Playing with Lesson Planning: A Design-based Approach to Assess How Gamification Affects the Flow Experience of Educators as Learners

Using a design-based research (DBR) method approach, this study explored whether gamification mechanics enhanced the flow experience of educators in a co-designed lesson planning process. A directed approach to data analysis was used to code two personal interviews for each participant and four group meetings according to the nine categories of flow. For each participant, their lesson planning experience was presented with (1) a descriptive account, outlining their context and attitudes towards lesson planning, and (2) a contextualized storyline, describing the flow characteristics they experienced throughout the study. The findings showed that this non-linear and gamified lesson-planning approach promoted four characteristics of flow in educators: (1) concentration, (2) clear goals, (3) challenge-skill, and (4) autotelic experience. While the gamified lesson planning approach demonstrates promise in multiple educational contexts, such as professional development and pre-service training, further research on the effectiveness of this approach in other educational settings is warranted.M.A