Does gamification improve student learning outcome? Evidence from a meta-analysis and synthesis of qualitative data in educational contexts
Abstract
Despite the buzz around gamification as an exciting new method to engage students, evidence of its ability to enhance learning is mixed. In fact, gamification has attracted considerable controversy (“gamification is bullshit”) and some derogatory labels such as “exploitationware.” Therefore, in order to make the case for or against gamification in education, it is important to examine the effects (if any) of gamification on student learning achievements. This study is a meta-analysis of 30 independent interventions (3,202 participants) drawn from 24 quantitative studies that have examined the effects of gamification on student academic performance in various educational settings. The results show an overall significant medium effect size in favor of gamification over learning without gamification (Hedges' g = 0.504, 95% CI [0.284–0.723], p
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Homer, R., Hew, K. F., & Tan, C. Y. (2018) · The HKU Scholars Hub (University of Hong Kong) · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Self-citationÖzdener, N. (2017) · Telematics and Informatics · doi:10.1016/j.tele.2017.04.003 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Gamification for development: a case of collaborative learning in Sri Lankan primary schools
Halloluwa, T., Vyas, D., Usoof, H., & Hewagamage, K. P. (2017) · Personal and Ubiquitous Computing · doi:10.1007/s00779-017-1073-6 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Proceedings of the 8th European Conference on Games Based Learning - ECGBL 2014
Magnussen, R. (2014) · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Gamification Effects on Motivation and Learning: Application to Primary and College Students
Papp, T. A. (2017) · International Journal for Cross-Disciplinary Subjects in Education · doi:10.20533/ijcdse.2042.6364.2017.0428 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Gamification from Player Type Perspective: A Case Study.
Kocadere, S. A., & Çağlar, Ş. (2018) · Hacettepe University Institutional Repository (hacettepe.edu.tr) · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Gamified Modules for an Introductory Statistics Course and Their Impact on Attitudes and Learning
Smith, T. (2017) · Simulation & Gaming · doi:10.1177/1046878117731888 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
The effects of gamification elements in e-learning platforms
Gafni, R., Achituv, D. B., Eidelman, S., & Chatsky, T. (2018) · Online Journal of Applied Knowledge Management · doi:10.36965/ojakm.2018.6(2)37-53 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Flawed Meta‐Analysis of Biodiversity Effects of Forest Management
Halme, P., Toivanen, T., Honkanen, M., Kotiaho, J., Mönkkönen, M., & Timonen, J. (2010) · Conservation Biology · doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01542.x · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Gamifying and Mobilising Social Enquiry-Based Learning in Authentic Outdoor Environments.
Jong, M. S., Chan, T., Hue, M. T., & Tam, V. W. L. (2018) · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Cited by 37 · see citing works
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Effects of Gamified Comparison on Sixth Graders’ Algebra Word Problem Solving and Learning Attitude
Sun-Lin, H. Z., & Chiou, G. F. (2019) · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Molleman, E., Nauta, A., & Buunk, B. P. (2007) · Journal of Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2007.00207.x · Cited by 33 · see citing works
A systematic mapping on gamification applied to education
Borges, S. S., Durelli, V. H. S., Reis, H. M., & Isotani, S. (2014) · Scientific Electronic Library Online (São Paulo Research Foundation, Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico) · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Kétyi, A. (2016) · Porta Linguarum Revista Interuniversitaria de Didáctica de las Lenguas Extranjeras · doi:10.30827/digibug.54087 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
The Effect of Leaderboard Ranking on Players’ Perception of Gaming Fun
Butler, C. W. (2013) · Lecture notes in computer science · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-39371-6_15 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
The Use of Gamification in Distance Education: A Web-Based Gamified Quiz Application
Şahin, Y. L., Karadağ, N., Bozkurt, A., Doğan, E., Kılınç, H., Uğur, S., Gümüş, S., Öztürk, A., & Güler, C. (2017) · Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry · doi:10.17569/tojqi.329742 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Students’ Opinions Toward Game Elements Used in Gamification Application
Yildirim, Y. M., & Samur, Y. (2018) · Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry · doi:10.17569/tojqi.364130 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Gamification design for tutor education in an online course
Cavalcanti, C. C., Filatro, A., & Presada, W. A. (2018) · ETD - Educação Temática Digital · doi:10.20396/etd.v20i4.8648223 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
A gamification experience to improve engineering students' performance through motivation
Sánchez‐Carmona, A., Robles, S., & Pons, J. (2017) · Journal of Technology and Science Education · doi:10.3926/jotse.246 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
"Whither, badges?" or "wither, badges!"
