Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Enhancing Students’ Learning Experience Through Gamification: Perspectives and Challenges

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Grand Research Challenges in Games and Entertainment Computing in Brazil - GranDGamesBR 2020–2030 (GranDGamesBR 2020, GranDGamesBR 2021)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 1702))

  • 794 Accesses

Abstract

One of the main challenges we face in the educational domain nowadays is the lack of student engagement in traditional teaching methods. One way to address this challenge is through gamification strategies, especially in educational systems. In this chapter, we address some difficulties and possible solutions, discussing high-impact studies in the area, whose methods together comprise frameworks and guidelines that assist in developing, implementing, and evaluating gamified strategies both from the developers’ point of view, the teachers’ and the students themselves.

The authors are thankful for the financial support from CNPq (141859/2019-9; 163932/2020-4; 308458/2020-6), and CAPES (Finance Code - 001).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    https://storium.com/.

  2. 2.

    https://www.classcraft.com/.

References

  1. An, Y., Zhu, M., Bonk, C.J., Lin, L.: Exploring instructors’ perspectives, practices, and perceived support needs and barriers related to the gamification of moocs. J. Comput. High. Educ. 33(1), 64–84 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-020-09256-w

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Aura, I., Hassan, L., Hamari, J.: Teaching within a story: understanding storification of pedagogy. Int. J. Educ. Res. 106, 101728 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Bai, S., Hew, K.F., Huang, B.: Is gamification “bullshit”? Evidence from a meta-analysis and synthesis of qualitative data in educational contexts. Educ. Res. Rev. 100322 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Bissell, T.: Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter. Vintage, New York (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Boruchovitch, E.: A motivação do aluno: contribuição da psicologia contemporânea. Vozes (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Bovermann, K., Bastiaens, T.J.: Towards a motivational design? Connecting gamification user types and online learning activities. Res. Pract. Technol. Enhanced Learn. 15(1), 1–18 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41039-019-0121-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Campbell, J.: The Hero with a Thousand Faces, vol. 17. New World Library, Novato (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Campillo-Ferrer, J.M., Miralles-Martínez, P., Sánchez-Ibáñez, R.: Gamification in higher education: impact on student motivation and the acquisition of social and civic key competencies. Sustainability 12(12), 4822 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Csikszentmihalyi, M., Csikszentmihalyi, I.S.: Optimal Experience: Psychological Studies of Flow in Consciousness. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1992)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R., Nacke, L.: From game design elements to gamefulness: defining gamification. In: Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference: Envisioning Future Media Environments, pp. 9–15. ACM (2011). https://doi.org/10.1145/2181037.2181040

  11. Dichev, C., Dicheva, D.: Gamifying education: what is known, what is believed and what remains uncertain: a critical review. Int. J. Educ. Technol. High. Educ. 14(1), 1–36 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-017-0042-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Dichev, C., Dicheva, D., Irwin, K.: Towards activity-centered gamification design. In: Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Teaching, Assessment, and Learning for Engineering (TALE 2019) (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Hajarian, M., Bastanfard, A., Mohammadzadeh, J., Khalilian, M.: A personalized gamification method for increasing user engagement in social networks. Soc. Netw. Anal. Min. 9(1), 1–14 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13278-019-0589-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Hallifax, S., Serna, A., Marty, J.-C., Lavoué, É.: Adaptive gamification in education: a literature review of current trends and developments. In: Scheffel, M., Broisin, J., Pammer-Schindler, V., Ioannou, A., Schneider, J. (eds.) EC-TEL 2019. LNCS, vol. 11722, pp. 294–307. Springer, Cham (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29736-7_22

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  15. Hamari, J., Koivisto, J., Sarsa, H.: Does gamification work? - A literature review of empirical studies on gamification. In: 2014 47th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Hamari, J., Koivisto, J., Sarsa, H.: Does gamification work?-a literature review of empirical studies on gamification. In: HICSS, vol. 14, pp. 3025–3034 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Heilbrunn, B., Herzig, P., Schill, A.: Tools for gamification analytics: a survey. In: 2014 IEEE/ACM 7th International Conference on Utility and Cloud Computing, pp. 603–608. IEEE, December 2014. https://doi.org/10.1109/UCC.2014.93, https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2759989.2759996

  18. Hodent, C.: The Gamer’s Brain: How Neuroscience and UX Can Impact Video Game Design. CRC Press, Boca Raton (2017)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  19. Hunicke, R., LeBlanc, M., Zubek, R.: MDA: a formal approach to game design and game research. In: Proceedings of the AAAI Workshop on Challenges in Game AI, vol. 4, p. 1722 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Huotari, K., Hamari, J.: Defining gamification: a service marketing perspective. In: Proceeding of the 16th International Academic MindTrek Conference, pp. 17–22 (2012). https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2393137

