Running head: ACTION RESEARCH ON GAMIFICATION IN PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

Literature Review:

Action Research on Gamification in Professional Learning

Alek Turner

Lamar University
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Abstract

This paper explores various published articles and research that report the information

and results of how the barrier of time can prevent teachers from seeking opportunities in

participating in gamified professional development (Bubb & Earley, 2013). Kiryakova,

Angelova, and Yordanova (2014) define gamification as a platform that utilizes the components

of games to enhance the quality of learning, practices, and work productivity. Gamification is a

system that changes the way information and learning is received for the individual, especially in

a time where the learners continue to change with the use of more and new digital tools and

technologies (Kiryakova, Angelova, & Yordanova, 2014). One of the largest benefits to this

approach is that the decision making is in the hands of the learner, in which the learners are able

to select what activities they would like to learn and develop for their needs and expertise

(Gamrat, Zimmerman, Dudek, & Peck, 2014). Gamification for professional learning allows the

learner to personalize their learning through creating their own learning pathway and applying

the learning where it best fits their needs (Bray & McClaskey, 2013). As gamification develops

for professional development, teachers can earn digital badges, which are reflective of the

learning and activities that have been completed (Gamrat, Zimmerman, Dudek, & Peck, 2014).

The method of learning needs to evolve to support the approach that information is given

(Kiryakova, Angelova, & Yordanova, 2014). The learning that takes place in gamification for

professional development needs to support how the learner prefers to learn through access,

engaging with the content, and expressing what they know (Bray & McClaskey, 2013). This

paper investigates the effects and influence of how time is spent and provided for professional

development to better support participation in professional development (Bubb & Earley, 2013).
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Action Research on Gamification in Professional Learning

Many adults seek opportunities in which they can take ownership of their learning and

customize the experience to their area of expertise or skill level (Kopcha, Ding, Neumann, &

Choi, 2016). Gamification for professional learning has been found in research to build

motivation and lead to accountability for teachers to receive new training, learning, and practice

into their daily instruction. One key element of gamification is that it incorporates personalized

learning. The personalized learning in gamification allows for the learner to control their learning

and their own pace, while selecting the skills they want to focus on and learn through an

approach that is most feasible for the individual (Bray & McClaskey, 2013). Gamification is

mentioned to increase the application of new knowledge and better serve in helping employees

assess their own levels of understandings, strengths, and weaknesses. Murray (2010) stated that

when teachers participate in professional development they are left with a sense of empowerment

and new confidence which reflects in overall improvement for student performance. It has been

shown that learners who followed a gamification approach retained the new acquired knowledge

and continued using it past the use of the gamification process (Kopcha, Ding, Neumann, &

Choi, 2016). The best way to have a successful personalized gamified professional learning

program is to consider the individual needs of the teachers (Lee, 2005). Teachers are often

bombarded with many responsibilities to fit into a day, and the most common concern expressed

by many educators is they struggle with time and balancing everything into their day, especially

when it comes to professional development. In order to support teachers in finding time to

participate in personalized gamified professional learning, teachers should be involved in the

planning process by helping plan the learning, activities, and types of reflective feedback (Lee,

2005). Thus, the goal is that through gamified professional learning, teachers have the flexibility
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in what and when they choose to learn and practice, a variety of formats are provided in content

and assessment, and then those activities can be saved and shared for future learning (Gamrat,

Zimmerman, Dudek, & Peck, 2014). This paper will discuss the purpose of this action research,

and then investigate the theme of potential factors that prevent gamified professional

development, and then the subtopic of how to improve what is being currently done. Hence,

conclusions will be drawn on the strengths and weaknesses of the current research, with the

subtopic of contributions to the field of education, and finally conclusions or gaps in the study.

