Gamification Resource for Transitioning Individuals into Self Directing Learners

Upon reading this module's blog post, Turning a College Student into a Self Directed Learner, I decided to further research the concept of gamification.  I began to question how it is or can be utilized to produce the desired behavior of self-directedness in college classrooms.  Little did I know that I would discover an application of this concept which would resonate with me as a health care educator and mother. 
As we have learned, Self-Directed Learning (SDL) can be described as a personal attribute or process.  Gamification builds upon SDL personal attributes of confidence and responsibility and considers self-management, self-monitoring, and self-motivation in the achievement of desired goals.  As suggested by Merriam and Bierema (2014),  when a learner situates themselves within the social context and assumes control of the environment then self-management occurs.  Application of these SDL theories through gamification is evidenced by InSpire, a mobile phone app which integrates a hand held spirometer and interactive game to improve self-management of asthma among pediatric patients.
"InSpire to Promote Lung Assessment in Youth: Evolving the Self-Management Paradigms of Young People with Asthma" (Elias, Rajan, McArthur & Dacso, 2013) describes how gaming encourages correct spirometry techniques and motivates young patients to self-manage their disease.  Research suggests that 50% of pediatric patients fail to self-monitor their condition through home spirometer testing and results in increased hospital visits (2013).  InSpire technology motivates patients, or players, to defeat enemies by making a dragon breathe fire by correctly demonstrating spirometer maneuvers (2013).  Additionally, the game incorporates high reward scenarios for correct spirometer maneuvers that are spaced between 8-12 hours to create a morning and evening monitoring regiment (2013). The results of the test can be sent through the smartphone app directly to the patients physician which increases the patient and physician partnership in managing the disease.
As a health educator and a mother of a child with a chronic lung disease, teaching young patients to take responsibility for the treatment of their disease is extremely challenging. Due to the inherent lack of maturity and responsibility associated with their age, pediatric patients struggle with self-management.  However, gamification creates an environment in which the pediatric patient assumes control of the environment and is motivated to reach goals by receiving rewards for correctly performing spirometry techniques.  This creates a desire to take responsibility for completing the treatment and builds confidence within the young patient.  The InSpire application of gamification among young asthmatic patients is one example of how people can transition into self-directedness and promote self-efficacy. 





http://games.jmir.org/article/viewFile/2014/1/11649

 

References:



Elias, P., Rajan, N., McArthur, K., and Dacso, C. (2013). Inspire to promote lung assessment in youth:  Evolving the self-management paradigms of young people with asthma. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2(1). DOI: 10.2196/med20.2014

Merriam, S.B. and Bierema, L.L. (2014). Adult learning:  Linking theory and practice. San Francisco, CA:  Jossey-Bass.