Gamified classroom response systems (CRSs) have been studied for student engagement and assessment; however, little attention has been paid to how teachers of Culturally Located Arabic Language and Islamic Studies design, negotiate, and legitimize gamified interaction in discipline- and culture-specific classrooms. This interpretive qualitative study examined the implementation of gamification by 15 Grade 9 teachers of Arabic Language and Islamic Studies in Abu Dhabi public schools through the adoption of a ClassPoint-based process comprising professional development workshops over a 4-month implementation period. Informed by the theory of reflexive thematic analysis, semi-structured interviews conducted with teachers were analyzed. The findings revealed that teachers enacted ClassPoint-supported gamification as a form of pedagogical infrastructure by designing participation routines, embedding formative feedback cycles, and aligning gamified activities with curriculum goals and cultural values. Teachers also reported broader participation opportunities, iterative professional learning, and implementation challenges related to infrastructure, time, and institutional support in the context of pedagogical infrastructure and teacher design agency theories, this paper offers an innovative conceptualization of CRSs as tools for engaging students and as designed interactions between teachers and students. This study provides insights into the dynamic interactions among facilitating conditions, teacher design agency, and classroom enactment in the design, implementation, and sustainment of gamified lessons in culturally oriented contexts.
Yahia Alramamneh, Nagla Ali, N. Kasasbeh et al.· Frontiers in Education· 0 citations
The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education has raised important questions about how learners and teachers regulate their thinking when interacting with AI-supported tools. This study investigates metacognitive regulation during the design of AI-supported educational applications by graduate students (N = 12) in a UAE teacher education programme. The qualitative research adopted a multiple-case study method to analyse six student design teams involved in designing educational applications as part of a technology integration course. Data were collected from three main sources: the educational apps themselves, the corresponding Teacher Guides, and reflective interviews conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. Data analysis combined deductive qualitative coding based on the regulation-of-cognition dimensions of the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) framework with inductive thematic analysis of participants’ experiences and conceptualisations of AI. The findings show that AI was used differently across the six cases. It appeared to function more as a cognitive scaffold when participants questioned, checked, revised, or justified AI-generated outputs, and more as a shortcut when outputs were used mainly for convenience with limited further reflection. Planning was the most visible regulatory process, while stronger regulatory engagement was evident when AI-generated outputs were examined, questioned, and refined rather than accepted without further consideration.