Falkner, N., & Falkner, K. E. (2014) · Koli Calling International Conference on Computing Education Research · doi:10.1145/2674683.2674698 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Leaderboard Effects on Player Performance in a Citizen Science GamePreprint
Pedersen, M. K., Rasmussen, N. R., Sherson, J. F., et al. (2017) · arXiv (Cornell University) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1707.03704 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Competitive programming and gamification as strategy to engage students in computer science courses
Moreno, J., & Pineda, A. F. V. (2018) · Revista ESPACIOS · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Development and Evaluation of Across-Unit Diagnostic Feedback Mechanism for Online Learning.
Lin, J., Lai, Y., Szu, Y.-C., et al. (2014) · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Vu, L. (2017) · Advances in higher education and professional development book series · doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-1851-8.ch009 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
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- Caponetto, 2014, Gamification and education: A literature review, 50
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Krath, J., Schürmann, L., & von Korflesch, H. F. O. (2021) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2021.106963 · Cited by 1,126 · see citing works
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 781 · see citing works
“Nonetheless, gamification is often characterized by fostering enthusiasm, a sense of enjoyment, fun, and general positive feelings towards learning, values that are directly associated with intrinsic motivation [59,82,114].”
BackgroundResultInfluentialDo <scp>AI</scp> chatbots improve students learning outcomes? Evidence from a meta‐analysis
Wu, R., & Yu, Z. (2024) · British Journal of Educational Technology · doi:10.1111/bjet.13334 · Cited by 576 · see citing works
Gamification applications in E-learning: a literature review
Saleem, A. N., Noori, N. M., & Ozdamli, F. (2022) · Technology, Knowledge and Learning · doi:10.1007/s10758-020-09487-x · Cited by 478 · see citing works
Virtual 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 486 · see citing works
Tailored gamification in education: A literature review and future agenda
Oliveira, W., Hamari, J., Shi, L., Toda, A. M., Rodrigues, L., Palomino, P. T., & Isotani, S. (2023) · Education and Information Technologies · doi:10.1007/s10639-022-11122-4 · Cited by 341 · see citing works
“According to different secondary studies (Hamari et al., 2014; Koivisto and Hamari, 2019; Bai et al., 2020b), the first studies on gamification began to be published in 2011.”
BackgroundEffects of digital game-based STEM education on students’ learning achievement: a meta-analysis
Wang, L.-H., Chen, B., Hwang, G.-J., Guan, J.-Q., & Wang, Y.-Q. (2022) · International Journal of STEM Education · doi:10.1186/s40594-022-00344-0 · Cited by 316 · see citing works
“We referred to the search strategies used in previous meta-analyses (Bai et al., 2020; Gao et al., 2020; Hung et al., 2018; Tsai & Tsai, 2020).”
MethodResultGamification of in‐class activities in flipped classroom lectures
Sailer, M., & Sailer, M. (2021) · British Journal of Educational Technology · doi:10.1111/bjet.12948 · Cited by 234 · see citing works
“Studies involving long-term gamification implementations and delayed posttests are needed to further investigate potential novelty effects and the sustainability of learning outcomes (Bai et al. , 2020).”
