Research On PBL-based Gamification Design To Promote Exercising Motivation Of College Students

With the development of modern society,more and more people have formed a fast-paced and unhealthy lifestyle with no regard for physical exercise.According to China’s national physical fitness report,the physical fitness of college students has been declining for years,and many universities have taken some tough measures which were ineffective though.Related research has shown that the key solution is to cultivate autonomous motivation of college students to exercise,which can lead to sustainable exercising behavior and a healthy lifestyle.Addressing the problem of inadequate motivation for exercising among college students,this study sought to examine and quantify the effects of gamification design on promoting autonomous exercising motivation.Based on the concept of gaming that can drive people to complete tasks voluntarily,gamification design as a new product of the information age has been applied to various fields with effective results,yet related research is still at an early stage.Most of existing studies have focused on the surface level of function design,technical and theoretical developments,with limited rigorous empirical research on the impact of gamification,especially on how it motivates human behavior.Starting from prior domestic and international research,this study systematically reviewed theories and practices of gamification design,as well as empirical evaluations of its effects.By combining the Points-BadgesLeaderboard(PBL)gamification model and self-determination theory,it deeply examined the gamification design method,and whether and how it influenced motivation for exercising.In the early stage of design and based on literature review,we developed a whole set of PBL gamification plans to be integrated into the performance assessments in college-level physical education classes.A 17-week-long gamification design intervention was then carried out in two physical education classes by the method of experimental design,and data on indicators of exercising motivation as well as related information were collected by robust psychological instruments and questionnaires.Based on the data from the experiment,we conducted a series of statistical analyses on the effects of the gamification intervention,together with follow-up interviews with a sample of the participants,both of which proved the effectiveness of PBL gamification in promoting college students’ motivation to exercise.Based on both quantitative and qualitative results,this study has confirmed that PBL-based gamification design can effectively promote college students’ autonomous motivation and basic psychological needs related to exercising,laying an important foundation for the development of good exercising habits among college students.Further optimized gamification products can help cultivate autonomous motivation for exercising both in and after class in the long run,and promote sustainable engagement in physical exercise through a combination of online and offline design approaches.This research has not only contributed to the development of gamification theories,but also can guide designers from various industries in using gamification to promote desirable user behaviors and evaluating design effectiveness.Accordingly,future gamification design can benefit from more innovative design methods,more effective implementation and evaluation of design solutions,which will further advance the field with many more successful applications.