Using Gamification Strategies to Cultivate and Measure Professional Educator Dispositions

Abstract

One of the most important outcomes of pre-service teacher education is the transition from assignment-oriented students to service-oriented education professionals. Faculty can assist in this process by cultivating professional educator dispositions within their courses. Gamification strategies can be an effective way to provide students with timely feedback regarding their progress toward professional educator dispositions. This study investigated the effectiveness of points, timely feedback, and leaderboards on cultivating and measuring specific professional educator dispositions among pre-service teachers. Data was collected in four domains - personal responsibility, intellectual engagement, professional ethics and stewardship, and supportive interactions- where gamification strategies were additively implemented over five semesters. Results from this study indicate gamification strategies, when bundled together to leverage motivating factors such as competition and personalization led to increased gains in the four domains of professional educator dispositions.