BackgroundInfluentialSailer, M., Schultz-Pernice, F., & Fischer, F. (2021) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2021.106794 · Cited by 264 · see citing works
Li, M., Ma, S., & Shi, Y. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1253549 · Cited by 439 · see citing works
“This effect size is much higher than that reported in prior research (0.40– 0.60) (Bai et al., 2020; Huang et al., 2020; Sailer and Homner, 2020), providing strong evidence to support the use of gamification as an instructional approach in educational contexts.”
BackgroundResultInfluentialGamification as Online Teaching Strategy During COVID-19: A Mini-Review
Nieto-Escámez, F. A., & Roldán-Tapia, L. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.648552 · Cited by 204 · see citing works
Christopoulos, A., & Mystakidis, S. (2023) · Encyclopedia · doi:10.3390/encyclopedia3040089 · Cited by 297 · see citing works
Li, L., Hew, K. F., & Du, J. (2024) · Educational Technology Research and Development · doi:10.1007/s11423-023-10337-7 · Cited by 385 · see citing works
“Although game elements are the fundamental building blocks of gamification, there is no commonly acknowledged classification of game elements (Bai et al., 2020).”
InfluentialSelf-citationMurillo‐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 248 · see citing works
Effect of Digital Game-Based Learning on Student Engagement and Motivation
Nadeem, M., Oroszlányová, M., & Farag, W. (2023) · Computers · doi:10.3390/computers12090177 · Cited by 181 · see citing works
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 217 · see citing works
“This study responds to calls for longitudinal gamification studies Nacke and Deterding (2017); Bai et al. (2020).”
BackgroundInfluentialThe effects of personalized gamification on students’ flow experience, motivation, and enjoyment
Oliveira, W., Hamari, J., Joaquim, S., Toda, A. M., Palomino, P. T., Vassileva, J., & Isotani, S. (2022) · Smart Learning Environments · doi:10.1186/s40561-022-00194-x · Cited by 143 · see citing works
“motivation and some studies even suggest negative outcomes if a well-thought design is not followed (Toda et al., 2017; Koivisto & Hamari 2019; Bai et al., 2020).”
BackgroundMethodZourmpakis, A.-I., Kalogiannakis, M., & Papadakis, S. (2023) · Computers · doi:10.3390/computers12070143 · Cited by 138 · see citing works
User Engagement and Abandonment of mHealth: A Cross-Sectional Survey
Mustafa, A. S., Ali, N. B., Dhillon, J. S., Alkawsi, G. A., & Baashar, Y. M. (2022) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare10020221 · Cited by 135 · see citing works
“Various game-design features utilized in gamified systems include badges, points, leader boards, avatars, challenges, and levels [8,15].”
BackgroundResultHow ChatGPT impacts student engagement from a systematic review and meta-analysis study
Heung, Y. M. E., & Chiu, T. K. F. (2025) · Computers and Education Artificial Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.caeai.2025.100361 · Cited by 204 · see citing works
Using 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 193 · see citing works
Kaya, O. S., & Ercag, E. (2023) · Education and Information Technologies · doi:10.1007/s10639-023-11585-z · Cited by 121 · see citing works
“This aligns with the general finding of the recent meta-analytic study by Bai et al. (2020) in which it was confirmed that learners who participated in a course involving gamification techniques had reported significantly higher academic achievement than learners who participated in a non-gamified…”
ResultInfluentialSchöbel, S., Saqr, M., & Janson, A. (2021) · Computers & Education · doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104296 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
Cai, Z., Mao, P., Wang, D., He, J., Chen, X., & Fan, X. (2022) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-021-09655-0 · Cited by 122 · see citing works
“Bai et al. (2020) found that learning gamification appeared to be more effective in Asian than in non-Asian regions, but the small number of studies in non-Asian regions could have led to inaccuracy of the findings.”