  21. Hussain, S., Atallah, R., Kamsin, A., Hazarika, J.: Classification, clustering and association rule mining in educational datasets using data mining tools: a case study. In: Silhavy, R. (ed.) CSOC2018 2018. AISC, vol. 765, pp. 196–211. Springer, Cham (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91192-2_21

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  22. Hyrynsalmi, S., Smed, J., Kimppa, K.: The dark side of gamification: how we should stop worrying and study also the negative impacts of bringing game design elements to everywhere. In: GamiFIN, pp. 96–104 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Kapp, K.M.: The Gamification of Learning and Instruction. Wiley, San Francisco (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Kapp, K.M.: The gamification of learning and instruction: game-based methods and strategies for training and education (2012). https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2378737

  25. Kim, T.W., Werbach, K.: More than just a game: ethical issues in gamification. Ethics Inf. Technol. 18(2), 157–173 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-016-9401-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Klock, A.C.T., Gasparini, I., Pimenta, M.S.: Designing, developing and evaluating gamification: an overview and conceptual approach. In: Tlili, A., Chang, M. (eds.) Data Analytics Approaches in Educational Games and Gamification Systems. SCI, pp. 227–246. Springer, Singapore (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9335-9_12

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  27. Klock, A.C.T., Gasparini, I., Pimenta, M.S., Hamari, J.: Tailored gamification: a review of literature. Int. J. Hum Comput Stud. 144, 102495 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Klock, A.C.T., Pimenta, M.S., Gasparini, I.: A systematic mapping of the customization of game elements in gamified systems. Anais do Simpósio Brasileiro de Jogos e Entretenimento Digital (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  29. Knutas, A., van Roy, R., Hynninen, T., Granato, M., Kasurinen, J., Ikonen, J.: A process for designing algorithm-based personalized gamification. Multimedia Tools Appl. 78(10), 13593–13612 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-018-6913-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Koivisto, J., Hamari, J.: The rise of motivational information systems: a review of gamification research. Int. J. Inf. Manage. 45, 191–210 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2018.10.013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Landers, R.N., Collmus, A.B.: Gamifying a personality measure by converting it into a story: convergence, incremental prediction, faking, and reactions. Int. J. Sel. Assess. 30(1), 145–156 (2022)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Landers, R.N., Tondello, G.F., Kappen, D.L., Collmus, A.B., Mekler, E.D., Nacke, L.E.: Defining gameful experience as a psychological state caused by gameplay: replacing the term ‘Gamefulness’ with three distinct constructs. Int. J. Hum Comput Stud. 127, 81–94 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2018.08.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Lopez, C.E., Tucker, C.S.: Adaptive gamification and its impact on performance. In: Fang, X. (ed.) HCII 2021. LNCS, vol. 12789, pp. 327–341. Springer, Cham (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77277-2_25

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  34. Loughrey, K., Broin, D.: Are we having fun yet? Misapplying motivation to gamification. In: 2018 IEEE Games, Entertainment, Media Conference (GEM), pp. 1–9. IEEE (2018). https://doi.org/10.1109/GEM.2018.8516535

  35. Manovich, L., Malina, R.F., Cubitt, S.: The Language of New Media. MIT press, Cambridge (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  36. Meder, M., Plumbaum, T., Albayrak, S.: A primer on data-driven gamification design. In: Proceedings of the Data-Driven Gamification Design Workshop, pp. 12–17. CEUR-WS.org (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  37. Mora, A., Tondello, G.F., Nacke, L.E., Arnedo-Moreno, J.: Effect of personalized gameful design on student engagement. In: 2018 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON), pp. 1925–1933, April 2018. https://doi.org/10.1109/EDUCON.2018.8363471

  38. Mora, A., Riera, D., González, C., Arnedo-Moreno, J.: Gamification: a systematic review of design frameworks. J. Comput. High. Educ. 29, 516–548 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-017-9150-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Morschheuser, B., Hassan, L., Werder, K., Hamari, J.: How to design gamification? A method for engineering gamified software. Inf. Softw. Technol. 95, 219–237 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infsof.2017.10.015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Neto, E.B.: O ensino híbrido: processo de ensino mediado por ferramentas tecnológicas. Ponto-e-Vírgula: Revista de Ciências Sociais (22), 59–72 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  41. Norman, D.A.: Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things. Basic Civitas Books, New York (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  42. OECD.: PISA 2018 Assessment and Analytical Framework. OECD publishing (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  43. Orji, R., Nacke, L.E., Di Marco, C.: Towards personality-driven persuasive health games and gamified systems. In: Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1015–1027 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  44. Orji, R., Oyibo, K., Tondello, G.F.: A comparison of system-controlled and user-controlled personalization approaches. In: Adjunct Publication of the 25th Conference on User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization, pp. 413–418. UMAP 2017, ACM, New York (2017). https://doi.org/10.1145/3099023.3099116

