In 2022 and 2023, I conducted and later presented on two classroom studies related to the topics of this capstone. The first looked into the impact of gamification on ESL students' motivation and engagement in an online ESL class. The second investigated the impact of tech-created collaborative and gamified activities in online ESL students' sense of community and perceived learning.

Below are summaries of the main findings for each study, followed by the survey response data for each of the questions in the studies' surveys.

Independent Classroom Study:

Gamification

Gamification and Motivation

🔆 Advanced EAP ESL Reading Course

🔆 23 students from 12 different countries; mostly in their 20s and 30s

🔆 Included puzzles, games, escape rooms, and Easter eggs

🔆 Field notes and two Google Forms surveys after Weeks 4 and 15, based on the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory

🔆 Most students indicated very high levels of motivation and excitement with the course content and gamified elements

🔆 Instructor indicated that the high levels of student engagement help to keep him motivated

🔆 "[The escape rooms] are motivating and I think accelerating the learning process." - ESL Student

Survey Results From This Study

Week 4 Survey

Week 4 Survey Responses - Gamification and Motivation

End-of-Course Survey

End-of-Course Survey Responses - Gamification and Motivation

Independent Classroom Study:

Sense of Community

Collaboration & Gamification and Sense of Community & Perceived Learning

🔆 Advanced EAP ESL Reading Course

🔆 21 students from 11 different countries; mostly in their 20s and 30s

🔆 Included gamified elements and synchronous group activities designed to foster collaboration

🔆 End-of-semester survey with 15 questions targeting sense of community and 6 for perceived learning; developed from the social presence section of the CoI Questionnaire and Halic et al.'s 2010 modified CoI survey questions

🔆 Most students indicated collaborating in small groups to solve challenges and create deliverables helped them develop a sense of teamwork and feel connected to others in the course

🔆 Most students indicated that getting to know others fostered their sense of belonging in the course

🔆 Most students indicated the collaborative gamified challenges and deliverable creation improved their leanring in the course

Survey Results From This Study

Sense of Community Survey

Survey Responses - Community and Technology

Perceived Learning Survey

Perceived Learning Survey Responses - Community and Technology

Limitations of These Studies

These two classroom studies are limited in that they each surveyed students in only one type of course (an ESL EAP reading course) and only at one level of ESL (in this case, the courses in the studies were the highest ESL level before students enroll in their freshman composition courses). Additionally, each surveyed only one section of the course, and both courses had the same instructor (myself). Future research should consider studying the practices in a range of ESL course levels, in writing as well as reading courses, and with a variety of instructors to account for different teaching styles.