Using game design elements in Moodle to enhance student engagement at a Mozambican University

Tivane, Claudino Dias Luis

Using game design elements in Moodle to enhance student engagement at a Mozambican University

Thesis / Dissertation

2025

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

School of Education

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Abstract

The modern educational technologies have brought significant positive changes but are also posing challenges for teachers and students within universities. The introduction of technologies such as Learning Management Systems (LMSs) and the entrance of digital natives into universities are contributing to the rapid integration of innovative educational practices, such as online learning. Online learning has gained traction in the new social reality, essentially after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced universities to adopt new means to deliver education during global isolation. However, despite its increasing popularity, to engage students in online learning remains one of the challenges faced by today's university teachers. Various teachers adopt online learning, whether compulsory or voluntary, without adequate preparation and indicative guidelines to support in designing online learning. This often leads to low student online engagement and suboptimal learning outcomes. The aim of this study is to propose ways of using game design elements in Moodle to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes in higher education. Moodle is currently the most widely used open-source LMS for delivering online courses in numerous countries, including Mozambique. When Moodle is well implemented, it can effectively support the education process and lead to enhanced student learning outcomes. This platform allows teachers to incorporate elements, such as game mechanics and other attractive components, to promote student engagement. The integration of game mechanics into a non-game environment, referred to as gamification, is gaining popularity in the education sector. This study applies a Mixed Methods Case Study Research (MMCSR) approach to explore how to integrate gamification in the Moodle platform for supporting in enhancing student engagement and learning results. It begins with a contextual analysis and literature review for an in-depth understanding of the problem and designing the intervention at Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM), in Mozambique. The intervention consists of design principles informed by the Laurillard's Conversational Framework for applying gamification in the Moodle platform to motivate student engagement. Overall, three teachers and 112 students from UEM participated in the intervention conducted in this study. The study utilizes qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods. The primary data sources were transcriptions of teacher interviews and a file containing responses of the students to the questionnaires. The open-ended questions responses data were coded based on the inductive approach. The QualCoder software is utilized in this study for helping in qualitative data analysis, while the SPSS program is applied in generating the graphical representation of the quantitative data. The findings suggest that the application of gamification elements increases student engagement and enhances learning outcomes. The gamification within the Moodle platform creates an enjoyable and meaningful online learning environment and motivate interactions in three of the five communication cycles in Conversational Framework. The gamification elements, such as points, levels, leaderboards, and immediate feedback stimulate students to engage in learning activities and are particularly support in facilitating the teacher communication cycle (TCC), teacher practice cycle (TPC), and teacher modelling practice (TMC), leading to enhanced learning outcomes. The study also shows that integrating gamification elements increase teachers and students' satisfaction towards the use of the Moodle platform, as well as their intention to continue using it.