Gamification as one of the ways to develop soft skills of high school students

Abstract

The present study is devoted to the development and experimental substantiation of the psychological and pedagogical model of gamification of the educational process aimed at the development of soft skills in high school students. In the conditions of a modern school, the need to integrate innovative approaches that promote the formation of meta-subject competencies such as communication, organizational skills, stress resistance, self-esteem and teamwork is becoming more and more obvious. Gamification as a teaching method is considered in the study as an effective tool for increasing student engagement and motivation, as well as a stimulator of cognitive and personal growth. The methodological basis of the study includes a set of quantitative and qualitative methods: literature analysis, pedagogical observation, interview, modeling and pedagogical experiment followed by psychodiagnostic testing. Two groups of high school students (experimental and control) took part in the experiment in order to identify changes in the level of soft skills development after the introduction of game elements in the educational environment. The results showed that pupils of the experimental group demonstrated a noticeable improvement in the development of key soft skills compared to the control group. There was an increase in the level of communicative and organizational abilities, formation of more adequate self-esteem, improvement of emotional stability. The developed gamification model is characterized by flexibility, adaptability to academic subjects and age characteristics of students, as well as active inclusion of teachers in the process of assessment and support. It can be effectively integrated into teaching practice in both social humanities and natural science disciplines.