Robotic gamification model for climate change literacy for green innovation and entrepreneurship education

Abstract

This thesis proposes a Robotic Gamification Model for Climate Change Literacy for Green Innovation and Entrepreneurship (RGM-4-CCL4GIE) education, as a sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) contextualized innovative educational solution. Current gamification designs in educational settings often fail to sustain long-term learner motivation and engagement, in that they rely predominantly on predictable extrinsic reward schemes. While these systems can generate initial interest, they struggle to maintain engagement over time, leading to diminished learning outcomes. This challenge is particularly critical in the context of complex, evolving subjects such as climate change education, in which continuous learner involvement is essential for fostering lasting awareness and actionable outcomes. To address this gap in gamification systems design, this research proposes a RGM-4-CCL4GIE education. The model draws upon concepts from the Self-determination Theory, the Operant Conditioning Theory (OCT), and the MechanicsDynamics-Aesthetics (MDA) framework, to create a dynamic system that enables sustained intrinsic motivation and learner engagement. The RGM-4-CCL4GIE education incorporates a randomized badgeawarding plugin which is an intrinsic reward mechanism. This model includes interactive assessments infused with points as gamification elements, utilizing the social robot Nao to enhance learner interaction. This is particularly necessary in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where climate literacy is critical for mitigating the socio-economic impacts of climate change. The study employs a Design Science Research Methodology (DSR) to guide the development and validation of the model, which is prototyped on the Moodle e-learning platform and the social robot Nao (SRN). The system’s gamification components such as points, badges, and dynamic rewards are integrated into both desktop and robotic platforms to foster sustained intrinsic motivation and long-term engagement in climate-change literacy and green-innovation entrepreneurship. The RGM-4-CCL4GIE was evaluated with 20 university students, revealing enhanced sustained intrinsic motivation (mean score of 4.58) and long-term engagement (95%). The evaluation data reflected strong positive perceptions, with all subscales (motivation, user engagement, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, aesthetics) scoring above 4 (on a 5-point scale), showing significant differences from the neutral point (p<.001) and large effect sizes (Cohen’s d > 1.77). Individual items reflected high agreement on motivation (e.g., “inspires me to continue training”, M=4.75), engagement (e.g., random badges, 95% agreement, p < 0.001), usefulness (e.g., understanding climate change, 75% strongly agree), ease of use (M=4.65), and aesthetics (NAO robot, 95% agreement). Expert evaluation (n=11) further validated the system, with strong ratings for gamification elements (means 4.27-4.55), Carbon Literacy content (4.45-4.64), and HCI (4.27-4.64), although navigation showed slightly more varied opinions (SD=0.78). These findings demonstrate the RGM-4-CCL4GIE’s potential to address limitations of existing gamification systems by promoting sustained motivation and engagement, thus achieving learning outcomes. In offering the innovative approach that combines robotics and gamification with motivational theories, this research contributes to the advancement of educational gamification. The study shows how the theories are combined to generate the robotic gamification theoretical framework, with specific relevance to climate change education. The study not only bridges gaps in current gamification systems but also provides a foundation for future research into sustainable, technology-driven learning models. Through its integration of robotic interaction, random rewards, and motivational frameworks, the RGM-4- CCL4GIE offers a new approach to educational gamification, particularly in addressing the challenges of sustained motivation and long-term engagement in climate-change education.