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The impact of gamification in educational settings on student learning outcomes: a meta-analysis
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“These findings might suggest that peer reviewers have a preference for findings with positive effects from the interventions under investigation, and makes us reflect on the “file drawer problem” (Rosenthal 1979), which results from not publishing statistically non-significant findings.”
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Research works printed but not linked: 2
- *Rachels, J. R. (2016). The Effect of Gamification on Elementary Students’ Spanish Language Achievement and Academic Self-efficacy (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/1246/
- *Terrell, J. E. (2016). Instructional Methods and Engagement: The Impact of Gamification on Student Learning of APA Style (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1502
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Gamification in Science Education. A Systematic Review of the Literature
Kalogiannakis, M., Papadakis, S., & Zourmpakis, A.-I. (2021) · Education Sciences · doi:10.3390/educsci11010022 · Cited by 890
Between Level Up and Game Over: A Systematic Literature Review of Gamification in Education
Manzano-León, A., Camacho-Lazarraga, P., Guerrero, M. A., Guerrero-Puerta, L., Aguilar-Parra, J. M., Trigueros, R., & Alias, A. (2021) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su13042247 · Cited by 512
“[30] carried out a meta-analysis study where they integrated 30 independent studies in formal educational settings, and it was observed that the effect size on learning outcomes was greater in the gamified groups than in the control groups.”
BackgroundVirtual reality and gamification in education: a systematic review
Λαμπρόπουλος, Γ., & Kinshuk, K. (2024) · Educational Technology Research and Development · doi:10.1007/s11423-024-10351-3 · Cited by 569
Effects of Gamification on Behavioral Change in Education: A Meta-Analysis
Kim, J.-H., & Castelli, D. M. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18073550 · Cited by 203
“Consequently, this is viewed as one of the leading researches [16,17] to quantify and qualify gamification effects in educational settings using meta-analysis.”
BackgroundMurillo‐Zamorano, L. R., Sánchez, J. Á. L., Caballero, A. L. G., & Muñoz, C. B. (2021) · International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education · doi:10.1186/s41239-021-00249-y · Cited by 296
Rodrigues, L., Pereira, F. D., Toda, A. M., Palomino, P. T., Pessoa, M., de Carvalho, L. S. G., Fernandes, D., Oliveira, E., Cristea, A. I., & Isotani, S. (2022) · International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education · doi:10.1186/s41239-021-00314-6 · Cited by 258
“…that gamified systems including collaborative competition and fictional game elements improve gamification’s effect Sailer and Homner (2019); Huang et al. (2020); Toda et al. (2019), but only Putz et al. (2020) implemented both of those and Mavletova (2015) implemented one: fictional…”
BackgroundUsing gamification to support learning in K‐12 education: A systematic literature review
Dehghanzadeh, H., Farrokhnia, M., Dehghanzadeh, H., Taghipour, K., & Noroozi, O. (2023) · British Journal of Educational Technology · doi:10.1111/bjet.13335 · Cited by 224
Kaya, O. S., & Ercag, E. (2023) · Education and Information Technologies · doi:10.1007/s10639-023-11585-z · Cited by 121
“By making an assessment of this linkage, our paper responds to the call for future studies in gamification regarding affective learners’ outcomes (Huang et al., 2020) and provides a response to previous calls for research that have conveyed negative or mixed results in relationship between…”
BackgroundInfluentialZeng, J., Sun, D., Looi, C., & Fan, A. C. W. (2024) · British Journal of Educational Technology · doi:10.1111/bjet.13471 · Cited by 241
Marini, A., Nafisah, S., Sekaringtyas, T., Safitri, D., Lestari, I., Suntari, Y., Umasih, Sudrajat, A., & Iskandar, R. (2022) · International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM) · doi:10.3991/ijim.v16i07.25727 · Cited by 109
“Students who direct more effort into cognitive matters such as focusing on learning and doing assignments will have strong learning outcomes [29].”
