Gamified Interface Design Enhances Student Engagement in Synchronous Video Conferencing Learning

Synchronous video conferencing (VC) has become an established mode of higher education, but sustaining student engagement remains challenging, particularly in practice-oriented disciplines such as graphic design. This study examined the effects of three gamification mechanisms, including animated badges, experience points, and level upgrades, on behavioural, emotional, and cognitive engagement in synchronous VC learning. Guided by Self-Determination Theory (SDT), a quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group design was implemented with 124 first-year graphic design students from three public universities in China. Participants were distributed equally across a non-gamified control condition and three gamified conditions (n = 31 per group). Engagement was assessed before and after a four-week instructional intervention. Significant improvements were observed within the engagement components across all three gamified conditions, with no statistically significant change observed within the control condition. Participant-level total scores for each dimension of engagement were then used to estimate baseline-adjusted regression models. The models accounted for 97.4% of the variance in post-intervention behavioural engagement, 96.6% in emotional engagement, and 98.8% in cognitive engagement. Relative to the control condition and after controlling for baseline engagement, animated badges, experience points, and level upgrades were associated with increases of 40.35, 46.90, and 49.36 points in behavioural engagement; 48.82, 51.76, and 52.48 points in emotional engagement; and 95.86, 105.46, and 107.36 points in cognitive engagement, respectively. The results suggest that gamification mechanisms vary in the strength and direction of their relationship with engagement, with the strongest adjusted relationships being found between progression-based gamification and the cognitive dimension of engagement. The study extends the analysis beyond significance testing by introducing a quantitative, baseline-adjusted model to estimate post-intervention engagement given gamification condition and baseline engagement and offers a more precise basis for the design of gamified VC interfaces.