2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Retention and application of SQL skills pose significant challenges for undergraduate students, particularly in technical disciplines requiring high levels of engagement and practice. This paper introduces the Deliberate Practice Engine, an innovative e-learning platform designed to enhance SQL learning through deliberate practice, iterative feedback, and gamification elements, including point-based wagering. To evaluate its effectiveness, two experiments were conducted: (1) a controlled study with 16 undergraduate engineering students that examined the impact of wagering and iterative feedback on engagement and performance, and (2) a classroom study involving 24 students in a sophomore-level Industrial Engineering course that explored real-world application and metacognitive effects. Results from the controlled experiment showed wagering and feedback led to significant improvements in student engagement measured in terms of interest, enjoyment, and concentration. However, immediate performance gains were not observed. The classroom study revealed high levels of voluntary engagement, with students solving ten times as many problems as in traditional assignments and demonstrating wagering patterns indicative of metacognition. These findings offer insights into how gamified deliberate practice environments can address persistent challenges in technical education and inform the design of scalable, adaptive learning tools for broader implementation.