Minimizing the Cultural Influences on Learning Outcomes in Higher Education Through Interventional Tools of Student Profiling and Gamification

Globalization and resultant international mobility, especially in higher education sector, have created a situation where interaction between teachers and students from diverse cultural backgrounds might adversely, albeit unintentionally, impact the effective learning outcomes, In its simplest form, culture can be defined as the product of nature and nurture. Thus, the challenge is how to minimize the negative influence of inter-cultural differences.

The situation is even more pronounced in the wake of ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s publication titled “New Schools of Thought: Innovative models in Delivering Higher Education”, the ripple effects of the pandemic are likely to compel the educators to future-proof higher education by largely resorting to online education with the help of technology.

The research proposes to use two tools, namely, student profiling and technology-centric gamification to ensure that the learning outcome is optimal. Students are classified based on their individual cultural backgrounds, needs, interests, preferences and experiences through personal interviews and questionnaires. Gamification is the technology of recent coinage in education that employs game-like elements in non-game contexts. While games are primarily meant for fun and entertainment, gamification in education is meant to increase and sustain student motivation.

An exploratory qualitative case study design is proposed for the research. A representative sample of higher education students at a university will be selected with at least one third of them diverse international backgrounds. Direct interviews and questionnaires with 7-point Likert scale are the research instruments.

The expected outcome of the research results will show the extent to which the cultural influences are filtered via student profiling and how gamification contributes to learning outcomes of students in person-centered environment.