BackgroundGamification and gigification: A multidimensional theoretical approach
Behl, A., Jayawardena, N., Ishizaka, A., Gupta, M., & Shankar, A. (2022) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.09.023 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
The relationship between user types and gamification designs
Santos, A. C. G., Oliveira, W., Hamari, J., Rodrigues, L., Toda, A. M., Palomino, P. T., & Isotani, S. (2021) · User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction · doi:10.1007/s11257-021-09300-z · Cited by 102 · see citing works
“…education is to lead students to desired psychological outcomes (e.g., engagement, motivation, fun, or autonomy (Majuri et al. 2018)); however, some studies have also reported that gamification can have negative effects on students’ behavior (Hanus and Fox 2015; Toda et al. 2017; Bai et al. 2020).”
BackgroundComparing gamification models in higher education using Face-to-Face and virtual escape rooms
Pozo-Sánchez, S., Lampropoulos, G., & López-Belmonte, J. (2022) · Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research · doi:10.7821/naer.2022.7.1025 · Cited by 111 · see citing works
Gamification Strategy to Support Self-Directed Learning in an Online Learning Environment
Palaniappan, K., & Noor, N. M. (2022) · International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET) · doi:10.3991/ijet.v17i03.27489 · Cited by 114 · see citing works
Nadi-Ravandi, S., & Batooli, Z. (2022) · Education and Information Technologies · doi:10.1007/s10639-022-11048-x · Cited by 113 · see citing works
“The study by Bai et al. (2020) showed that there is no significant difference between gamification in different fields of study.”
BackgroundResultInfluentialBai, S., Hew, K. F., Sailer, M., & Jia, C. (2021) · Computers & Education · doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104297 · Cited by 109 · see citing works
Self-citationQiao, M. S., Yeung, S. S., Zainuddin, Z., Ng, D. T. K., & Chu, S. K. W. (2022) · British Journal of Educational Technology · doi:10.1111/bjet.13249 · Cited by 87 · see citing works
The Role of AI in Serious Games and Gamification for Health: Scoping Review
Tolks, D., Schmidt, J., & Kühn, S. (2023) · JMIR Serious Games · doi:10.2196/48258 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
“Next to serious games, gamification has emerged as a major trend in the health sector, which is reflected in a growing number of publications, including several meta-analyses [15-17].”
BackgroundSun, L., Hu, L., & Zhou, D. (2021) · Journal of Computer Assisted Learning · doi:10.1111/jcal.12545 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
Lester, D., Skulmoski, G. J., Fisher, D., Mehrotra, V., Lim, I., Lang, A., & Keogh, J. (2023) · British Journal of Educational Technology · doi:10.1111/bjet.13311 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Babu, S. S., & Anitha, D. (2023) · Computer Applications in Engineering Education · doi:10.1002/cae.22683 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Manninen, M., & Campbell, S. (2021) · European Physical Education Review · doi:10.1177/1356336x211017938 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
“The MERSQI has been used previously in educational studies outside of medical education and has been reported to be a valid instrument to assess the quality of experimental research (Bai et al., 2020; Reed et al., 2008).”
MethodRevealing 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 · see citing works
Effect of blended learning on student performance in K‐12 settings: A meta‐analysis
Li, S., & Wang, W. (2022) · Journal of Computer Assisted Learning · doi:10.1111/jcal.12696 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Zhu, Y., Liu, Q., & Zhao, L. (2025) · Education and Information Technologies · doi:10.1007/s10639-025-13420-z · Cited by 92 · see citing works
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 · see citing works
Gamification and virtual reality for digital twin learning and training: architecture and challenges
Bucchiarone, A. (2022) · Virtual Reality & Intelligent Hardware · doi:10.1016/j.vrih.2022.08.001 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Chen, A., Zhang, Y., Jia, J., Liang, M., Cha, Y., & Lim, C. P. (2025) · Journal of Computer Assisted Learning · doi:10.1111/jcal.13064 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Alhalafawy, W. S., & Tawfiq Zaki, M. Z. (2022) · International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET) · doi:10.3991/ijet.v17i06.28885 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
A Review of Gamification Impact on Student Behavioural and Learning Outcomes
Nurtanto, M., Kholifah, N., Ahdhianto, E., Samsudin, A., & Isnantyo, F. D. (2021) · International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM) · doi:10.3991/ijim.v15i21.24381 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Brazilian and Spanish Mathematics Teachers’ Predispositions towards Gamification in STEAM Education
López, P., Rodrigues-Silva, J., & Alsina, ́. (2021) · Education Sciences · doi:10.3390/educsci11100618 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
“Gamification is a neologism derived from the digital media field [16].”