BackgroundNadi-Ravandi, S., & Batooli, Z. (2022) · Education and Information Technologies · doi:10.1007/s10639-022-11048-x · Cited by 113
“…Quests/missions/modules, Collaboration, Ava-tars/customization, Adaptivity/personalization, Non-linear navigation, Responsive feedback, Advancement/levels, Narrative/storytelling, Points/experience, Badges/ awards, Competition, Leaderboards, Performance graphs, Timed activity (Huang et al., 2020).”
BackgroundInfluentialWang, X., Huang, R., Sommer, M., Pei, B., Shidfar, P., Rehman, M. S., Ritzhaupt, A. D., & Martin, F. (2024) · Journal of Educational Computing Research · doi:10.1177/07356331241240459 · Cited by 170
“To improve the coding credibility and reliability, we adopted the method of pair-coding (Paul et al., 2021; Huang et al., 2020).”
Self-citationIt is Really Not a Game: An Integrative Review of Gamification for Service Research
Ciuchita, R., Heller, J., Köcher, S., Köcher, S., Leclercq, T., Sidaoui, K., & Stead, S. (2022) · Journal of Service Research · doi:10.1177/10946705221076272 · Cited by 106
“Huang et al. (2020) systematically (n = 30) provide a review of a decade (2009 – 2018) of quantitative gami fi cation research in the context of educational settings and student learning outcomes.”
BackgroundInfluentialAlt, D. (2023) · Computers & Education · doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2023.104806 · Cited by 85
“…in knowledge-based learning outcomes (Papp & Theresa, 2017); mathematical knowledge (Hwa, 2018); learning in formal educational settings (Huang et al., 2020); interest in math classes (Stoya-nova et al., 2017); and calculation or arithmetic skills (Brezovszky et al., 2019; Deng et al.,…”
BackgroundRevealing the hotspots of educational gamification: An umbrella review
Metwally, A. H. S., Nacke, L. E., Chang, M., Wang, Y., & Yousef, A. M. F. (2021) · International Journal of Educational Research · doi:10.1016/j.ijer.2021.101832 · Cited by 74
How gamification boosts learning in STEM higher education: a mixed methods study
Ortiz-Rojas, M., Chiluiza, K., Valcke, M., & Bolanos-Mendoza, C. (2025) · International Journal of STEM Education · doi:10.1186/s40594-024-00521-3 · Cited by 71
Ritzhaupt, A. D., Huang, R., Sommer, M., Zhu, J., Stephen, A., Valle, N., Hampton, J. D., & Li, J. (2021) · Educational Technology Research and Development · doi:10.1007/s11423-021-10036-1 · Cited by 83
“For a meta-analysis of gamification on cognitive outcomes, refer to Huang et al. (2020).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialSelf-citationGamification in higher education: The ECOn+ star battles
Murillo‐Zamorano, L. R., Sánchez, J. Á. L., López-Rey, M. J., & Muñoz, C. B. (2022) · Computers & Education · doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2022.104699 · Cited by 85
A meta-analysis of the effects of E-books on students' mathematics achievement
Wijaya, T. T., Cao, Y., Weinhandl, R., & Tamur, M. (2022) · Heliyon · doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09432 · Cited by 60
“data [55] was used as supportive evidence.”
BackgroundHo, J. C., Hung, Y.-S., & Kwan, L. Y. ‐. (2021) · Education and Information Technologies · doi:10.1007/s10639-021-10770-2 · Cited by 67
“While much meta-analytical evidence has supported the effectiveness of gamification in learning (e.g., Bai et al., 2020; Briffa et al., 2020; Huang et al., 2020), some research has shredded some light on the downside of gamification, for instance, the motivational elements in games such as…”
BackgroundResultA meta-analysis of the impact of virtual technologies on students’ spatial ability
Di, X., & Zheng, X. (2022) · Educational Technology Research and Development · doi:10.1007/s11423-022-10082-3 · Cited by 72
“For instance, Huang et al. (2020) used the meta-analysis method to explore the effect of gamification in educational settings on student learning outcomes.”
MethodShen, Z., Lai, M., & Wang, F. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1295709 · Cited by 104
Maskeliūnas, R., Kulikajevas, A., Blažauskas, T., Damaševičius, R., & Swacha, J. (2020) · Computers · doi:10.3390/computers9040102 · Cited by 52
“Moreover, they have been demonstrated to positively affect students’ learning outcomes [17,18].”
