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Gamification in education: Real benefits or edutainment?

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  • Concordia University
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Abstract

Gamification of learning--the application of game design elements to learning activities--is currently a hot, if controversial, trend in education. Proponents of gamification, on the one hand, claim that gamification leads to learning gains. They assert that gamification reinforces important skills in education, such as problem-solving, collaboration, and communication. Furthermore, they maintain that need for interaction in a gamified approach to education encourages students to play an active role in the learning process, thereby increasing student engagement in online forums, projects, and other learning activities. Detractors of gamification, meanwhile, argue that it derails learning with aimless distractions, adds unnecessary competition stress, and fails to take into account certain learners' pedagogical needs. Research on gamification is gathering momentum and promises to help adjudicate many of the issues raised in this controversy. We therefore conducted a second-order review to examine the evidence-based discourse on this aspect of gamification. We found that while the review literature adequately summarizes evidence in support of effectiveness in terms of cognitive, emotional/motivational, and behavioural outcomes, certain design issues remain unaddressed. When addressing effectiveness, a concern for how the nature of learning objectives and the quality of learning activities that are gamified is noticeably absent in the field. Furthermore, a contextual bias towards STEM courses limits the generalizability of evidence to other contexts. The reviewed literature further suggests a publication bias and an over-emphasis on positive effects. Nevertheless, recognising the general scope of the research, its theory, and evidence, will help instructors and curriculum designers interested in gamifying courses decide how to approach gamified course designs to use in a specific context. Highlighting current limitations in the evidence-based discourse may benefit the design of future research by drawing attention to the types of evidence that will help advance gamification in educational settings.
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... In some research studies conducted, gamification was reported to have positive effects on cognitive learning outcomes [46,47]. For gamification to have positive effects on cognitive learning, it should be well-designed and correctly deployed [48]. Gamification is reported as a motivation for students to engage with content [47,49,[49][50][51]. ...
... Furthermore, gamification improves the rate of engagement among students in areas such as forums and projects, leading to improved attendance rates, participation rates, pass rates, and the undertaking of difficult assignments [48,49]. Gamification could provide students who are introverts with a great opportunity to express themselves in a classroom environment and participate in games [51]. ...
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... The results of this study show that gamification is a useful pedagogical tool for giving students instruction tailored to their needs. Gamification can both teach and reinforce previously taught concepts while engaging students (Rabah et al., 2018). It gives teachers a better chance to tailor the educational experience for each student. ...
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... Son muchos los estudios que destacan los beneficios de esta metodología, así la Universidad de Montreal realizó un análisis de la literatura y concluyó que varios aspectos ponen de manifiesto su efectividad, desde mejoras cognitivas -mejoras en retención del conocimiento y habilidades de pensamiento-, comportamentales -aumento de la asistencia y participación en el aula-, emocionales -aumento de la motivación, disminución de ansiedad ante el error-, hasta sociales -aumento de la colaboración, disminución de las diferencias entre alumnos con distintas capacidades- (Rabah et al., 2018). ...
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... Thus, gamification does not serve pedagogical needs. Rabah, Cassidy, and Beauchemin (2018) examined the evidence-based discourse on this aspect of gamification. They found that while literature summarizes evidence in support of learning effectiveness, certain design issues remain unaddressed. ...
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Let’s explore the types of games that can be applied for gamification.
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