Effectiveness of gamification and selection of appropriate teaching methods of creativity: Students’ perspectives

Complex creativity and multiple learning objectives often require combining several teaching methods, and gamification may be an effective teaching strategy for enhancing learning. However, few studies have examined the combined effects of implementing gamification and multiple teaching methods in a course from students' perspectives. Therefore, this study implemented gamification and six teaching methods of enhancing college students' creativity in university creativity and innovation course in November and December 2021 and aimed to examine the effects on their creativity, collaboration, and communication skills and used the Analytical Hierarchy Process to identify more effective teaching methods corresponding to the learning objectives from students’ perspectives. The results showed that students perceive that gamification could stimulate their motivation, attitudes, and interest in learning and enhance their creativity, collaboration, and communication skills. Furthermore, Mandala thinking was the most effective teaching method for the overall goal. In contrast, the most effective teaching methods for the creativity, collaboration, and communication skills learning objectives were the SCAMPER technique, balloon competition, and Mandala thinking, respectively. The results provide essential references for selecting effective teaching methods that meet the teaching objectives.