Gamification is the use of game elements in domains other than games. Gamification use is often suggested for difficult activities because it enhances users’ engagement and motivation level. Due to such benefits, the use of gamification is also proposed in education environments to improve students’ performance, engagement, and satisfaction. Computer science in higher education is a tough area of study and thus needs to utilize various already explored benefits of gamification. This research develops an empirical study to evaluate the effectiveness of gamification in teaching computer science in higher education. Along with the learning outcomes, the effect of group size on students’ satisfaction level is also measured. Furthermore, the impact of gamification over time is analyzed throughout a semester to observe its effectiveness as a long-term learning technique. The analysis, covering both learning outcome and students’ satisfaction, suggests that gamification is an effective tool to teach tough courses at higher education level; however, group size should be taken into account for optimal classroom size and better learning experience.

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游戏化对计算机科学专业学习成果的影响

游戏化是在游戏以外的领域中使用游戏元素。通常建议将游戏化用于困难的活动，因为它可以提高用户的参与度和动机水平。由于这些好处，还建议在教育环境中使用游戏化来提高学生的表现、参与度和满意度。高等教育中的计算机科学是一个艰巨的研究领域，因此需要利用游戏化的各种已经探索的好处。本研究开展了一项实证研究，以评估游戏化在高等教育计算机科学教学中的有效性。除了学习成果外，还测量了小组规模对学生满意度的影响。此外，整个学期都会对游戏化的影响进行分析，以观察其作为一种长期学习技术的有效性。涵盖学习成果和学生满意度的分析表明，游戏化是在高等教育水平教授艰难课程的有效工具；然而，为了优化课堂规模和更好的学习体验，应考虑小组规模。