Sánchez, G. P., Gutiérrez, R. C., del Olmo‐Muñoz, J., & González‐Calero, J. A. (2021) · Computer Assisted Language Learning · doi:10.1080/09588221.2021.1939388 · Cited by 79
“…badges and leader boards) in gamification designs, are consistent with the findings of other studies (see Chen, Liu, & Huang, 2019; Lam & Chiu, 2018; Loewen et al., 2019) and meta-analyses (see Bai, Hew, & Huang, 2020; Dehghanzadeh, Fardanesh, Hatami, Talaee, & Noroozi, 2019; Huang et al., 2020).”
BackgroundMartín, P., Gil‐Lacruz, M., Gil‐Lacruz, A. I., Azkue-Beteta, J. L., Rodríguez, E. M. L., & Cantarero, L. (2021) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su132413573 · Cited by 69
“Missions provide explicit learning goals for players in a meaningfully engaging way [50], as well as to practice activities to support competency and autonomy [51].”
BackgroundExploring Gamification Approaches for Enhancing Computational Thinking in Young Learners
del Olmo‐Muñoz, J., Baquero, A. B., Gutiérrez, R. C., & González‐Calero, J. A. (2023) · Education Sciences · doi:10.3390/educsci13050487 · Cited by 72
Irwanto, I., Wahyudiati, D., Saputro, A. D., & Laksana, S. D. (2023) · International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET) · doi:10.3991/ijet.v18i05.37021 · Cited by 74
Exploring the role of gamification in motivating students to learn
Baah, C., Govender, I., & Subramaniam, P. R. (2023) · Cogent Education · doi:10.1080/2331186x.2023.2210045 · Cited by 90
“The best times, places, and strategies for implementing gamification aspects in the classroom are still up for debate among academic scholars and practitioners (R. Huang et al., 2020).”
BackgroundHow Personalization Affects Motivation in Gamified Review Assessments
Rodrigues, L., Palomino, P. T., Toda, A. M., Klock, A. C. T., Pessoa, M., Pereira, F. D., Oliveira, E., Oliveira, D. F., Cristea, A. I., Gasparini, I., et al. (2023) · International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education · doi:10.1007/s40593-022-00326-x · Cited by 44
“RQ1 is based on research showing user and contextual characteristics moderate gamification’s effect (Hallifax et al., 2019; Huang et al., 2020; Rodrigues et al., 2021; Sailer & Homner, 2020).”
InfluentialCandel, E. C., & Colmenero, M. J. R. (2022) · Music Education Research · doi:10.1080/14613808.2022.2042500 · Cited by 61
“Therefore, the steady emergence of meta-analyses and systematic revisions (Baptista and Oliveira 2019; Huang et al., 2020; Koivisto and Hamari 2019; Sailer and Hommer 2020; Silveira and Díaz 2013) provides us with valuable frameworks and theoretical models that are apt for the development of…”
BackgroundPre-Service and In-Service Teachers’ Views on Gamification
Sajinčič, N., Sandak, A., & Starčič, A. I. (2022) · International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET) · doi:10.3991/ijet.v17i03.26761 · Cited by 45
Mohammed, M., Fatemah, A., & Hassan, L. (2024) · Simulation & Gaming · doi:10.1177/10468781241237389 · Cited by 37
“…did not show any signi fi cant difference between the use of badges and leaderboards previous studies do suggest that the individualistic and competitive nature of leaderboards might serve to adversely in-fl uence students ’ ability to attain the desired educational outcomes (Huang et al., 2020).”
The role and scope of gamification in education: A scientometric literature review
Gini, F., Bassanelli, S., Bonetti, F., Mogavi, R. H., Bucchiarione, A., & Marconi, A. (2025) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105418 · Cited by 67
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Pitic, D., & Irimiaș, T. (2023) · The International Journal of Management Education · doi:10.1016/j.ijme.2023.100839 · Cited by 38
Gamification in Initial Teacher Training to Promote Inclusive Practices: A Qualitative Study
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Can gamification enhance online learning? Evidence from a meta-analysis
Yu, Q., Kun, Y., & Li, B. (2023) · Education and Information Technologies · doi:10.1007/s10639-023-11977-1 · Cited by 46
“Inspired by Huang et al. (2020) and Ritzhaupt et al. (2021), we divide it into points, badges (or achievements), leaderboards/rankings, rewards/awards/trophies, challenges, levels, avatars, achievements, progress bars, and missions.”
