ASERT Approach

ASERT’s success in engaging stakeholders in action-oriented resilience efforts relies on incorporating active learning and social learning mechanisms to first motivate learning about and subsequently action. Building on social constructivist theory and the ARCS Motivation Model, ASERT’s gamified engagement approach was designed to motivate participation, connect participation and learning to resilience outcomes, and, through gameful experiences, embed participants within a community that increases confidence in their own knowledge/action and rewards learning and action.

Gamification enhances engagement by incorporating both internal and external motivation factors to increase participation and action. Gamification, like games, presents clear objectives which can be developed into short-term achievable goals. Much like the ability to progress to ascending levels in traditional games, participants in a gamified environment are able to earn points and rewards (intangible or tangible), and, in some instances, compete with others in a community.

ASERT’s gamification approach builds on key elements of learning posited by two theories or models: (1) the ARCS motivation model, and (2) social constructivist theory.

The gamification approach underpinning ASERT incorporates active learning, social learning, and digital technology to more effectively create awareness, educate about risks and response, and encourage preparedness and resilience. Key features of the approach include:

• Participants actively learn while completing activities and reflect on the activity completed.
• Social learning takes place through dissemination and sharing of activity completion, reflection, and learning through social media
• Use of digital technology provides for broader reach and anytime (24/7) learning at participant’s convenience
• Participants earn points and rewards for completion of tasks, then level up and increase their prominence on the leaderboard

Our ASERT approach incorporates four dimensions of learning motivation of the ARCS motivation model:

• Attention: increasing the attention and curiosity of learners through the use of different media;
• Relevance: emphasizing the relevance of the learning content to the learner;
• Confidence: completing the learning task and building confidence through the learning process;
• Satisfaction: providing satisfaction or reward during the learning process.

Building on the ARCS model, the ASERT approach adopts a gamified learning strategy and combines game elements to address dimensions of the ARCS model. Gameful experiences capture participants’ attention, increases confidence in their ability to engage, and rewards learning and participation.

The ASERT approach also builds on social constructivist theory and focuses on participation and learning as a centered around the participant.

• Knowledge is established through interaction between individuals and their environments.
• Individuals learn through interactions with others and with the environments within which they are located.
• Learning is a social process, and meaningful learning occurs when individuals are engaged in social activities.

The ASERT approach embeds learners within a community and connects learning about resilience to the environment within which learners reside. Through gameful experiences, participants complete tasks related to their self-perceived resilience needs.

The ASERT gamified approach to building resilience was applied and tested on the Old Dominion University campus in the Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 semesters, in a project called the Race to Monarch Ready (R2MR).