BackgroundSerious games in future skills development: A systematic review of the design approaches
Gurbuz, S. C., & Çelik, M. (2022) · Computer Applications in Engineering Education · doi:10.1002/cae.22557 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
“Firstly, serious games are used for positive behavioral changes such as collaboration and teamwork [109], engagement and participation [43, 56], and enhanced performance both at work and school [9, 75].”
BackgroundElzeky, M. E. H., Elhapashy, H. M. M., Ali, W. G. M., & Allam, S. M. E. (2022) · BMC Nursing · doi:10.1186/s12912-022-01096-6 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
“5 was obtained from a meta-analysis study which estimated a medium effect size in favor of gamification over learning without gamification [48].”
MethodQiao, M. S., Chu, S. K. W., Shen, X., & Yeung, S. S. (2022) · Journal of Computer Assisted Learning · doi:10.1111/jcal.12684 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Zitha, I., Mokganya, G. M., & Sinthumule, O. (2023) · Education Sciences · doi:10.3390/educsci13121196 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
“…systems [7,8]; (ii) gamification can offer ways diverse for students to perform desired educational activities associated with game elements [9–11]; (iii) gamification yields benefits to students, e.g., increasing students’ motivation, enhancing learning performance, or improving training…”
BackgroundResultHo, J. C., Hung, Y.-S., & Kwan, L. Y. ‐. (2021) · Education and Information Technologies · doi:10.1007/s10639-021-10770-2 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
“For example, Bai et al. (2020) collected studies from 2010 to 2018 and included participants in K-12 or higher education setting but didn’t examine the moderating effect of peer interaction.”
BackgroundResultInfluentialGrabner-Hagen, M. M., & Kingsley, T. L. (2023) · Computers and Education Open · doi:10.1016/j.caeo.2023.100131 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Dabbous, M., Kawtharani, A. M., Fahs, I., Hallal, Z., Shouman, D., Akel, M., Rahal, M. K., & Sakr, F. (2022) · Education Sciences · doi:10.3390/educsci12070434 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
“Despite the popularity of educational games, there is little consensus about whether they improve academic performance [10].”
BackgroundDynamic visualization by GeoGebra for mathematics learning: a meta-analysis of 20 years of research
Zhang, Y., Wang, P., Jia, W., Zhang, A., & Chen, G. (2023) · Journal of Research on Technology in Education · doi:10.1080/15391523.2023.2250886 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
“The sample size of fifty could be used as a classification threshold for meta-analyses in an education setting (e.g. Bai et al., 2020; Chen et al., 2018).”
Gao, F. (2024) · TechTrends · doi:10.1007/s11528-024-00968-9 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
“There is growing evidence that incorporating game elements into learning, training or other activities has potentials to positively impact users’ motivation and behaviors (Bai et al., 2020; Zainuddin et al., 2020).”
Nylén‐Eriksen, M., Stojiljkovic, M., Lillekroken, D., Lindeflaten, K., Hessevaagbakke, E., Flølo, T. N., Hovland, O. J., Solberg, A. S., Hansen, S., Bjørnnes, A. K., et al. (2025) · BMC Medical Education · doi:10.1186/s12909-024-06531-7 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
“Despite challenges like lack of consensus and uniformity [5, 7–11, 15, 17], research suggests that whether it´s a SG or gamification it has potential to enhance education by increasing student engagement, which could improve learning outcomes [14].”
