Best questions for online course student survey about gamification features

Here are some of the best questions for an online course student survey about gamification features, plus tips on crafting them for richer insights. You can easily generate a custom, conversational survey in seconds using Specific.

Best open-ended questions for online course student surveys on gamification features

Open-ended questions invite students to share detailed thoughts, providing actionable, qualitative feedback that goes beyond checkboxes. When you aim to uncover motivations or pain points, open-ended formats are ideal—especially as 67% of students say gamified courses are more engaging than traditional ones. [2]

1. What aspects of gamification in your current courses do you enjoy most?

2. Can you describe how gamified features have impacted your motivation to participate or complete coursework?

3. What specific gamification elements (like badges, leaderboards, or quizzes) help you learn better, and why?

4. Are there any gamification features you find distracting or unhelpful? Please explain.

5. How do you feel when you reach a milestone or unlock a new achievement in an online course?

6. What suggestions do you have for improving the gamified features in your courses?

7. Share a memorable experience where a gamification feature made learning more enjoyable or effective for you.

8. How do gamified challenges or competitions influence your participation in course activities?

9. What barriers, if any, prevent you from engaging with gamification elements?

10. Is there a gamification feature you would like to see added? Please describe it and how it might help your learning.

Best single-select multiple-choice questions for online course student surveys on gamification features

Single-select multiple-choice questions are great when you need quantifiable data or an easy conversation starter. Sometimes, it’s simpler for students to choose from a list than compose a full answer—helpful for quickly spotting trends before you dive in deeper with follow-ups.

Question: Which gamification feature have you found most motivating in your online courses?

• Badges

• Leaderboards

• Progress bars

• Quizzes or trivia

• Other

Question: How frequently do you interact with gamification elements in your courses?

• Every session

• Sometimes

• Rarely

• Never

Question: How would you rate the impact of gamification on your motivation to complete courses?

• Significant positive impact

• Some positive impact

• No impact

• Negative impact

When to follow up with "why?" Whenever you want to uncover the reasoning behind a choice—especially when responses cluster around a pattern (“rarely” using gamification, for example)—asking “why?” as a follow-up illuminates the context. For instance: If a student selects “Rarely” for interacting with gamification elements, the follow-up could be, “Why do you rarely use these features in your courses?” That’s where the gold is.

When and why to add the "Other" choice? It’s smart to use “Other” when your predefined options might not cover everyone’s experiences. The follow-up ask (“Can you describe the gamification feature you use most?”) often brings up surprise insights you’d otherwise miss, letting students truly tell you what matters.

NPS question for online course student surveys: Should you include it?

NPS (Net Promoter Score) is a single-question format that gauges how likely students are to recommend your online courses to others, factoring in all aspects—including gamification features. Since course completion rates increase by 30% when gamification is effectively used [3], understanding how gamified features influence students’ overall satisfaction is crucial for optimizing engagement and retention. We recommend including it as a straightforward way to benchmark and track loyalty over time.

Try a ready-made NPS survey for online course students about gamification features crafted specifically for this purpose.

The power of follow-up questions

Follow-up questions are where a conversational survey truly shines—especially with AI support like Specific’s automatic follow-up questions. Instead of getting stuck on vague or incomplete responses, you dive deeper and extract the details that matter.

Specific’s AI asks follow-ups in real time, adapting to each answer and context like an expert interviewer. This lets you uncover richer stories and actionable insights—no chasing people with emails, no holes in your data, just immediate clarity. Automated follow-ups not only save you hours but make sure no important feedback slips through.

• Student: "I like winning badges."

• AI follow-up: "What makes earning badges motivating for you during your coursework?"

How many followups to ask? Usually, 2–3 targeted follow-ups are enough for each open question. With Specific, you can set a limit, so the AI gracefully moves on when enough context is gathered. This way, students aren’t overwhelmed and you get the clarity you need.

This makes it a conversational survey: Instead of feeling like a static form, your survey becomes a dialogue—students feel truly heard, and responses reflect that richness.

AI survey response analysis: With all this text, analyzing responses could be a chore—but with tools like AI-based survey response analysis, summarizing and extracting trends is fast and simple. AI distills the core themes, so even unstructured data becomes clear and actionable.

Automated follow-up questions are a new concept—try generating a survey yourself and experience the difference conversation makes in collecting feedback.

How to create a good AI prompt for generating questions

The fastest way to get smart, contextual questions is to use a well-formed prompt in ChatGPT or any AI survey builder. Start with:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for online course student survey about gamification features.

You’ll get much better results if you provide extra context about your role, the survey’s goal, and specifics about your course. For example:

I’m designing a feedback survey for university students enrolled in our online self-paced programming course, focusing on the effectiveness of gamification elements like achievements, quizzes, and leaderboards. Suggest 10 open-ended questions that would help us improve course engagement.

Next, organize the outputs with:

Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.

Then, focus on the categories that spark your interest by prompting:

Generate 10 questions for the Motivation and Learning Outcomes categories.

This approach lets you home in on what matters most to your students and your courses.

What is a conversational survey?

A conversational survey is a dynamic, chat-like interview where each answer shapes the next question, resulting in detailed, honest feedback. Unlike rigid forms, the experience feels personal and natural—it’s the future of collecting insights from students, especially in digital education where every response counts.

Here’s how it stacks up:

Why use AI for online course student surveys? AI-generated, conversational surveys surface deep feedback—students open up and clarify their needs or pain points. Response rates are higher, and the data is just more insightful. Even in large-scale online programs, AI can scale what feels like a 1:1 interview without you lifting a finger.

If you want practical steps on how to create a survey for online course students about gamification features, we’ve got a guide that walks you through it using Specific’s platform. And if you hit a wall, you can always start with an AI survey generator for any education topic or feature set you want to test.

Specific offers a best-in-class, seamless conversational experience for both the survey creator and students—one that actually makes giving and receiving feedback enjoyable. That’s why it stands out as a leader in AI surveys.

See this gamification features survey example now

Get inspired with a complete AI survey example—see firsthand how dynamic questions, AI-powered follow-ups, and instant analysis work together for richer, faster student feedback. Try Specific and unlock deeper engagement today.