Significance

This meta-analysis was conducted to systematically synthesize research findings on effects of gamification on cognitive, motivational, and behavioral learning outcomes.

Gamification in the context of learning has received increased attention and interest over the last decade for its hypothesized benefits on motivation and learning. However, some researchers doubt that effects of games can be transferred to non-game contexts. The present meta-analysis supports the claim that gamification of learning works because we found significant, positive effects of gamification on cognitive, motivational, and behavioral learning outcomes.

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Research

This meta-analysis was conducted to systematically synthesize research findings on effects of gamification on cognitive, motivational, and behavioral learning outcomes. Results from random effects models showed significant small effects of gamification on cognitive (g = .49, 95% CI [0.30, 0.69], k = 19, N = 1686), motivational (g = .36, 95% CI [0.18, 0.54], k = 16, N = 2246), and behavioral learning outcomes (g = .25, 95% CI [0.04, 0.46], k = 9, N = 951). Whereas the effect of gamification on cognitive learning outcomes was stable in a subsplit analysis of studies employing high methodological rigor, effects on motivational and behavioral outcomes were less stable. Given the heterogeneity of effect sizes, moderator analyses were conducted to examine inclusion of game fiction, social interaction, learning arrangement of the comparison group, as well as situational, contextual, and methodological moderators, namely, period of time, research context, randomization, design, and instruments. Inclusion of game fiction and social interaction were significant moderators of the effect of gamification on behavioral learning outcomes. Inclusion of game fiction and combining competition with collaboration were particularly effective within gamification for fostering behavioral learning outcomes. Results of the subsplit analysis indicated that effects of competition augmented with collaboration might also be valid for motivational learning outcomes. The results suggest that gamification as it is currently operationalized in empirical studies is an effective method for instruction, even though factors contributing to successful gamification are still somewhat unresolved, especially for cognitive learning outcomes.

In recent years, the concept of gamification, defined as “the use of game design elements in non-game contexts” (Deterding et al. 2011, p. 9), has received increased attention and interest in academia and practice, with education among the top fields of gamification research (Dichev and Dicheva 2017; Hamari et al. 2014; Seaborn and Fels 2015). Its hypothesized motivational power has made gamification an especially promising method for instructional contexts. However, as the popularity of gamification has increased, so have critical voices describing gamification as “the latest buzzword and the next fad” (Boulet 2012, p. 1) or “Pavlovication” (Klabbers 2018, p. 232). But how effective is gamification when it comes to learning, and what factors contribute to successful gamification?

Even though considerable research efforts have been made in this field (Hamari et al. 2014; Seaborn and Fels 2015), conclusive meta-analytic evidence on the effectiveness of gamification in the context of learning and education has yet to be provided. Therefore, the aim of this analysis was to statistically synthesize the state of research on the effects of gamification on cognitive, motivational, and behavioral learning outcomes in an exploratory manner. Furthermore, with this meta-analysis, not only did we try to answer the question of whether learning should be gamified but also how. Thus, we also investigated potential moderating factors of successful gamification to account for conceptual heterogeneity in gamification (Sailer et al. 2017a). What is more, we included contextual, situational, and methodological moderators to account for different research contexts and study setups as well as methodological rigor in primary studies. To further investigate the stability and robustness of results, we assessed publication bias and computed subsplit analyses, which included studies with high methodological rigor.

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The full study can be read linked below

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Reference

Sailer, M., Homner, L. The Gamification of Learning: a Meta-analysis. Educ Psychol Rev 32, 77–112 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09498-w

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10648-019-09498-w