  45. Palomino, P., Toda, A., Rodrigues, L., Oliveira, W., Isotani, S.: From the lack of engagement to motivation: gamification strategies to enhance users learning experiences. In: 19th Brazilian Symposium on Computer Games and Digital Entertainment (SBGames)-GranDGames BR Forum, pp. 1127–1130 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  46. Palomino, P.T.: We will hold the line: O Fandom como forma de participação dos fãs no desenvolvimento do universo transmidiático do jogo Mass Effect (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  47. Palomino, P.T., Toda, A.M., Oliveira, W., Cristea, A.I., Isotani, S.: Narrative for gamification in education : why should you care ? In: International Conference of Advanced Learning Techniques - ICALT 2019 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  48. Palomino, P.T.: Gamification of virtual learning environments: a narrative and user experience approach. Ph.D. thesis, University of Sao Paulo (2022)

    Google Scholar 

  49. Pink, D.H.: Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Penguin, Westminster (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  50. Prensky, M.: Digital Game-Based Learning, vol. 1. McGraw-Hill, New York (2003). https://doi.org/10.1145/950566.950596

    Book  Google Scholar 

  51. Protásio, A.: Jogando histórias: refletindo sobre a narrativa dos jogos eletrônicos (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  52. Recabarren, M., Corvalán, B., Villegas, M.: Exploring the differences between gamer and non-gamer students in the effects of gamification on their motivation and learning. Interact. Learn. Environ., 1–14 (2021)

    Google Scholar 

  53. Reimers, F.M., Schleicher, A.: A framework to guide an education response to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. OECD (2020). Accessed 14 Apr 2020

    Google Scholar 

  54. Rodrigues, L., Oliveira, W., Toda, A., Palomino, P., Isotani, S.: Thinking inside the box: how to tailor gamified educational systems based on learning activities types. In: Proceedings of the Brazilian Symposium of Computers on Education, pp. 823–832. SBC (2019). https://doi.org/10.5753/cbie.sbie.2019.823

  55. Rodrigues, L., et al.: Personalization improves gamification: evidence from a mixed-methods study. Proc. ACM Hum. -Comput. Interact. 5(CHI PLAY), 1–25 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1145/3474714

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Rodrigues, L., et al.: Are they learning or playing? Moderator conditions of gamification’s success in programming classrooms. ACM Trans. Comput. Educ. (TOCE) 3, 1–27 (2022)

    Google Scholar 

  57. Rodrigues, L., Toda, A.M., Oliveira, W., Palomino, P.T., Isotani, S.: Just beat it: exploring the influences of competition and task-related factors in gamified learning environments. In: Anais do XXXI Simpósio Brasileiro de Informática na Educação, pp. 461–470. SBC (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  58. Rodrigues, L., Toda, A.M., Palomino, P.T., Oliveira, W., Isotani, S.: Personalized gamification: a literature review of outcomes, experiments, and approaches. In: García-Peñalvo, F.J. (ed.) Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Technological Ecosystems for Enhancing Multiculturality (TEEM 2020), Salamanca, Spain, 21–23 October 2020, October 2020

    Google Scholar 

  59. Rodrigues, L., Toda, A.M., dos Santos, W.O., Palomino, P.T., Vassileva, J., Isotani, S.: Automating gamification personalization to the user and beyond. IEEE Trans. Learn. Technol. 15, 199–212 (2022)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. 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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. Salen, K., Tekinbaş, K.S., Zimmerman, E.: Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. MIT press, Cambridge (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  62. Sánchez-Mena, A., Martí-Parreño, J.: Gamification in higher education: teachers’ drivers and barriers. In: Proceedings of the International Conference of The Future of Education, July 2016

    Google Scholar 

  63. dos Santos, W.O., Bittencourt, I.I., Vassileva, J.: Gamification design to tailor gamified educational systems based on gamer types. Anais dos Workshops do Congresso Brasileiro de Informática na Educação 2018 7(1), 42 (2018). https://doi.org/10.5753/cbie.wcbie.2018.42

  64. Savard, I., Mizoguchi, R.: Context or culture: what is the difference? Res. Pract. Technol. Enhanc. Learn. 14(1), 1–12 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41039-019-0112-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  65. Toda, A., Oliveira, W., Shi, L., Bittencourt, I., Isotani, S., Cristea, A.: Planning gamification strategies based on user characteristics and DM: a gender-based case study. In: 12th International Conference on Educational Data Mining, pp. 438–443, July 2019