InfluentialVirtual reality reduces COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the wild: a randomized trial
Vandeweerdt, C., Luong, T., Atchapero, M., Mottelson, A., Holz, C., Makransky, G., & BOHM, R. M. (2022) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-022-08120-4 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
“Moreover, by using gamification in an immersive VR simulation, participants are likely to be motivated and engaged with the learning content 18,23 .”
Bibliometric and Collaborative Network Analysis on Active Methodologies in Education
Robles, A. S., González, M. E. P., & Vigil, M. Á. G. (2020) · Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research · doi:10.7821/naer.2020.7.575 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
“It is considered one of the most effective tools to increase motivation and commitment of students at any educational stage (Bai, Hew, & Huang, 2020; Cechetti et al., 2019).”
León, A. M., Lazarraga, P. C., Guerrero-Puerta, M. A., Puerta, L. G., Alias, A., Aguilar-Parra, J. M., & Trigueros, R. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18030960 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
“This allows us to affirm that gamification can be a valuable educational strategy to improve student learning [34].”
BackgroundAhmed, H. D., & Aşıksoy, G. (2021) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su131810163 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Anunpattana, P., Khalid, M. N. A., Iida, H., & Inchamnan, W. (2021) · Heliyon · doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08637 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
“A previous study described which game elements were examined and implemented, what educational levels were used, and the evaluation outcomes (Dicheva et al., 2015).”
BackgroundMethodRetractedSánchez, 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 47 · see citing works
“…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).”
BackgroundCheng, L., Wang, X., & Ritzhaupt, A. D. (2022) · Journal of Educational Computing Research · doi:10.1177/07356331221114183 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
“This fi nding is consistent with the overall effect of other educational interventions, which also showed larger effects for shorter interventions (e.g., Bai et al., 2020; Cheng et al., 2019).”
ResultExploring 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 44 · see citing works
Xiao, Y., & Hew, K. F. (2024) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102470 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Self-citationXia, Q., Li, W., Yang, Y., Weng, X., & Chiu, T. K. F. (2025) · Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.caeai.2025.100455 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Rosa-Castillo, A., García-Pañella, O., Maestre-González, E., Pulpón-Segura, A. M., Novella, A. R., & Solà‐Pola, M. (2022) · Nurse Education Today · doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2022.105533 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Schöbel, S., Janson, A., & Leimeister, J. M. (2022) · Organizational Behavior Teaching Review · doi:10.1177/10525629221123287 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
“For example, research suggests analyzing the conditions under which gamification works best and avoiding pre-existing patterns and designs of the elements (Bai et al., 2020; Dichev et al., 2020).”
BackgroundTen Years of Gamification-Based Learning: A Bibliometric Analysis and Systematic Review
Al-Hafdi, F. S., & Alhalafawy, W. S. (2024) · International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM) · doi:10.3991/ijim.v18i07.45335 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Hooshyar, D., Weng, X., Sillat, P. J., Tammets, K., Wang, M., & Hämäläinen, R. (2024) · Computers & Education · doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2024.105169 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Evaluating a gamification proposal for learning usability heuristics: Heureka
Sobrino‐Duque, R., Martínez-Rojo, N., de Gea, J. M. C., Jiménez, J. J. L., Nicolás, J., & Fernández‐Alemán, J. L. (2022) · International Journal of Human-Computer Studies · doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2022.102774 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Bitrián, P., Buil, I., Catalán, S., & Merli, D. (2024) · Journal of business research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114685 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Developing gamification e-quizzes based on an android app: the impact of asynchronous form
Areed, M. F., Amasha, M. A., Abougalala, R. A., Alkhalaf, S., & Khairy, D. (2021) · Education and Information Technologies · doi:10.1007/s10639-021-10469-4 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
How 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 · see citing works
“Consequently, those studies do not add to the understanding of whether personalization improves the state-of-the-art: well-designed, OSFA gamification (Bai et al., 2020; Huang et al., 2020; Sailer & Homner, 2020).”