InfluentialNguyen‐Viet, B., & Nguyen-Viet, B. (2023) · Cogent Education · doi:10.1080/2331186x.2023.2265276 · Cited by 39
“While many studies have evaluated learning performance and outcomes of incorporating gamification in educational settings (Bai et al., 2020; Hanus & Fox, 2015; Huang et al., 2020), several intriguing issues remain unresolved.”
BackgroundGamification Design in Education: What Might Give a Sense of Play and Learning?
Erümit, S. F., & Yılmaz, T. K. (2022) · Technology Knowledge and Learning · doi:10.1007/s10758-022-09604-y · Cited by 37
“While many different theoretical bases can be used for gamification (Huang et al., 2020), game mechanics and dynamics are the main motivational elements of gamification and are involved in the regulation, monitoring, and evaluation of the gamification process (Buckley & Doyle, 2016; Zainuddin,…”
BackgroundInfluentialSeo, Y. K., Kang, C. M., Kim, K. H., & Jeong, I. S. (2024) · Nurse Education Today · doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2024.106388 · Cited by 41
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Bräuer, P., & Mazarakis, A. (2022) · International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1080/10447318.2022.2160228 · Cited by 36
“Because badges, as previously noted, are among the most studied game design elements (Huang et al., 2020; Seaborn & Fels, 2015), they are considered in this study.”
BackgroundThe effects of gamified flipped classroom on student learning: evidence from a meta-analysis
Yu, Q., & Yu, K. (2024) · Interactive Learning Environments · doi:10.1080/10494820.2023.2209791 · Cited by 26
“The publication type has a moderating e ff ect, consistent with Huang et al. (2020) but inconsistent with Ritzhaupt et al. (2021).”
InfluentialRodrigues, L., Pereira, F. D., Toda, A. M., Palomino, P. T., Oliveira, W., Pessoa, M., de Carvalho, L. S. G., de Oliveira, D. B. F., Oliveira, E., Cristea, A. I., et al. (2022) · ACM Transactions on Computing Education · doi:10.1145/3485732 · Cited by 30
“[35] corroborate those findings, demonstrating a positive impact from gamification on cognitive learning outcomes.”
BackgroundResultAteş, H., & Kölemen, C. Ş. (2024) · Education and Information Technologies · doi:10.1007/s10639-024-12892-9 · Cited by 26
“As pivotal agents of change within educational systems, teachers often encounter several barriers that may hinder their adoption of innovative tools like gamified VR (Huang et al., 2020 ).”
Investigating the causal relationships between badges and learning outcomes in SQL-Tutor
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Games and Rewards: A Scientometric Study of Rewards in Educational and Serious Games
Tyni, J., Tarkiainen, A., López‐Pernas, S., Saqr, M., Kahila, J., Bednarik, R., & Tedre, M. (2022) · IEEE Access · doi:10.1109/access.2022.3160230 · Cited by 25
“The high co-occurrence of publications related to gamification, seen in Table 3, could also be because most gamification efforts heavily focus on points, badges, leaderboards, and levels, [21] which are types of rewards, and rewards are the key subject of this study.”
BackgroundInfluentialVidanaralage, A. J., Dharmaratne, A. T., & Haque, S. (2022) · Computers and Education Artificial Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.caeai.2022.100109 · Cited by 32
The use of leaderboards in education: A systematic review of empirical evidence in higher education
Li, C., Liang, L., Fryer, L. K., & Shum, A. (2024) · Journal of Computer Assisted Learning · doi:10.1111/jcal.13077 · Cited by 48
Lee, J., Chan, J. Y., Botelho, A. F., & Ottmar, E. (2022) · Educational Technology Research and Development · doi:10.1007/s11423-022-10138-4 · Cited by 27
“Online educational games have been found to enhance learners’ engagement and motivation, which in certain contexts have also led to increases in their problem-solving skills and learning (Huang et al., 2020; Karakoç et al., 2020).”
