Learning Games Research Articles

Investigating Educational Platforms Employ Gamification to Improve Learning and Student Engagement – An Empirical Study

Gamification has arisen as a revolutionary instrument in education, utilizing game features such as points, badges, leaderboards, and interactive challenges to improve learning outcomes and student engagement. This study empirically examines the influence of gamification on educational platforms, assessing its effects on motivation, engagement, and information retention. A quantitative study methodology was employed, with a sample size of 111 participants to evaluate the efficacy of gamification via statistical analysis and hypothesis testing. The results indicate a robust positive link between gamified learning environments and student engagement, showing that interactive and reward-based learning mechanisms substantially improve student participation and understanding. Furthermore, gamification cultivates a competitive yet cooperative learning environment, enhancing retention rates and reinforcing instructional material. The study emphasizes essential tactics that educators and platform developers can implement to enhance gamification features for better learning results. These findings advance the conversation on digital education by offering a data-driven paradigm to improve student-centered learning experiences.

Exploring the Transformative Effects of Gamified Learning on Writing and Metacognition in an EFL University Context: An Account of Blended Learning Landscape

This study investigates the effects of a Gamified Learning Model (GLM) on the writing skills and metacognitive awareness of Thai EFL university students within a blended learning environment. Employing a quasi-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design alongside a Concurrent Embedded mixed-methods approach, the research scrutinizes the efficacy of GLM in enhancing English language writing skills and metacognitive awareness. Quantitative findings, obtained from the paired t-test, revealed significant improvements in students’ writing skills post-intervention, with average scores escalating from 11.97 to 19.92 (p<0.01), alongside a notable enhancement in metacognitive awareness, as evidenced by increased mean scores in metacognitive awareness questionnaire items. Qualitative feedback, gained from semi-structured interviews and reflective journals, further illuminated students’ positive perceptions towards the GLM, highlighting its role in fostering engagement and facilitating a deeper understanding of writing tasks and strategies. The study underscores the transformative potential of gamified learning in EFL contexts, advocating for its integration as a dynamic component of language education pedagogy. Implications for future research include exploring varied gamified learning approaches across diverse educational settings to validate and extend these findings.

Data Monsters: Development of Game for Learning to Data Science

Data Monsters: Development of Game for Learning to Data Science

Development of an Adventure Game Using Construct 3: The Lost: Roux's Escape

Adventure games include some of the most popular genres in the gaming industry, with rich narrative arcs and interactive game play. In this research study, the 2D adventure game is designed and developed by using a game engine called Construct 3, which is an easy-to-use and powerful game development application. This study encompasses the design and execution of game mechanics, narrative and graphical elements to provide an immersive experience. We employed an iterative design methodology, which included game prototyping, testing and refinement. The project was assessed in regard to vitality based on gameplay smoothness, user engagement, visuals and received positive feedback from initial testers. Overall, the results point to the successful use of Construct 3 as a development tool, especially for indie developers and educators looking to design gamified learning environments. Overall, this study shows that Construct 3 can help in making game development more accessible to a broader audience, ultimately leading to a more balanced domain of creative outputs in the industry.

Enhancing Foreign Speakers’ Satisfaction in Learning Indonesian Language with a Gamified Multiplatform Approach

This study examines how gamification can improve the satisfaction level of foreign learners studying the Indonesian language using the innovative multiplatform application named Belajar Indo. In consideration of the Indonesian government’s heightened focus on language proficiency for foreign workers and students, this study examines the challenges encountered in Bahasa Indonesia for Foreign Speakers (BIPA) programs. Integrating gamified elements into a Progressive Web App (PWA) presents an engaging alternative to traditional learning resources, which frequently fall short in terms of interactivity and accessibility. Data gathered from surveys, online observation, and user engagement metrics indicate that gamification greatly improves learner motivation, resulting in a success rate of 93.51% and a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 8.11. The findings demonstrate that gamification enhances language acquisition while simultaneously cultivating a greater enthusiasm for learning Indonesian, proving advantageous for both beginners and advanced learners. This study advances the domain of educational technology by presenting a model that integrates language acquisition with digital innovation, highlighting gamified learning as an effective instrument for foreign language education. Future recommendations involve fine-tuning user interface components to improve usability and maintain elevated engagement levels.

