A Descriptive Phenomenological Study of Group Dynamics in Team-based Gamified Courses

A Descriptive Phenomenological Study of Group Dynamics in Team-based Gamified Courses

A Descriptive Phenomenological Study of Group Dynamics in Team-based GamifiedCourses

By Keziah J. Tinkle-Williams

Abstract

“The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive scientific phenomenological study was to explore what it is like for a community college student to experience group dynamics in a team-based gamified learning environment in the Southwestern U.S. Although the student or “player” experience is at the center of a gamified curriculum, it is not known what it is like for a community college student to experience group dynamics in a team-based gamified learning environment. The theoretical foundations for the study consisted of various theories and frameworks that pertain to the chosen phenomenon of group dynamics a team-based, gamified learning environment, including play theories, collaborative and competitive learning theories, team dynamics theory, and group development theoretical models. The first research question explored what it is like for a community college student experience group dynamics in a team-based, gamified learning environment. The second research question examined how the key constituents of group dynamics in a team-based learning environment emerged in the lived-experience of a community college student. Anon-probability, purposive sample of five students from four gamified classes at southwestern community college served as the participants in this study. Per a descriptive scientific phenomenological research design, data were gathered using unstandardized, phenomenological interviews. The interview transcripts were subsequently analyzed using Giorgi’s five-step descriptive phenomenological analysis. The resultant general structure of the experience and key constituents revealed a sense of intersubjective, playful learning is at the center of the student experience in gamified classrooms.

Reference

Tinkle-Williams, K. J. (2021, December 23). A Descriptive Phenomenological Study of Group Dynamics in Team-Based Gamified Courses. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from https://www.proquest.com/docview/2624239958?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true

Keywords

Gamified learning, teams, higher education, phenomenology, research