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    Beyond Grades: Harnessing Digital Badges to Champion Holistic Skill Development and Celebrate Active Engagement across a Large Enrollment Organic Chemistry Module


    Heaney, Frances, Velasco-Torrijos, Trinidad, Breslin, Carmel, Elmes, Robert, Stephens, John C., Collery-Walsh, Ria, Cleary, Anne, Joyce, Orla, Murphy, Brian, Drumm, Bernard, Bree, Ronan, Moore, Eric, Morrin, Aoife, White, Blánaid and Rooney, Denise (2025) Beyond Grades: Harnessing Digital Badges to Champion Holistic Skill Development and Celebrate Active Engagement across a Large Enrollment Organic Chemistry Module. Journal of Chemical Education, 102 (5). pp. 1901-1911. ISSN 0021-9584

    Abstract

    In a technology-enhanced learning environment and underpinned by a unique hybrid pedagogic model that borrows from gamification, constructivism, and experiential learning approaches, badges were purposefully used to foster engagement. This approach promoted the development of a mindset that identifies and appreciates the worth of a portfolio of practical and general skills developed across an entire introductory organic chemistry lab course. Within the subthemes of General Laboratory Skills, Purification and Characterization Skills, and Professional Desk-Based Skills, ten key microskills that align with course objectives were identified. A visually attractive badge icon that clearly illustrates the specific achievement was created for each. Development of each skill was presented as a standalone short-term goal to be rewarded with an individual task-completion badge. Award criteria included effort and engagement with structured prelab activities, including LearnSci lab sims, instructional videos and online quizzes, hands-on laboratory experience, and postlab reporting. The broad range afforded students opportunities to construct their knowledge and skills across different scenarios, both on and off campus. Award criteria were judiciously selected for their compatibility with our Virtual Learning Environment, Moodle, and its badges plugin. In this way, the logistical demands of validation and badge issuance for a large enrollment class were serviced by technology. Across two academic cycles, ∼3,250 badges were awarded to ∼370 students. Survey responses show that participants found this hybrid pedagogic approach useful for highlighting skill development and evidencing achievement. Students considered it an attractive teaching method that positively impacted on their education and enabled them to make links between in-curriculum skill acquisition and competency for employment.
    Item Type: Article
    Keywords: Chemistry Education; Digital Badges; Technology-Enhanced Learning Environment; Signposting Learning Opportunities; Second Year Undergraduate; Microskill Development; Lab Simulations;
    Academic Unit: Faculty of Science & Engineering > Chemistry
    Faculty of Science & Engineering > Research Institutes > Human Health Institute
    Item ID: 21829
    Identification Number: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.4c01325
    Depositing User: Dr John Stephens
    Date Deposited: 31 Aug 2026 15:23
    Journal or Publication Title: Journal of Chemical Education
    Publisher: American Chemical Society
    Refereed: Yes
    Related URLs:
    Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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