InfluentialQiao, M. S., Yeung, S. S., Shen, X., & Chu, S. K. W. (2022) · British Journal of Educational Technology · doi:10.1111/bjet.13178 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
State of the Art of Molecular Visualization in Immersive Virtual Environments
Kuťák, D., Vázquez, P., Isenberg, T., et al. (2023) · Computer Graphics Forum · doi:10.1111/cgf.14738 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
The Association between Video Game Time and Adolescent Mental Health: Evidence from Rural China
Li, L., Abbey, C., Wang, H., Zhu, A., Shao, T., Dai, D., Jin, S., & Rozelle, S. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph192214815 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
An empirical study on the impact of learning theory on gamification-based training programs
Kulkarni, P. M., Gokhale, P., Satish, Y. M., & Tigadi, B. S. (2022) · Organization Management Journal · doi:10.1108/omj-04-2021-1232 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Can Artificial Intelligence Improve Gender Equality? Evidence from a Natural Experiment
Bao, L., Huang, D., & Lin, C. (2024) · Management Science · doi:10.1287/mnsc.2022.02787 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Tirado‐Olivares, S., Gutiérrez, R. C., Olivares, R. G., & González‐Calero, J. A. (2021) · Australasian Journal of Educational Technology · doi:10.14742/ajet.7087 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
“In pursuit of active-ludic methodologies that meet current teaching demands, gamification has experienced a substantial growth in popularity over recent years (Bai et al., 2020; Murillo-Zamorano et al., 2021).”
BackgroundAguilos, V., & Fuchs, K. (2022) · Frontiers in Education · doi:10.3389/feduc.2022.945536 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
“In particular, the gamified elements need to align with the course content and contribute toward achieving the course learning outcomes (Bai et al., 2020).”
BackgroundJong, M. S. (2022) · Journal of Computing in Higher Education · doi:10.1007/s12528-022-09334-1 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
“…problems of FC noted by higher-education instructors is students’ lack of motivation to complete the assigned online pre-learning tasks prior to attending the corresponding face-to-face lectures (Bai et al., 2020 ; Howitt et al., 2015 ; Huang et al., 2018 ; Lee et al., 2019 ; Jong, 2019b ).”
BackgroundWang, F., Ni, X., Zhang, M.-Z., & Zhang, J. (2024) · Comput. Educ. · doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2024.105003 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Çiğdem, H., Öztürk, M., Karabacak, Y., ATİK, N., Gürkan, S., & Aldemir, M. H. (2024) · Education and Information Technologies · doi:10.1007/s10639-024-12845-2 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
“…point of the descriptive data, the decrease in the number of the learners who completed the quizzes after the third quiz in both groups could be due to the short interaction of the learners with the leaderboards as stated also in the literature (Bai et al., 2020 ; Koivisto & Hamari, 2014, 2019).”
InfluentialOlaizola, J. I., & Arca, J. M. (2020) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su122310137 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
“The underlying idea is to develop ways of increasing the motivation and involvement of students at all stages of education, including university [16].”
BackgroundLi, Z., & Oon, P. (2024) · International Journal of STEM Education · doi:10.1186/s40594-024-00498-z · Cited by 51 · see citing works
“When a study reported multiple assessments (e.g., midterm and final exams) in one subject area, we selected the most comprehensive assessment (Bai et al., 2020).”
BackgroundMethodLowry, P. B., Petter, S., & Leimeister, J. M. (2020) · European Journal of Information Systems · doi:10.1080/0960085x.2020.1841574 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
“Thankfully, such schoolyard broadsides are being elegantly, systematically, theoretically, and empirically addressed in the maturing gamification literature (i.e., Bai et al., 2020).”
BackgroundWeng, X., Ng, O., & Chiu, T. K. F. (2023) · Computers & Education · doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2023.104790 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Adaptive and Personalized Gamification Designs: Call for Action and Future Research
Schöbel, S., Schmidt-Kraepelin, M., Janson, A., & Sunyaev, A. (2021) · AIS Transactions on Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.17705/1thci.00158 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
“However, our workshop participants pointed out that future research should seek to lay a stronger focus on investigating unintended negative or adverse effects of gamification (Bai et al., 2020; Behl et al., 2021), which we refer to as the “dark side” of gamification.”
