A comparison of gamified flipped and traditional classroom model: Secondary school students' academic achievements and opinions in algorithm

Smartphones, tablets and computers, which emerged with the impact of technological developments, have started to be used in almost every aspect of our lives. One of these areas is undoubtedly education. Especially with the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic all over the world, the importance and use of technology in education has increased. Technological devices have started to be actively used in educational environments by both teachers and students. The reflections of technology on education have brought about changes in educational paradigms over time and paved the way for the emergence of alternative education models in which technology is used more actively in educational environments. One of these alternative education models is the flipped classroom model, which is defined as "lesson at home, homework at school" and reverses traditional classrooms. In this study, the flipped classroom model was blended with gamification and its effect on the academic achievement and opinions of sixth grade middle school students on the subject of algorithm in the information technologies and software course was investigated. In the study, a mixed design was used in which quantitative and qualitative data collection tools were used together. The main purpose of using this method is to collect quantitative and qualitative data together and analyze them separately to see whether the data obtained are compatible with each other. The study group of the research consisted of a total of 44 students, 22 in the experimental group and 22 in the control group, studying in the 6th grade at a public school in the central district of Tokat province. A quasi-experimental model with pretest-posttest control group was used in the study. In the four-week study, the experimental group received algorithm training with the model supported by gamification and the control group received algorithm training with the traditional model. Quantitative data were collected simultaneously from the students in the experimental and control groups with the "Algorithm Achievement Test" prepared by the researcher before and after the experimental process. IBM SPSS Statistic Program was used to analyze the collected quantitative data. Qualitative data were also collected with a semi-structured interview form to support the quantitative data. The collected qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis method. When the results of the analysis of the academic achievement test applied simultaneously to the experimental and control groups were examined, it was seen that there was a positive difference between the posttest scores of both groups and this difference was statistically higher in the experimental group than in the control group. When the results of the analysis of the interviews were examined, the students in the experimental group, in which the flipped classroom model supported by gamification was applied, found the process fun and instructive, while they stated the technological infrastructure inadequacies in watching videos at home and the technical problems experienced on the EBA platform as the negative features of the process. The control group students, on the other hand, negatively evaluated the difficulty in doing homework at home and the lack of activities in the classroom.