Purpose of Action Research:

(Kiryakova, Angelova, & Yordanova, 2014) suggest that if the gamification model does

not offer users an opportunity to customize their learning or find the goal of their learning

attainable it could cause frustration to the learners from moving forward. As educators, learning

is personalized and differentiated for students, and it should also be the same for teachers (Bubb

& Earley, 2013). Gamification is best utilized when there is choice in participating and selecting

the learning. Thus, considering how gamification is based on a voluntary basis, it also leads to

the type of motivation it encompasses. Lee (2005) discussed that there are many factors that

attribute to barriers in personalized professional development such as opportunities for teacher

involvement, providing resources, or establishing organized structures to facilitate the

management of the learning. The purpose of this action research is to focus on one of the

attributing factors that can lead teachers to not successfully participate in personalized

professional development with gamification. Lee (2005) suggest that teachers need to be

involved in the creation and development of personalized professional learning and consider

what the end goals should reflect. Through teacher involvement in the developing process of the

professional development, they are given a voice to create what, how, and when they would like

their professional development to occur. The action research will focus on how opportunities of
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time for teacher involvement is a factor that prevents teachers from participating in the

professional learning. Typically, it seems that there are not enough convenient times offered with

the proper support to meet the needs for teachers to complete professional development

(Brinkerhoff, 2006). Hence, due to the critical barrier of teachers lacking time to implement new

professional learning activities, it is essential to consider what are perceptions held by teachers

that factor as difficulty to participate in gamification for professional development?

What Prevents Gamified Professional Development

Brinkerhoff (2006) discussed that some factors that lead to difficulty in seeking

personalized professional development can be having time to explore new concepts and plan

those new skills into practice into daily instruction. Lee (2005) stated that professional

development programs are more effective where there are collaborative groups, mentoring,

coaching, or planned meetings during the school day. Teachers are often overwhelmed with the

many demanding responsibilities of their job, and if teachers can refine a specific focus within

their group it will narrow the subconscious feeling of having a list of tasks to complete in a

gamified professional learning platform (Lee, 2005). A benefit to the current use of gamified

professional development is that it is ongoing throughout the whole year. Penuel, Fishman,

Yamaguchi, & Gallagher (2007) discussed that most traditional professional developments are

short and limited, and do not provide many opportunities for follow-up support. Most of the time

there is not a proper amount of time given to see what impact was made with the new skills

acquired, and most teachers prefer more time to review the learning before moving onto a new

activity (Bubb & Earley, 2013). Hence, these results lead to the conclusive fact that the time

provided needs to be ongoing for the learning to have the most potential of success (Brinkerhoff,

2006).
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How to Improve with Data:

It would first be helpful to be collect data through qualitative interviews to gain deeper

insight into the perceptions, feelings, and opinions of teachers. If there is to be improvement in

the user-friendliness of the gamification for teacher development, it will be necessary to gather

teacher input, feedback, and feelings of the experience. Furthermore, to understand potential

barriers of teachers attempting to practice gamification of professional development, it will be

helpful to gather observations of teachers using and implementing the gamified professional

development. Since this approach for professional development is new and there are a limited

number of teachers participating, this factor could reduce some of the understandings from the

data analyzed. It will be important to continue collecting further data in the next school year as

this is a new approach to professional development with little research and data collected on the

impact it has on teacher development.

Utilization of Groups:

Lee (2005) suggest that the use of groups can help in teachers finding time to discuss

concepts, skills, and problems they are encountering, while collaboratively intentionally planning

ways to incorporate their personalized learning. The incorporation of groups also helps maintain

excitement and stamina to keep participating (Lee, 2005). The groups will help facilitate the time

required to complete gamified professional learning. Lee (2005) discussed to help the use of

groups be more effective in managing time to complete gamified tasks, it is helpful to have two

or three teachers help manage the needs of their group to provide more support to the teachers in

completing their personalized learning tasks. Kopcha (2012) suggest that having a mentor in a

group helped with the teacher’s knowledge and skills in the professional development activities.
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Murray (2010) suggest that when teachers are paired with an expert teacher, it can produce time

for more individualized attention to strengthen learning and new skills, while an opportunity to

concentrate to support in the knowledge and answer any questions. It is also important to

consider how the support of groups can meet to manage time to participate in gamified

professional development. Thus, part of finding time to participate is based on accessibility with

time during a school day. Gamrat, Zimmerman, Dudek, and Peck (2014) suggest that the use of

online professional development provided an opportunity to meet in a more accessible and

diverse manner which met more individual needs. Another way to utilize online professional

development to help maximize and make learning more accessible is through the use of social

media tools, which help organize and empower teachers in the learning (Gamrat, Zimmerman,

Dudek, & Peck, 2014).

