EXPERIMENTAL TESTING OF A QUEST-BASED DIDACTIC SYSTEM FOR PREPARING PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS FOR GAMIFICATION

The paper examines the preparation of prospective teachers for gamification through a quest-based didactic system. Gamification is considered not as the addition of points and badges to learning, but as the purposeful design of instruction in which every game element serves a specific learning outcome. The proposed system is built on a four-block pedagogical model and organises training in stages: students first take part in web-quests and life-quests as players and then design quests for school pupils themselves. Readiness for gamification was assessed through motivational, cognitive, activity-based and reflexive criteria. The experimental work showed a substantial increase in the readiness of students trained with the quest-based system compared with those following the standard curriculum. It also revealed the main difficulties prospective teachers face: linking game elements to learning aims, sequencing quest tasks and setting assessment criteria. The study concludes that quest technology is an effective means of preparing teachers for gamification when game elements are subordinated to learning outcomes rather than used as decoration.