bainbridge, C. (2014) Extrinsic motivation. Available at: http://giftedkids.about.com/od/glossary/g/extrinsic.htm (Accessed: 2 January 2016).

Bainbridge, C. (2014) Intrinsic motivation. Available at: http://giftedkids.about.com/od/glossary/g/intrinsic.htm (Accessed: 2 January 2016).

Kapp, K. M. (2012) The Gamification of learning and instruction: Game-based methods and strategies for training and education. 1st edn. San Francisco, CA: Wiley, John & Sons.