A ludiform model of didactic support for the university study’s accompaniment

Abstract

The university is an institution that plays a crucial role in the society as it has
to train the citizens and workers of the future. Nevertheless, as noted by recent
studies and reports, in Italy the percentage of students who decide to
leave university is among the highest in Europe. The support services present
in the universities play an important role, but often they are not known
and advertised and are not always able to solve a series of problems encountered
systematically by the students. It is therefore necessary to understand
the most frequent difficulties that students have to face and consequently
the ways by which to improve their experience of formal education.
In this sense, we present a research that, through the use of elements taken
by the world of video games, is focused on the construction of a ludiform
model of didactic support, which aims to meet the needs of university students
– especially those who encounter greater difficulties in the courses
attendance and in the learning activities. The research is based on the belief
that learning and play are deeply connected, although this can be rarely observed
in formal learning settings, such as universities.