BackgroundAlnuaim, A. A. (2024) · JMIR Serious Games · doi:10.2196/52017 · Cited by 40
“Similar to this, Huang et al [9] argue that it can be difficult for educational academics and practitioners to decide when and how to apply gamification design elements.”
BackgroundGamification in collaborative learning: synthesizing evidence through meta-analysis
Slamet, T. I., & Meng, C. (2025) · Journal of Computers in Education · doi:10.1007/s40692-024-00349-4 · Cited by 34
“A comprehensive examination by Huang et al. (2020) highlighted gamification’s effectiveness across various educational domains, encompassing behavioral, affective, and cognitive dimensions.”
Gamification in Education and Its Impact on Student Motivation—A Critical Review
Ansar, M., & George, G. (2022) · Lecture notes in networks and systems · doi:10.1007/978-981-19-2940-3_11 · Cited by 28
Hellberg, A.-S., & Moll, J. (2023) · Frontiers in Education · doi:10.3389/feduc.2023.1212994 · Cited by 45
Schmidt, M., Lu, J., Luo, W., Cheng, L., Lee, M., Huang, R., Weng, Y., Kichler, J., Corathers, S. D., Jacobsen, L. M., et al. (2022) · Educational Technology Research and Development · doi:10.1007/s11423-022-10160-6 · Cited by 27
“Diabetes Journey also incorporates various gamification features (Huang et al., 2020; Laine & Lindberg, 2020).”
BackgroundSelf-citationLee, J.-Y., & Baek, M.-K. (2023) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su151411325 · Cited by 45
Towards a Critical Framework of Social Media Literacy: A Systematic Literature Review
Valle, N., Zhao, P., Freed, D., Gorton, K., Chapman, A. B., Shea, A., & Bazarova, N. N. (2024) · Review of Educational Research · doi:10.3102/00346543241247224 · Cited by 35
“…of some categories (e.g., authors’ descriptions of conceptual frameworks used to guide their studies), codes and related analysis of the full-text publications were coded in dyads (i.e., two research team members) to improve the coding process and reliability of the results (Huang et al., 2020).”
Self-citationGame principle: enhancing learner engagement with gamification to improve learning outcomes
Liu, S., Ma, G., Tewogbola, P. O., Gu, X., Gao, P., Dong, B., He, D., Lai, W., & Wu, Y. (2023) · Journal of Workplace Learning · doi:10.1108/jwl-11-2022-0160 · Cited by 26
Tsang, Y. P., Lee, C. K. M., Wu, C. H., & Li, Y. (2024) · IEEE Transactions on Education · doi:10.1109/te.2024.3395617 · Cited by 18
Hmoud, A. Y. R., Salah, O. H., & Altalib, R. A. H. (2024) · Cogent Education · doi:10.1080/2331186x.2024.2428907 · Cited by 33
“…(student) responses to gamification, rather than on the comprehensive, deeper, and more nuanced organizational context, as well as the more multifaceted support requirements and potential barriers to effective implementation (R. Huang et al., 2020; Morschheuser et al., 2018; Riar et al., 2022).”
BOLAT, Y. İ., & Taş, N. (2022) · Education and Information Technologies · doi:10.1007/s10639-022-11411-y · Cited by 33
“In their meta-analysis, Huang et al. (2020) and Kim and Castelli (2021) similarly emphasized that the effect size on gamification academic achievement was more significant at the higher education level than at the K12 level.”
BackgroundInfluentialExploring Gamification Research Trends Using Topic Modeling
Ayaz, A., Özyurt, Ö., Al-Rahmi, W. M., Salloum, S. A., Shutaleva, A. V., Alblehai, F., & Habes, M. (2023) · IEEE Access · doi:10.1109/access.2023.3326444 · Cited by 22
“Huang et al. [30] is a study that examines the impact of gamification on student learning outcomes in educational settings through meta-analysis.”