Examining the Influential Mechanism of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Learners’ Flow Experiences in Digital Game-Based Vocabulary Learning: Shedding New Light on a Priori Proposed Model

Over the last ten years, continuous attention has been paid to the use of digital games in vocabulary learning. Their effectiveness and availability have been widely discussed. However, the experiences of language learners and the underlying patterns of their engagement while using digital games for vocabulary learning remain underexplored. In order to fill this significant gap, this study aimed to examine the influential mechanism of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ flow experiences in digital game-based vocabulary learning (DGBVL). The sample consisted of 306 Chinese EFL learners who had DGBVL app usage experience, and data collection was based on a DGBVL flow experience instrument employed through an online platform. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to assess the reliability and validation of the existing scale for various DGBVL apps. A multi-group analysis was then conducted, revealing that the influential mechanism was a process in which the effects of antecedents on outcomes could be mediated by flow experiences. In addition, the role of usage frequency was also explored, and three paths were found to differ across three usage frequency levels (i.e., seldom, sometimes, and always): the effect of balance of skill and challenge on enjoyment, the effect of enjoyment on satisfaction, and the effect of perceived learning on satisfaction. These findings provide new insights for the influential mechanism of flow experiences and will assist EFL learners in optimizing their learning outcomes in digital game-based vocabulary learning.

Classcraft Gamified Problem-Based Learning: How Does It Enhance Collaboration and Critical Thinking Skills?

Conventional science education often fails to develop essential critical thinking and collaboration skills among students. This study investigates the impact of problem-based learning (PBL) augmented by classcraft gamification on enhancing these competencies. Utilizing an experimental design with a nonequivalent control group, data were gathered through pretests, posttests, and collaboration questionnaires. Analysis involved independent sample t-tests, Manova, and effect size calculations. The independent sample t-test demonstrated a significant difference between the experimental and control groups (p = 0.000 0.05), highlighting the intervention's effectiveness. Additionally, MANOVA results confirmed that the PBL model using classcraft significantly influenced both critical thinking and collaboration skills. With effect sizes of 1.78 and 1.48, the intervention was categorized as having a very high impact. These findings indicate that incorporating classcraft gamification into PBL not only enhances students' critical thinking and collaboration but also promotes a more engaging learning atmosphere. The implications of this study suggest a transformative approach to science education, encouraging educators to embrace innovative methods that cultivate vital 21st-century skills in students. By leveraging gamified learning experiences, educators can better prepare students for the complexities of modern problem-solving and teamwork

PlayPhrase.Me: A multimedia corpus for foreign language education

Technological advancements have not only introduced new tools for language education but also tailored apps and resources for specific language skills. These include mobile apps (e.g., Drops: Language Learning Games for vocabulary), websites (e.g., SpanishDict for Spanish dictionary and grammar), and reference tools (e.g., Grammarly for writing assistance). One such resource is PlayPhrase.me, an online and mobile tool serving as a database of movie clips for language practice, particularly vocabulary. Despite the relative attention similar tools (e.g., YouGlish and Voscreen) have received, only two studies were conducted about the PlayPhrase.me a website. Accordingly, there is a need for a review that outlines its general characteristics and pedagogical affordances. To this end, this review evaluated the website and revealed considerable potential for vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation learning. Citing the possible pitfalls, such as short video durations, lack of filtering, and absence of evaluative and competitive means, the researcher offered recommendations for improvement. The review concludes with the researcher’s reflections as a teacher and urges further research to validate the findings.

