Games and Gamification: Can Playful Student Engagement Improve Academic Integrity?

Academic integrity at all levels of learning, but especially in higher education, is at risk from increasingly sophisticated technologies – the internet, academic outsourcing (the dark side of the “gig economy”), and, more recently, artificial intelligence – have exposed traditional assessment practices to abuse. However, while these tools have helped to diagnose a corresponding lack of evolution in education and assessment, they are also responsible for the digital transformation in development and delivery of educational resources. Game-Based Learning (GBL) and gamification have been investigated as means of motivating meaningful engagement with learning. The importance of academic integrity, namely, authentic participation in the educational process, lends itself to being considered for such treatment. Rules, detection techniques, and penalties have not served to reduce incidence of academic misconduct. Researchers have, therefore, started to investigate whether games or achievement-oriented methodologies could be used to encourage good academic practice. There is, however, no obvious approach to applying GBL or gamification in education or, more specifically, academic misconduct. Educational games often suffer from the “chocolate coated broccoli” effect, with either the concept of what makes a successful game, or superficial badging of educational activities as achievements, undermining the intent of developers. This could potentially backfire, further alienating an educational group, which might increase the likelihood of academic misconduct. A better understanding of what makes a successful gamified activity is necessary, with cross-pollination from psychology and game studies professionals to prevent misconceptions over the value-base and sincere intent involved in game-like artifacts to affect academic good choices.