BackgroundNeerupa, C., Kumar, R. N., Pavithra, R., & William, A. J. (2024) · Management Matters · doi:10.1108/manm-01-2024-0001 · Cited by 18
Matobobo, C., Ncube, P. D. N., Ngesimani, N. L., Dzvapatsva, G. P., & Chinhamo, E. (2025) · 2025 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON) · doi:10.1109/educon62633.2025.11016317 · Cited by 17
Narayanan, K. S., & Kumaravel, A. (2024) · Journal of Advanced Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering Technology · doi:10.37934/araset.42.2.221233 · Cited by 17
Does Gamifying Homework Influence Performance and Perceived Gameful Experience?
Metwally, A. H. S., Chang, M., Wang, Y., & Yousef, A. M. F. (2021) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su13094829 · Cited by 23
“[49] where the analysis showed that the activities which were related to the time were not significant.”
BackgroundLi, C., Fryer, L. K., & Chu, S. K. W. (2024) · Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching · doi:10.1080/17501229.2024.2352789 · Cited by 27
“However, Huang et al. (2020) found that the effect size of gamification was larger for undergraduates than for school-aged students.”
InfluentialGamificando la Evaluación: Una Alternativa a la Evaluación Tradicional en Educación Primaria
Tirado‐Olivares, S., González‐Calero, J. A., Gutiérrez, R. C., & Toledano, R. M. (2021) · REICE Revista Iberoamericana sobre Calidad Eficacia y Cambio en Educación · doi:10.15366/reice2021.19.4.008 · Cited by 22
“Metaanálisis actuales sugieren que el tamaño de efecto del uso de PBL se acrecienta cuando se incorporan elementos de la gamificación profunda como pueden ser el trabajo colaborativo o la realización de misiones (Huang et al., 2020).”
BackgroundQuest-Based Learning: A Scoping Review of the Research Literature
Snelson, C. (2021) · TechTrends · doi:10.1007/s11528-021-00674-w · Cited by 17
Dai, W.-A., Xu, W. M., & Xing, Q.-W. (2025) · Educational Technology Research and Development · doi:10.1007/s11423-025-10493-y · Cited by 33
“The reasons for this discrepancy may lie in the differences in student characteristics, teaching methods employed by teachers, and the learning processes examined in the selected literature (Huang et al., 2020).”
A Meta‐Analysis of Gamification's Impact on Student Motivation in K‐12 Education
Kurnaz, M. F., & Koçtürk, N. (2025) · Psychology in the Schools · doi:10.1002/pits.70056 · Cited by 38
“Huang et al. (2020) found that gamification had a positive effect on student learning outcomes, especially when integrated with pedagogically meaningful activities.”
Hew, K. F., & Huang, W. (2023) · Future in Educational Research · doi:10.1002/fer3.9 · Cited by 15
Zhang, S. K., & Scribner, L. L. (2024) · Journal of Marketing Education · doi:10.1177/02734753231223155 · Cited by 18
“Most importantly, simulations incorporate gamification design elements that can enhance students’ intrinsic learning motivations (De Fre-itas & Liarokapis, 2011; Huang et al., 2020; Kapp, 2012; Putz et al., 2020).”
InfluentialEstado del arte de la educación en automática
de la Peña, D. M., Domínguez, M., Gómez-Estern, F., et al. (2022) · Revista Iberoamericana de Automática e Informática Industrial RIAI · doi:10.4995/riai.2022.16989 · Cited by 15
“…(2015)), evaluación automática, herramientas interactivas (Sánchez et al. (2005), aprendizaje colaborativo (Göl and Nafalski (2007)), gamificación (Huang et al. (2020)), docencia invertida (Akçayır and Akçayır (2018)), etc... La metodología de aprendizaje basado en problemas tiene una…”
BackgroundOverview and future trends of control education
de la Peña, D. M., Domínguez, M., Gómez-Estern, F., et al. (2022) · IFAC-PapersOnLine · doi:10.1016/j.ifacol.2022.09.228 · Cited by 14
A Murder Mystery Gamification Session to Consolidate Analytical Biochemical Techniques Learning
Hill, A. M., & Harmer, N. J. (2023) · Journal of Chemical Education · doi:10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00279 · Cited by 14
Histopoly: A serious game for teaching histology to 1st year veterinary students
Marcos, R., Gomes, A., Santos, M. S., et al. (2025) · Anatomical Sciences Education · doi:10.1002/ase.2545 · Cited by 14
“29 Future studies could explore knowledge gains using a pretest/post-test design.”