The 6 C’s of Imaginative Play in Learning English to Develop Students’ Character

This community service examines the use of imaginative games in English learning to develop student character through the 6C framework: Collaboration, Communication, Content, Critical Thinking, Creative Innovation, and Self-Confidence. This activity was conducted with seventh grade students at Agios Nikolaus Gunungsitoli Christian Private Junior High School using observation sheets, field notes and student worksheets to analyze the impact of imaginative play on language learning outcomes and character building. The findings showed that most students demonstrated strong collaboration and communication skills, participating effectively in group activities and verbal interactions. Comprehension of materials and critical thinking skills also improved, with 87.5% of students (14 out of 16) showing a strong understanding of English learning materials, including grammar and vocabulary. A total of 68.75% of students (11 out of 16) were able to analyze and solve problems effectively, although further development is needed to improve their critical thinking skills. However, creative innovation was less developed, with only half of the participants actively exploring new ideas. Self-confidence saw a significant improvement, with 81.25% of students (13 out of 16) showing high levels of self-confidence. This reflects the effectiveness of the imaginative play method in helping students feel confident using language. In conclusion, the 6C’s imaginative play effectively supports language acquisition and character education, particularly in enhancing communication, collaboration, and confidence, though additional strategies are needed to further improve creativity and critical thinking. This approach offers a holistic and engaging method for integrating character development into English language learning.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Mobile Game-Based Learning for Raising Adolescent Health Awareness: The Case of "AHlam Na 2.0"

This study addresses a critical gap in adolescent health education strategies in the Philippines, as highlighted by the Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality (YAFS) survey series, which overlooks the use of games as a medium for disseminating health information. To bridge this gap, the research introduces AHlam Na, a game-based mobile application designed to enhance adolescents' awareness and understanding of key health-related topics. Using a single-group pretest-posttest design, the study involved forty junior high school students from a randomly selected school in the Philippines. They interacted with the application that embedded adolescent health topics into its gameplay. Data collected through pretest and post-test surveys revealed a significant improvement in the student's knowledge and attitudes toward adolescent health after engaging in the game, indicating that game-based learning effectively enhances their learning experience. The positive reception and knowledge gains suggest that AHlam Na is a promising tool for promoting adolescent health awareness. Based on these findings, it is recommended that the application be integrated into the adolescent health curriculum in schools across the Philippines. Future studies should examine the long-term impact of game-based learning on health behaviors and expand the sample size to include more diverse demographic groups. This research contributes to the growing body of literature on game-based learning in health education by demonstrating the potential of digital games to address the limitations of traditional teaching methods. The successful implementation of AHlam Na underscores the importance of exploring gamified learning tools to deliver critical health information to young people effectively.

Balancing anarchy and efficiency: partial team formations and learning in potential games

Balancing anarchy and efficiency: partial team formations and learning in potential games

Learn math through motion: a technology-enhanced embodied approach with augmented reality for geometry learning in K-12 classrooms

ABSTRACT Despite the growing attention to the technology-enhanced embodied learning approach in mathematics education and its pedagogical potential, much remains unexplored regarding its implementation in real-world classroom contexts and student engagement in embodied learning activity. Addressing this gap, we introduce an embodied learning game leveraging computer vision and Augmented Reality (AR) techniques. We implemented the embodied AR game into fourth-grade classrooms to explore its impact on students’ geometry understanding, attitudes, and engagement patterns. Our analysis revealed significant enhancements in students’ geometry understanding from pre- to post-test, whereas their attitudes remained unchanged. A multiple regression analysis on students’ in-game log and hand gesture data showed that only time spent on making-angle activities predicts students’ cognitive learning gain, suggesting that not all hand gestures were meaningful to students’ learning. In addition to demonstrating the pedagogical benefits of cost-effective AR-based embodied learning in classroom settings, our findings highlight the importance of thoughtfully designing embodied actions that are both educational and engaging.

Aligning Gamified Learning Experiences to Learning Outcomes

Gamified learning experiences use game mechanics and structures in curriculum and learning activities to engage students with content and scaffold toward intended learning outcomes. Using the domains of Bloom's taxonomy of learning in the cognitive domain to explore the possible relationship between games and learning for application to university learning, links can be made between thinking skills and game types. This paper describes the development of the Gamification Alignment Table and the Gamification Alignment Model, how these were used to design a gamified learning experience (GLE) for the intended student learning outcomes at the first-year undergraduate level, and how they could be used at master's level with different available in-game choices. The Gamification Alignment Table allows learning designers to identify how the pedagogical lexicon matches to existing features of games and therefore can be easily transformed into GLEs. In the Gamification Alignment Model, the six levels of knowledge in the cognitive domain, with pedagogical verbs used by educators and learning designers in planning and designing GLEs, are paired with game types involving different sorts of learning activities. The concept explored in the example GLE in this paper was the accounting and finance threshold concept of the time value of money. This research provides a further link between Bloom's levels and the Australian Qualifications Framework levels, and the comparable European Qualifications Framework levels. This novel mapping provides rationale for the linking of game design and learning outcomes and will be of interest to educational designers, as well as academics, with a learning focus. Received: 13 May 2024 | Revised: 19 November 2024 | Accepted: 16 December 2024 Conflicts of Interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to this work. Data Availability Statement The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in UniSC Research Bank at https://doi.org/10.25907/00887. Author Contribution Statement Kayleen Wood: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal analysis, Validation, Investigation, Resources, Data curation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Project administration. Steve Drew: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing - review & editing, Supervision.

Personal Competence Formation in Education: The Effectiveness of the Development and Use of Gamified Learning Based on the Metaverse

This research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the educational method in the formation of student personal competence. The study also identifies differences in perception between students from megacities and regions of China and Russia. The authors analysed the students’ experience and knowledge in the field of gamification in the metaverse, as well as their perception of the metaverse as an educational tool. Accordingly, the research method is a survey based on the questionnaire “The Effectiveness of Using Virtual Video Metaverse-Based Games in Education” developed by the authors. The results of the study showed that more than half of the students rated the method of using virtual video games in the educational process as effective (45%) or very effective (35%). A correlational analysis and linear regression were conducted to assess the relationship between students’ satisfaction levels with the use of virtual video games in education and their perception of the effectiveness of this teaching method. Data were analyzed using a standard significance level of p < 0.05 to determine statistical significance. A high positive correlation was found between students’ satisfaction levels and their perception of the effectiveness of using virtual video games in education. The study also revealed that by using gamified learning in the educational process, students develop a variety of skills and gain new knowledge (46%). The results of this study suggest a high potential for the use of gamified learning (video games) in modern education. It is crucial to understand this potential and differences in perception between students from different regions to develop more effective educational programs based on socio-economic factors and increasingly available educational resources. The findings also necessitate further efforts in developing strategies to deal with barriers and limitations. There is an urgent need to optimize the use of metaverses in education according to local socio-cultural characteristics.

Learning in Interactive Decision-Making: The Interplay Between Cognitive Abilities and the Strategic Environment.

A remarkable feature of human intelligence is the ability to optimize our decisions based on the potential actions of others. This ability, i.e., strategic sophistication, is crucial in strategic interactions, where we need to predict others' actions (first-order beliefs), anticipate others' beliefs about our own possible actions (second-order beliefs), and optimize decisions based on such beliefs. While behavioral research has highlighted systematic departures from theoretically optimal behavior in strategic interactions, little is known about the possibility of enhancing strategic sophistication. In particular, no studies investigated whether and how the interaction between exogenous factors (i.e., the learning environment) and endogenous factors (i.e., individual cognitive abilities) shapes learning in strategic settings. In a novel mouse-tracking study, we manipulate the learning environment and test its interaction with individual cognitive abilities in determining context-specific and transfer of learning in interactive games. Choice and process data reveal that the interplay between individual cognitive abilities and the learning environment does modulate participants' learning. The learning environment determines what is learned and whether acquired knowledge is applied in similar contexts and transferred to novel settings. Moreover, learning success in different strategic environments depends on individual cognitive abilities. In particular, higher levels of cognitive reflection are necessary to learn sophisticated strategic behavior (i.e., forming second-order beliefs) and transfer acquired knowledge to more complex strategic environments after receiving relevant feedback. However, higher cognitive reflection levels are insufficient to prevent the misapplication of procedures learned in a specific environment to other strategic contexts with substantial structural differences. Our results provide novel insights into the factors that promote or hamper learning in interactive decision-making.

