Gamification in education: The case study of the use of IdeaChef as a learning strategy in the hospitality master's degree

Nowadays we live in an ever-changing society. The educational context is no exception and requires a renewal of paradigms. Profound changes to the role and function of the professor and the students are particularly vital. Active, cooperative and participative learning methodologies must be privileged, breaking with magisterial education and the mere transmission of knowledge. The increasingly recurrent adoption of gamification strategies in teaching-learning processes is intended to ensure that students learn and deepen knowledge in an active and collaborative manner. Several studies highlight the positive impact of the adoption of gamification strategies in teaching/learning, both in student motivation and in the development of soft skills (teamwork, creativity, decision-making, leadership, communication and critical thinking). Game-based learning thus promotes students' interest and involves them in this process. In this sense, the board game ideaChef was used in the lessons of the E-Business subject, with the Master's students of Hotel Management.This game is a method and tool (board game that uses cooking metaphors), which allows teams to create solutions ("recipes") for a certain challenge, need or problem. Based on the proposal presented, related to the course contents, the students, with the support of cards and dice from the game, are invited to define ideas for solutions for the challenge, through interaction and team spirit, feedback and permanent debate. At the end of the game, students present their solution to the challenge, as if it were a cooking recipe (final ideas and conclusions obtained). Learning the contents of the subject through the game allows students to apply theory to practical cases, promoting their integration and preparation for real-life situations. After using the game in class, a semi-structured interview was applied to the students in order to assess the impact of the game on their learning. This evaluation was also carried out through the final report (solution found to the challenge) delivered by the students. The preliminary results of the study indicate that students considered that the novelty of the game and the possibility of solving practical cases by playing, contributes to a better understanding of theory and therefore has a positive impact on learning.