Perceptions, engagement, and transference of gamified FERPA training: a case study

Through gamified training, learners can become more engaged, experience increased motivation, and achieve higher retention rates. The caveat is that gamification needs to be done well and with intentionality. The purpose of this study was to understand how the implementation of gamification around the topic of FERPA for K-12 (children’s education) nonteaching staff could effectively engage learners and increase their transfer of knowledge. Social constructivism and andragogy were the frameworks for this research. The study answered the questions: 1) How do adult learners perceive gamification as a learning strategy, in the context of FERPA training? 2) What gamified elements (game mechanics) do the learners identify that most engaged them in the FERPA training? 3) What gamification strategies do participants identify as effective for future training of FERPA? This qualitative case study used a gamified FERPA training as the research instrument. The training was designed specifically for the target learner persona based on their demographics, psychographics, and motivators. The research began with participants completing a screening survey that collected information about their demographics, employment, and previous FERPA training. The training was led by a third-party trainer while the researcher was a participant observer. Semi-structured interviews collected additional data from the participants. Three themes emerged from analysis of the data: 1) connection with others, 2) engaged with the training and information, and 3) training impact and retention. This research addressed gaps in the literature. However, additional gaps and recommendations for research remain, including those related to successes and failures in the use of individual game mechanics, ethics of using game mechanics and gamification, and long-term retention of information learned during gamified training. Recommendations for practice focus on not just slapping a game mechanic in a training and calling it gamified but strategically incorporating gamification into training.