Strengths and Weaknesses of Current Research:

Thus, research shows that through participating in a group, teachers are given a more

thorough focus through collaborating with their peers and discussing problems or confusion with

the new skills (Penuel, Fishman, Yamaguchi, & Gallagher, 2007). It is important to consider the

challenge of adding additional time or altering the schedule can be problematic to the current

school structures, yet possible meeting times to learn could be done online or before or after

school hours to plan, learn new skills, and reflect. This approach is often seen as helpful because

it offers time for teachers to explore new concepts more in depth, and teachers develop more

guidance and improvement due to the trust of having teacher leaders in the groups (Penuel,

Fishman, Yamaguchi, & Gallagher, 2007). Hence, in order for gamified professional

development to be effective in the future, teachers need support through groups to help with

managing time participate in activities and have reflections to review the overall effectiveness
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(Lee, 2005). Furthermore, through the accessibility of assisting with time management for

gamified professional development, the online capability allows for learners to use flipped

classroom approach, in which learners can then control the pace and progress of their learning to

fit their needs with timing (Kong & Song, 2015). Many of the research articles that been

published discuss the benefits of gamification in the classroom with students as the users,

however, there has not been a lot of published research on the practice, use, or implementation of

gamification with teachers as the users for the learning. Kopcha, Ding, Neumann, and Choi

(2016) concluded in their research that it is important that further exploration be completed of

gamification with teachers as the learners and on a larger scale of teachers using this method to

gain better results on its effectiveness for their instruction. Furthermore, when collecting the

data, it is important to determine the learners’ pre- and post- reflection of the learning process

from the gamified professional development in order to best understand their views and what

needs improvement (Kong & Song, 2015).

Contributions to Field of Education:

Based on the current research, teachers find it difficult to manage their time to participate

in the personalized gamified professional learning. Through having more time to meet with

groups to collaborate, plan, and practice, the personalization of gamified professional

development can lead to an increase in skills, confidence, and alter teaching performance for the

better (Brinkerhoff, 2006). It seems that the typical attitude by many educators is usually

hesitant, resistant, or unenthusiastic about receiving or having to participate in any kind of

professional development. Yet, based on the current research, there is strong evidence on the

positive gains that can be had in the broader scope of education. Gamification for professional

learning has been found in research to build motivation and lead to accountability for teachers to
ACTION RESEARCH ON GAMIFICATION IN PROFESSIONAL LEARNING 9

receive new training, learning, and practice into their daily instruction. Gamification for

professional learning develops an attitude where teachers have a changed perspective towards

learning and gain ownership in the process (Kiryakova, Angelova, & Yordanova, 2014).

Gamification allows the learner to work at their own pace and complete trainings while

interacting with other leaners or the instructor at their own convenience (DuVernet & Popp,

2014).

Conclusions and Gaps in the Study:

The best recommended solution is to let teachers have the ownership in deciding when to

volunteer their time towards the ongoing gamified professional development approach, rather

than making it a one size fits all to complete the professional development (Brinkerhoff, 2006).

Murray (2010) stated that there is not just one approach to offering the perfect style of

professional development, and it is important to always keep the needs and approach of gamified

professional development to continuously improve as teacher needs adjust. However, the best

kind of professional development is when the teacher feels empowered to take ownership over

their own learning. Thus, as gamification continues to develop in its usage, there needs to be

careful consideration in the level of difficulty in completing tasks and challenges, otherwise it

will discourage users from participation (DuVernet & Popp, 2014). As further studies and

research are conducted it will be interesting to observe the continued growth and effects it has on

the quality of teacher instruction.

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