Assessing the Role of Python Programming Gamified Course on Students’ Knowledge, Skills Performance, Attitude, and Self-Efficacy

Coding is widely regarded as a fundamental skill of the 21st century. Yet, there is still a shortage of programmers worldwide which disproportionately affect the innovation goals of many sectors. In this study, we evaluated the installment of a Python programming gamified course in higher education, and measure its effect on students’ knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy, and skills performance. Two sections with 50 students each were randomly assigned to experimental or control groups. After one semester, the experimental group exhibited significantly higher scores in laboratory activities (skills performance) compared to the control group. Furthermore, they demonstrated a significant improvement with reference to attitude and self-efficacy before and after intervention. Therefore, we concluded that the use of a Python programming gamified course was an effective method for students to learn coding and programming concepts. The use and installation of a gamified course in learning other computer programming languages is highly recommended.