InfluentialSipone, S., Abella, V., Rojo, M., & Moura, J. L. (2023) · Education and Information Technologies · doi:10.1007/s10639-023-11851-0 · Cited by 14
“It is considered effective in educational contexts (Buckley & Doyle, 2017; Huang et al., 2020), has positive cognitive, behavioural and motivational effects (Sailer & Homner, 2020).”
BackgroundThe effectiveness of game-based literacy app learning in preschool children from diverse backgrounds
Schiele, T., Edelsbrunner, P. A., Mues, A., Birtwistle, E., Wirth, A., & Niklas, F. (2024) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102579 · Cited by 26
Jurado‐Castro, J. M., Vargas-Molina, S., Gómez‐Urquiza, J. L., & Benítez‐Porres, J. (2023) · PeerJ Computer Science · doi:10.7717/peerj-cs.1310 · Cited by 22
Xu, W. M., Xu, G.-R., & Xing, Q.-W. (2024) · Studies in Higher Education · doi:10.1080/03075079.2024.2416498 · Cited by 18
“Existing reviews and meta-analyses on gami fi ed learning have primarily focused on the e ff ects of individual game elements (Huang et al. 2020; Zainuddin et al. 2020).”
InfluentialSouropetsis, M., & Kyza, E. Α. (2024) · Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage · doi:10.1145/3703917 · Cited by 21
Waluyo, B., & Balazon, F. G. (2024) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104638 · Cited by 23
Interactive gamification-flip-book for developing students' outcomes
Widodo, J. P., Subandowo, M., Musyarofah, L., & Slamet, J. (2023) · Advances in Mobile Learning Educational Research · doi:10.25082/amler.2023.02.002 · Cited by 13
“It has been noted that gamification has been used frequently in the classroom to boost student engagement, desire, and accomplishment, with variable degrees of success (Hanus & Fox, 2015; Huang et al., 2020; Kapp, 2012).”
BackgroundA Meta-Analysis on the Impact of Gamification over Students’ Motivation
Mamekova, A., Toxanbayeva, N., Naubaeva, K., Ongarbayeva, S. S., & Akhmediyeva, K. N. (2021) · Journal of Intellectual Disability - Diagnosis and Treatment · doi:10.6000/2292-2598.2021.09.04.9 · Cited by 13
An, Y. (2023) · TechTrends · doi:10.1007/s11528-022-00833-7 · Cited by 14
“Another meta-analysis conducted by Huang et al. (2020) reported that gamification has a positive and significant effect on student learning outcomes in formal educational settings.”
BackgroundHuang, Y.-T., & Wang, T.-H. (2025) · Interactive Learning Environments · doi:10.1080/10494820.2024.2446538 · Cited by 22
“Jones et al. (2023) noted that the key to enhancing student participation lies not in the quantity of motivation but in the type of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, which currently distinguishes two streams in gamification research (Huang et al., 2020).”
Gamificación en la enseñanza universitaria: retos didácticos y tecnológicos
Jaramillo-Mediavilla, L., Basantes-Andrade, A., Martín, S. C., & González, M. C. (2025) · Edutec Revista Electrónica de Tecnología Educativa · doi:10.21556/edutec.2025.91.3695 · Cited by 12
Vanacore, K., Sales, A., Liu, A. S., & Ottmar, E. (2023) · ACM Conference on Learning @ Scale (L@S) · doi:10.1145/3573051.3593395 · Cited by 13
“Gamified computer-assisted learning programs (CALPs) can increase students’ engagement and motivation as well as problem-solving abilities and learning outcomes [13, 19, 27, 52].”
BackgroundRatinho, E., Figueiredo, M., Estêvão, D., Faísca, L., & Martins, C. (2026) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-025-10108-1 · Cited by 46
“( Feroz et al., 2020; Stoyanova et al., 2018), reflecting trends in the wider gamification literature (Huang et al., 2020 ; Manzano-León et al., 2021).”
