Gamification in Asynchronous Faculty Development

The TEACH-UP study was a single-center, parallel-group randomized controlled trial conducted within an existing asynchronous faculty development program at the University of Pécs Medical School. The study examined the incremental effect of adding a gamified instructional-design layer to a content-equivalent online course. The institutional program supports medical educators with teaching responsibilities and has professional relevance for academic progression. Although participation in the study was voluntary, the course was delivered in an authentic, workload-constrained faculty development setting.

The study was based on the premise that gamification may influence learning indirectly by making progress visible, providing immediate feedback, structuring challenge, and supporting perceived competence and autonomy. These mechanisms were expected to affect pacing, persistence, and behavioral investment in course activities. The purpose of the trial was therefore to determine whether gamification added measurable educational value beyond that provided by a well-structured standard online course.

Both study groups completed the same 10-module asynchronous program in the institutional Moodle learning management system. The two course versions had the same learning objectives, instructional content, module sequence, interactive activities, discussion opportunities, videos, formative quizzes, final assessment, and automated feedback. The standard version presented these components through a conventional Moodle interface. The gamified version added a map-based progression pathway, sequential and conditional activity release, experience points, badges, progress indicators, and leaderboard functionality. Selected supplementary materials were released conditionally according to quiz performance. The intervention was therefore designed to isolate the incremental contribution of the gamified layer while keeping the substantive educational content and assessment requirements consistent between groups.

Before trial launch, the study instruments were adapted for use in Hungarian through forward-back translation and interdisciplinary expert review. Cognitive interviews with a convenience sample of educators were used to assess clarity and contextual suitability. The two Moodle environments, survey implementation, activity tracking, and data-export procedures were also tested end to end, with minor linguistic and technical refinements made before participant enrollment.

Following confirmation of eligibility and electronic informed consent, participants were assigned to the gamified or standard course. Randomization used a reproducible, computer-generated, stratified fixed-total procedure with a prespecified random seed. Stratification was based on academic setting, teaching seniority, and sex. Allocation was approximately balanced within each stratum while maintaining the intended overall allocation ratio. The sequence was generated centrally and was not accessible to personnel involved in enrollment. Participants were aware of the course format they received. Raters contributing to the synchronous microteaching assessment were not provided with participants' allocation, although the self-reported components of the study were unmasked.

Study information, electronic consent, surveys, course activities, embedded assessments, and learning-management-system analytics were collected through institutional digital platforms. A synchronous microteaching activity provided an additional structured assessment of teaching behavior. Participants were subsequently contacted for a planned three-month follow-up. The follow-up was completed as part of the study protocol but was not included in the thesis or the current manuscript because of the time available for thesis analysis and reporting.

Data from the different sources were linked through coded participant identifiers and exported in de-identified form for analysis. The identification key was stored separately on an access-restricted institutional system. Analyses followed randomized assignment and used the available data for each measure without imputation. Baseline-adjusted models were used for measures collected before and after the course, while post-course-only, count-based, bounded, and clustered measures were analyzed using methods appropriate to their distribution and measurement structure. No interim analyses or stopping rules were used.

The study involved an educational intervention only and did not include a drug, biological product, medical device, diagnostic procedure, or other medical treatment.

Inclusion criteria

• Adults affiliated with the University of Pécs Medical School who were involved in undergraduate or postgraduate teaching, had institutional Moodle access, and provided electronic informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

• Previous completion of the same faculty development course. Do not add unused protocol exclusions unless the enrollment log confirms they were applied.