BackgroundLeaderboards in an EFL course: Student performance and motivation
Philpott, A., & Son, J. (2022) · Computers & Education · doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2022.104605 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Mohammed, M., Fatemah, A., & Hassan, L. (2024) · Simulation & Gaming · doi:10.1177/10468781241237389 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
“Research has demonstrated that gami fi ed education has a notable impact on students ’ academic achievement, motivation, thinking skills and understanding of concepts in comparison with non-gami fi ed learning methods (Bai et al., 2020; Zhan et al., 2022).”
Λαμπρόπουλος, Γ., & Evangelidis, G. (2025) · Applied Sciences · doi:10.3390/app15020971 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Yi, M., & Chen, M. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1568239 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
“However, the significantly higher gains in the AI + Scaffolding group underscore that gamification alone may not suffice to produce sustained growth (Bai et al., 2020); instead, teachers act as catalysts who contextualize game elements to meet curricular needs.”
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 · see citing works
Qiao, M. S., Chu, S. K. W., & Yeung, S. S. (2023) · Computer Assisted Language Learning · doi:10.1080/09588221.2023.2230273 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
“Although the meta-analytic studies suggested an overall positive effect (e.g., Bai et al., 2020), negative or null significant effects were observed in some studies (e.g., Hanus & Fox, 2015).”
Gamification in Mobile Apps for Children With Disabilities: Scoping Review
Mahmoudi, E., Yoo, P. Y., Chandra, A., Cardoso, R., dos Santos, C. D., Majnemer, A., & Shikako‐Thomas, K. (2024) · JMIR Serious Games · doi:10.2196/49029 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
“A meta-analysis of qualitative studies of students shows that gamification can cause anxiety and jealousy among students [89].”
López-Jiménez, J. J., Fernández‐Alemán, J. L., García‐Berná, J. A., González, L. L., Sequeros, O. G., Nicolás, J., de Gea, J. M. C., Idri, A., & Toval, A. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph182413210 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
“Evidence on the impact of the gamification on student academic outcomes has been reported in a meta-analysis of 24 empirical studies, involving a total of 3202 participants [75].”
BackgroundCheng, Y. (2022) · Social Science Computer Review · doi:10.1177/08944393221111928 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
“…motivating learners to perform their desired learning tasks can enhance such a tool continuance intention and increase learners ’ learning performance (Bai et al., 2020), and learners who complete course-related tasks tend to perform better than learners who postpone completing them (Bai et…”
BackgroundInfluentialCan 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 41 · see citing works
“The results are consistent with Bai et al. (2020).”
InfluentialNguyen‐Viet, B., & Nguyen-Viet, B. (2023) · Cogent Education · doi:10.1080/2331186x.2023.2265276 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
“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.”
BackgroundMellado, R., & Cubillos, C. (2024) · Journal of Computer Assisted Learning · doi:10.1111/jcal.13000 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
- Authors
- Bai, S., Hew, K. F., & Huang, B.
- Affiliations
- University of Hong Kong (HK)
- Corresponding author
- Hew, Khe Foon
- Venue
- Educational Research Review
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-06
- Volume
- 30
- Pages
- 100322
- ISSN
- 1747-938X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3010425548
- Cited by
- 689
- References
- 190
- Citations by year
- 2026: 99 · 2025: 126 · 2024: 147 · 2023: 146 · 2022: 87 · 2021: 61 · 2020: 15
- FWCI
- 17.92
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Educational Research Review (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Educational Games and Gamification
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Games and Media
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Science Applications › Online Learning and Analytics
- Keywords
- gamification, learning outcomes, academic performance, student engagement, joyful learning, performance feedback, recognition, goal setting
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