Enhancing ESG learning outcomes through gamification: An experimental study
Zhang, F. (2024) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0303259 · Cited by 24
Gamification in midwifery education: a systematic review
Najafi, T. F., Andaroon, N., Bolghanabadi, N., Sharifi, N., & Dashti, S. (2025) · BMC Medical Education · doi:10.1186/s12909-025-06880-x · Cited by 11
“Similarly, Kapp (2012) and McCall et al. (2016) stated that gamification-based education can improve clinical skills and the use of acquired knowledge in nursing students [7, 8].”
A Serious Game to learn English: The case of Bethe1Challenge
Aguilar-Cruz, P. J., & Guayara, H. A. Á. (2021) · International Journal of Serious Games · doi:10.17083/ijsg.v8i4.448 · Cited by 11
“With all this on mind it is important to acknowledge the benefits of collaboration in gamification, adding a team mode would be a way to achieve common learning goals, this in hand, could have a positive impact in the learning process [40] [42] as supported by a study [43] that claims that gamification design needs to…”
BackgroundMartín, P., Gil‐Lacruz, M., Tesán-Tesán, A. C., Pérez-Nebra, A. R., Azkue-Beteta, J. L., & Estevan, M. L. R. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph191912047 · Cited by 14
da Rocha, F. D. F., Lemos, B., de Brito, P. H., Santos, R., Rodrigues, L., Isotani, S., & Dermeval, D. (2023) · Education and Information Technologies · doi:10.1007/s10639-023-11906-2 · Cited by 10
“We are aware that there is a broad body of research on the effects of gamification applied to education (e.g., Sailer and Hom-ner (2020); Huang et al. (2020)) and that studies have investigated how OLM and self-regulation relate to learning outcomes (e.g., Zhang et al. (2019); Ferreira (2019)).”
Learning Landscape in Gamification: The Need for a Methodological Protocol in Research Applications
Orsoni, M., Dubé, A. K., Prandi, C., Giovagnoli, S., Benassi, M., Mazzoni, E., & Benvenuti, M. (2023) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/17456916231202489 · Cited by 17
“A slightly different finding was found by Huang et al. (2020).”
InfluentialÇelik, F., Turan, R., & Bektaş, H. (2025) · Nurse Education Today · doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2025.106746 · Cited by 12
Bazhenova, E. D., Шужебаева, А. И., Kuntuganova, S., Bazhenova, M., & Murygina, S. (2022) · International Journal of Engineering Pedagogy (iJEP) · doi:10.3991/ijep.v12i5.32821 · Cited by 10
Gyedu, F. O., Partey, P. A., Boafo, F. A., & Agbo, D. D. (2026) · SAGE Open · doi:10.1177/21582440261421375 · Cited by 29
“Findings on gamification’s impact on academic performance remain mixed and inconclusive (R. Huang et al., 2020; M. Li et al., 2023; Seaborn & Fels, 2015).”
Gamified metacognitive prompts in a higher education flipped classroom
Smith, A., Galeote, D. F., Legaki, N.-Z., & Hamari, J. (2023) · International Academic Mindtrek Conference (Mindtrek) · doi:10.1145/3616961.3616990 · Cited by 10
Metadata
- Authors
- Huang, R., Ritzhaupt, A. D., Sommer, M., Zhu, J., Stephen, A., Valle, N., Hampton, J., & Li, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Florida (US)
- Corresponding author
- Ritzhaupt, Albert D.
- Venue
- Educational Technology Research and Development
- Published
- 2020-07-20
- Volume
- 68
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 1875-1901
- ISSN
- 1042-1629 (ISSN-L)
- 1556-6501
- OpenAlex
- W3042860537
- Semantic Scholar
- d8b3b078faf3153b0130718a2dc0923633269276
- Cited by
- 340
- References
- 79
- Citations by year
- 2026: 62 · 2025: 79 · 2024: 66 · 2023: 61 · 2022: 45 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 3
- FWCI
- 7.78
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Educational Technology Research and Development (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Educational Games and Gamification
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Science Applications › Online Learning and Analytics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Games and Media
- Keywords
- gamification, learning outcomes, badges, leaderboards, effect size, engineering education, mathematics education, undergraduate students, formal education
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