Does gamification improve student learning outcome? Evidence from a meta-analysis and synthesis of qualitative data in educational contexts
Section snippets
Background
In recent years, there has been a considerable amount of buzz about gamification across various academic disciplines and industries. It has been proposed that gamified practices will become a key element in motivating people, particularly those born in the digital age of online games, to engage in certain tasks such as improving their fitness (Nike+), generating brand loyalty (Starbucks), or answering other people's questions (e.g., Yahoo! Answers). The potential of gamification, however,
Prior reviews
This section briefly reviews some of the relevant literature on gamification (Borges, Durelli, Reis, & Isotani, 2014; Dichev & Dicheva, 2017; Falkner & Falkner, 2014; Hamari, Koivisto, & Sarsa, 2014; Looyestyn et al., 2017) and discusses its limitations. None of the previous reviews have examined the effects of gamification on learner academic performance. Several have reviewed studies that examined a mixture of gamification and games-based learning implementations or studies conducted in a
Databases searched
The process for selecting relevant studies was guided by the preferred-reporting of items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement (Moher, Liberati, Tetzlaff, & Altman, 2009). Leading academic databases were searched, as they are more likely to yield relevant and high quality papers (Webster & Watson, 2002). The recommended databases are ACM Digital Library, EBSCO host research databases (including Academic Search Premier, British Education Index, ERIC, TOC Premier), Emerald
Data extraction
The article selection process identified 24 articles (Aşıksoy, 2018; Cadavid and Corcho, 2018, de-Marcos et al., 2014, 2017; Gafni et al., 2018; Haruna et al., 2018; Hew et al., 2016; Homer et al., 2016; Huang & Hew, 2018; Huang et al., 2018; Jong et al., 2018; Ketyi, 2016; Lam et al., 2018; Marín et al., 2018; Ozdener, 2018; Rachels et al., 2018; Su & Cheng, 2015; Sun-Lin & Chiou, 2017; Tan & Hew, 2016; Tsay et al., 2018; Turan et al., 2016; Van Nuland et al., 2015; Yildirim, 2017; Zainuddin,
General characteristics of the interventions
Nine of the interventions were conducted with elementary school students (e.g., Rachels & Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2018), and five interventions were conducted at the high school level (e.g., Jong, Chan, Hue, & Tam, 2018). One involved a mixture of high school, undergraduate, and postgraduate students (Gafni, Achituv, Eidelman, & Chatsky, 2018). Ten were carried out with undergraduate students (e.g., Marín et al., 2018). Three studies were conducted with postgraduate students (e.g., Tan & Hew, 2016),
Discussion
Many pundits have promoted the potential of gamification for motivating students to perform desired learning tasks. Yet despite the popularity of gamification, there is little consensus on whether it contributes to improved academic performance. Previous studies have reported mixed findings. This review provides a useful overview of quantitative studies on the use of gamification in educational settings. More specifically, we conduct a meta-analysis of studies of gamification and its impact on
Conclusion
Despite the aforementioned limitations, this study contributes to the literature in three ways. First, it augments our understanding of gamification in educational contexts. Put another way, it goes beyond the unqualified assertion that gamification is beneficial by quantifying the effect of gamification on learners' academic performance. The second contribution is the identification of factors that may moderate the effect sizes of gamification. For example, this study provides empirical
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