Playful Learning Game to Improve Vocabulary Acquisition in the English Language

Playful learning has emerged as an effective tool to enhance vocabulary acquisition in English language teaching; this approach allows students to engage actively and meaningfully, promoting the retention and comprehension of new words; this paper explores the impact of educational games on the vocabulary development of beginner and intermediate-level students, analyzing how gamification fosters motivation and autonomous learning; various games, both digital and traditional, implemented in English classrooms are examined, showing that the use of playful resources not only reinforces learning but also reduces anxiety and improves attitudes towards the language; results obtained from case studies and surveys reveal that students involved in playful activities showed significant vocabulary acquisition compared to those following conventional methods; it is concluded that playful learning is not just a complementary tool but an essential strategy to transform the process of teaching English, fostering dynamic, inclusive, and student-centered educational environments.

Gender differences in the tendency to follow private information: Evidence from a social learning game

Gender differences in the tendency to follow private information: Evidence from a social learning game

Interdisciplinary team teaching: importance, experience, perspectives

The object of the research is social relations, arising in the course of teaching between the faculty and the students in the process of team teaching. The subject of the study is the faculty’s activity in the choice of team-based interdisciplinary study of particular topics of disciplines, which makes to increase students’ learning motivation and self-training, influencing the development of professional competencies. The relevance of the study is the necessity of a thorough analysis of the available models of team teaching to offer suggestions to improve the educational process in terms of interdisciplinary study of particular aspects or topics that influence the formation of students’ professional competencies; to offer not only team projects, but also interdisciplinary professional simulation involving different educational establishments, which increases the faculty desire for quality training, enhanced by the competitive nature not only between fellow students, but also between educational establishments The main conclusions include the authors’ definition of team teaching interdisciplinary education, which means a purposeful process of organisation, encouragement and motivation of active learning and cognitive activity of a student through joint (project) work of several academic disciplines teachers, aimed at the development of professional competences and proving (evaluating) the importance or mastering skills of the future profession; expanding the list of available models of team teaching expanding the list of existing models of team teaching by adding a functional model (division of functions between teachers to achieve a specific goal) and a project model (in which interdisciplinary teams are created to carry out ad-hoc projects with specific goals and objectives). A promising area of team teaching development is the game learning approach, which allows project work between several educational establishments.

Improving Socio-Emotional Competence of Grade IV Elementary School Students by Implementing Traditional Games in Learning

Background: Social-emotional competence is important in fostering children's development, because it can help children to solve problems, increase prosocial behavior, build good relationships, and adapt to increasingly large and complex demands. Aim: This research aims to improve the social emotional competence of students in class 4 of SD Negeri Kutowinangun Salatiga with social emotional learning. Method: The type of research used is Classroom Action Research. The subjects of this research were all 22 Keas IV students at SD Negeri Kutowinangun Salatiga for the 2023/2024 academic year. Result and Discussions: The research results showed a significant increase in students' social emotional competence and activeness. At the pre-cycle stage, many students are less active and unable to control their emotions well. However, through traditional implementation, there was an increase in the average score in both social emotional competence and student activity. Cycle 1 shows an increase from the very poor category to poor, while cycle 2 shows a further increase to the good category. Traditional games have proven effective in improving students' social interaction, cooperation and communication skills. Conclusions: This research shows that traditional games can be a fun and effective learning tool, helping students develop various competencies and control emotions in a relaxed and interactive atmosphere. Therefore, the research was stopped in cycle 2 because it had achieved the expected results.

Deep reinforcement learning in real-time strategy games: a systematic literature review

Deep reinforcement learning in real-time strategy games: a systematic literature review