    Google Scholar 

  66. Toda, A., et al: For whom should we gamify? Insights on the users intentions and context towards gamification in education (CBIE), pp. 471–480 (2020). https://doi.org/10.5753/cbie.sbie.2020.471

  67. Toda, A., Rafael, Y., Cruz, W., Xavier, L., Isotani, S.: Um processo de gamificação para o ensino superior: Experiências em um módulo de bioquímica. In: Anais do Workshop de Informática na Escola, vol. 22, p. 495 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  68. Toda, A.M., do Carmo, R.M., da Silva, A.P., Bittencourt, I.I., Isotani, S.: An approach for planning and deploying gamification concepts with social networks within educational contexts. Int. J. Inf. Manage. 46, 294–303 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2018.10.001

  69. Toda, A.M., et al.: Analysing gamification elements in educational environments using an existing gamification taxonomy. Smart Learn. Environ. 6(1), 16 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40561-019-0106-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  70. Toda, A.M., et al.: How to gamify learning systems? An experience report using the design sprint method and a taxonomy for gamification elements in education. J. Educ. Technol. Soc. 22(3), 47–60 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  71. Toda, A.M., Valle, P.H.D., Isotani, S.: The dark side of gamification: an overview of negative effects of gamification in education. In: Cristea, A.I., Bittencourt, I.I., Lima, F. (eds.) HEFA 2017. CCIS, vol. 832, pp. 143–156. Springer, Cham (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97934-2_9

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  72. Toda, A.M., Toda, A.M., da Silva, A.P., Isotani, S.: Desafios para o Planejamento e Implantação da Gamificação no Contexto Educacional. RENOTE 15(2), January 2017. https://doi.org/10.22456/1679-1916.79263, https://seer.ufrgs.br/index.php/renote/article/view/79263

  73. Tondello, G.F., Mora, A., Nacke, L.E.: Elements of gameful design emerging from user preferences. In: Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, pp. 129–142. ACM (2017). https://doi.org/10.1145/3116595.3116627

  74. Tondello, G.F., Nacke, L.E.: Validation of user preferences and effects of personalized gamification on task performance. Front. Comput. Sci. 2, 29 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  75. Tondello, G.F., Orji, R., Nacke, L.E.: Recommender systems for personalized gamification. In: Adjunct Publication of the 25th Conference on User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization, pp. 425–430. ACM (2017). https://doi.org/10.1145/3099023.3099114

  76. Tondello, G.F., Wehbe, R.R., Diamond, L., Busch, M., Marczewski, A., Nacke, L.E.: The gamification user types Hexad scale. In: Proceedings of the 2016 Annual Symposium on Computer-human Interaction in Play, pp. 229–243. ACM (2016). https://doi.org/10.1145/2967934.2968082

  77. Tondello, G.F.: Dynamic Personalization of Gameful Interactive Systems. Ph.D. thesis, University of Waterloo (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  78. Van Roy, R., Zaman, B.: Need-supporting gamification in education: an assessment of motivational effects over time. Comput. Educ. 127, 283–297 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.08.018

    Article  Google Scholar 

  79. Yannakakis, G.N., Togelius, J.: Experience-driven procedural content generation. IEEE Trans. Affect. Comput. 2(3), 147–161 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1109/T-AFFC.2011.6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  80. Zainuddin, Z., Chu, S.K.W., Shujahat, M., Perera, C.J.: The impact of gamification on learning and instruction: a systematic review of empirical evidence. Educ. Res. Rev. 30, 100326 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

A previous version of this chapter was published as a short paper at the Brazilian Symposium on Games and Digital Entertainment (SBGames) [45].

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. NEES, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceio, Brazil

    Paula Palomino

  2. HCI Games Group, University of Waterloo, Stratford, ON, Canada

    Paula Palomino

  3. ICMC, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, Brazil

    Luiz Rodrigues & Armando Toda

  4. Durham University, Durham, UK

    Armando Toda

  5. Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Seiji Isotani

Authors
  1. Paula Palomino
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Luiz Rodrigues
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Armando Toda
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Seiji Isotani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paula Palomino .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. UNIRIO, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Rodrigo Pereira dos Santos

  2. UDESC, Joinville, Brazil

    Marcelo da Silva Hounsell

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Palomino, P., Rodrigues, L., Toda, A., Isotani, S. (2023). Enhancing Students’ Learning Experience Through Gamification: Perspectives and Challenges. In: Santos, R.P.d., Hounsell, M.d.S. (eds) Grand Research Challenges in Games and Entertainment Computing in Brazil - GranDGamesBR 2020–2030. GranDGamesBR GranDGamesBR 2020 2021. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1702. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27639-2_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27639-2_6

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-27638-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-27639-2

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation