ЕGamification elements in the process of Ukrainian language training of pedagogy specialists

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Gamification elements in the process of Ukrainian language training of pedagogy specialists

Iryna Humeniuk

Abstract

The article studies the problem of using gamification elements in the process of training future preschool and primary school teachers on the example of the methodology of teaching Ukrainian Language for Professional Purposes. The necessity of improving the methodology of teaching the language to students of different age groups while taking into account the main educational trends and public demand has been substantiated. According to the goal, the essence of the "gamification" concept has been defined regarding the modern education sector. The peculiarities of using gamification, which have a great impact on the effectiveness of teaching students at pedagogical institutions of higher education, have been determined.

It is emphasized that the growth of the number of game means in the methodology of teaching Ukrainian Language for Professional Purposes is not always directly proportional to the increase of success. Since gamification is impossible without using information and communications technology, consideration of the factor of appropriate technological support is necessary. The age factor manifests itself rather in the information and technological skills and abilities of certain age groups than the effectiveness of completed tasks on the condition of unhindered mastery of the technology. In the process of gamification, the element of novelty has a significant impact, as well as the temporal and motivational dependence of the interest of the performers on the duration or algorithmization of the tasks. The psychological factor is manifested through gender, which substantiates the inefficiency of using gamification with elements of competition or open ranking of results for female audience. In the context of training pedagogy specialists, the process of gamification during the study of a certain discipline has a dual purpose: increasing the motivation and therefore the effectiveness of training, formation of necessary competencies of future teachers; mastering completed gamified tasks as possible ways and means of teaching the Ukrainian language in future professional activity.

Based on the analysis of the information space of the problem, a system of tasks with gamification elements has been developed and adapted to the content of the Ukrainian Language for Professional Purposes academic discipline.

Keywords; gamification, competency, teaching methodology, professional speech, pedagogical field, Ukrainian language, motivation, information and communications technology, digitalization.

Гуменюк Ірина.

Елементи гейміфікації у процесі україномовної підготовки фахівців педагогічної галузі. gamification competency teaching methodology

Стаття присвячена дослідженню проблеми застосування елементів гейміфікації у процесі підготовки майбутніх учителів початкових класів і вихователів закладів дошкільної освіти на прикладі методики навчання української мови за професійним спрямуванням. Обґрунтовано необхідність удосконалення методики навчання мови здобувачів освіти різних вікових категорій з урахуванням основних освітніх тенденцій і суспільних запитів. Відповідно до поставленої мети з'ясовано сутність поняття «гейміфікація» стосовно сучасної галузі освіти. Визначено особливості застосування гейміфікації у процесі підготовки студентів педагогічних закладів вищої освіти, що суттєво впливають на результативність навчання.

INTRODUCTION

The high-quality training of pedagogy specialists is based on the modern competency paradigm and takes into account the main educational trends determined by public demand. Today, we can already see the increased need of educational institutions of various levels for teachers who have not only a high level of command of the Ukrainian language but also an appropriate methodological base in order to efficiently form adequate competencies in pupils, students, trainees of advanced training courses, etc. The tendency to search for a "competent Ukrainian language teacher", "professional Ukrainian language tutor", "effective courses for improving Ukrainian", etc., which, in our opinion, will intensify in the post-war Ukrainian society, is also becoming clearly established.

In this context, the issue of improving language learning methods for students of different age groups is becoming relevant, particularly finding the tools that permit combining the study process with the use of modern information and communications technology, creating a relaxed atmosphere, and increasing the motivation. It is the task of integrating the study and digital environment in which the majority of higher education students communicate, work and rest that necessitates turning to gamification as a means of intensifying the process of learning the state language of Ukraine.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Research on gamification as one of the innovative educational tools has popularized it during the last decade. However, despite the indisputability of the general conclusions, we still have not received a thorough analysis of the narrow disciplinary application of this tool within the pedagogical field. In particular, the problem of using gamification elements in the process of mastering Ukrainian as the state language at pedagogical institutions of higher education remains understudied.

The purpose of our investigation is to reveal the features and potential of using gamification elements in the process of Ukrainian language training of future pedagogy specialists (on the example of the methodology of teaching Ukrainian Language for Professional Purposes to students of the Preschool Education and Primary Education specialties).

Achievement of the goal involves solving specific tasks:

1) finding out the essence of the "gamification" concept adapted to the educational field;

2) determining the features of using gamification in the process of training students of pedagogical institutions of higher education;

3) developing a system of tasks with gamification elements for the Ukrainian Language for Professional Purposes course.

The term "gamification" is most often interpreted by foreign scientists as a process that makes an activity seem like a game (Werbach, 2014, p. 266), a process of introducing game principles into the educational environment (Dichev & Dicheva, 2017, p. 25). In their works, Ukrainian researchers rely on the understanding of gamification as "integration of game elements and game thinking into an activity other than a game" (Pereiaslavska & Smahina, 2019, p. 251), taking into account the primary definitions of this concept in the fields of marketing, management, psychology, health care, mechanical engineering, etc. At the same time, the transfer of this process to the education field has influenced the formulation of the definition of "gamification in education": "the process of spreading the game to various areas of education, which permits considering the game as a method of learning and upbringing, a form of educational work, and a means of organizing a holistic educational process" (Pereiaslavska & Smahina, 2019, p. 251). In a narrower sense, "using game mechanics in non-game situations to achieve a certain goal" (Zelenska & Kovinko, 2019, p. 23).

Considering the subject of our research, the potential of gamification for the study of Ukrainian Language for Professional Purposes by students of pedagogical institutions of higher education, it is advisable to pay attention to certain features that affect the effectiveness of the learning process.

1. Despite the proven positive impact of gamification on students' motivation and interest in learning, the growth of the number of game means in the methodology applied is not always directly proportional to the increase in success. This is due to several factors, which are described below.

2. As pointed out by Zelenska and Kovinko (2019, p. 24), the difference between gamification and other game-based learning methods is that gamification is impossible without the use of information and communications technology. Accordingly, its basis includes the availability of appropriate technological support and free access to the Internet. While during traditional education such support is available in the educational institution, in the conditions of distance education it is entirely the responsibility of the student. It is obviously wrong to make learning results dependent on the financial capabilities of students, having formed a full academic discipline course based on gamification.

3. The effectiveness of gamified learning is partially influenced by the age factor, which is more evident in the information technology skills and abilities of certain age groups than in the completed tasks under the condition of unhindered mastery of the technology. This factor needs to be taken into account while working with students of correspondence courses and in adult education.

4. The existing research confirms the importance of the novelty element in the gamification process. Koivisto and Hamari (2014) emphasizes the temporal and motivational dependence, i. e. a decrease in the interest of performers in long-term tasks or those that are done according to a well- known algorithm.

5. The formation of students' competencies in the process of studying a discipline with the use of gamification is significantly influenced by the psychological factor, particularly in the gender sphere. Ortiz et al. (2014) say that the psychological pressure in competition has a more negative effect on women than on men. Obviously, it is not desirable to use gamification with elements of competition or open ranking of results to teach groups of women, as this could hypothetically have the opposite result to the desired one.

6. Regarding the training of future teachers, the process of gamification in the study of a certain discipline has a dual purpose: a) increasing the motivation and therefore the effectiveness of studying (in our case, Ukrainian Language for Professional Purposes), formation of necessary competencies of future teachers; b) mastering completed gamified tasks as possible ways and means of teaching the Ukrainian language in future professional activity.

So, taking into account all the factors considered above, we focus on using gamification elements in the methodology of teaching Ukrainian Language for Professional Purposes, i. e. offering students 1-2 tasks that have a certain coefficient of novelty and digitalization within each topic.

The study of the information space of the problem in a narrow disciplinary context has shown that during the existence of the course (1989-2022) the scientific description of gamification elements in the process of teaching Ukrainian Language for Professional Purposes was limited to consideration of the abilities of remote platforms for conducting testing and recording its results (Humeniuk, 2021). A common belief among researchers is that the very process of performing test tasks via digital media, as well as the automatic calculation of points, always intro duces the gamification element (Humenuk et al., 2022; Yanenko, 2020). At the same time, the repetition of testing as a gamified action (thematic, control, examination tests) significantly reduces its effectiveness in terms of forming the necessary competencies of students, as the effect of novelty is lost. In order to avoid this, we offer students the "reverse" option: practice tests that are one of the types of independent work and involve the development of one original test task for each topic by the students themselves. The set of developed test tasks needs to be uploaded to Google Forms and made available to other students and the teacher. This type of work, in addition to the elements of gamification, has a clear professional orientation, as it involves preliminary familiarization with the requirements for creating test tasks, the features of their placement on Google Forms, and sharing with audience, and therefore reveals the opportunities for applying the acquired skills in future pedagogical activity.

Electronic tests with gamification elements can be used at any stage of studying the course, but the content of each topic requires creation or adaptation of specific tasks with introduction of game mechanics, i. e. actions performed with the help of digital technology. We propose a developed system of such tasks, integrated into the Ukrainian Language for Professional Purposes academic discipline (Tab. 1).

Tab. 1