Game Elements to Engage Students Learning the Open Source Software Contribution Process

TL;DR

This study investigates which gamification elements effectively engage students in learning the open source software contribution process, providing insights for designing motivating educational tools.

Contribution

It identifies preferred gamification elements among students and examines how preferences vary across demographics and cognitive styles, informing better design of learning environments.

Findings

Quest, Point, Stats, and Badge are favored elements.

Competition and pressure-related elements are less preferred.

Preferences vary by demographic factors like ethnicity and cognitive style.

Abstract

Contributing to OSS projects can help students to enhance their skills and expand their professional networks. However, novice contributors often feel discouraged due to various barriers. Gamification techniques hold the potential to foster engagement and facilitate the learning process. Nevertheless, it is unknown which game elements are effective in this context. This study explores students' perceptions of gamification elements to inform the design of a gamified learning environment. We surveyed 115 students and segmented the analysis from three perspectives: (1) cognitive styles, (2) gender, and (3) ethnicity (Hispanic/LatinX and Non-Hispanic/LatinX). The results showed that Quest, Point, Stats, and Badge are favored elements, while competition and pressure-related are less preferred. Across cognitive styles (persona), gender, and ethnicity, we could not observe any statistical differences, except for Tim's GenderMag persona, which demonstrated a higher preference for storytelling. Conversely, Hispanic/LatinX participants showed a preference for the Choice element. These results can guide tool builders in designing effective gamified learning environments focused on the OSS contributions process.