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Cited by 69Educational Games and GamificationMisinformation and Its ImpactsEducation and Critical Thinking Development

Developing critical thinking skills through gamification

Open access
Angelelli, Claudia Viviana, Ribeiro, Geisa Muller de Campos, Severino, Maico Roris, Johnstone, Eilidh, Borzenkova, Gana, da Silva, Dayane Costa Oliveira·2023·Thinking Skills and Creativity
DOI 10.1016/j.tsc.2023.101354PMC PMC10279556
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Abstract

Misinformation as well as the proliferation of fake news has been a problem during COVID-19 pandemic. This has affected many vulnerable communities in Brazil. The ability to understand and sort out pieces of reliable information and fake news has become a fundamental cognitive skill. In this study we report on the development of a serious game (a card-based role-playing game) using Brazilian folk heroes aimed to develop critical thinking skills to empower vulnerable communities affected by misinformation and fake news. Four groups located in the city of Goiânia (Brazil) participated in this research: one group of people experiencing homelessness; two groups of favela residents (one urban and one in the suburbs) and one group of recyclable material collectors from a cooperative. We gained entry and built trust with each of these groups and worked together for 10 months during the pandemic. We conducted participatory observations, individual interviews with each participant and discussed their daily interaction with information, specifically in the context of the covid-19 pandemic. The analyses of the observations and interview data gave us a glimpse of the communicative needs of the groups. Inserting players into a narrative where they can make decisions based on critical thinking and their own reflections on the pandemic was important for building knowledge and developing critical thinking in these communities. The nature of the game (interactive and cooperative) allowed participants to focus on problem-solving skills and group work. It encouraged them to use real-life knowledge and skills to solve the fictional problems presented by the narrative.

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  • Learning-by-doing in a risk-free environment is known to foster confidence, teamwork, and critical thinking.

    “First, by allowing students to learn-by-doing in a risk-free environment, this gamified simulation enabled them to apply concepts and refine skills without real-world repercussions, which is known to foster confidence, teamwork, and critical thinking (76, 77).”

    From Global Health Trade Summit: an AI-enhanced simulation of international trade and global health for undergraduate public health education (2025) · cites this paper as [76]

    The Serious role-playing games section describes games as a safe space for collaborative problem-solving, and the Results and discussion section reports groupwork and critical thinking as participants applied real-life knowledge to fictional problems. These passages support the risk-free practice, teamwork, and critical-thinking parts of the claim, but the paper does not report that this experience fostered confidence. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • Gamified learning environments foster active learning and critical thinking by simulating real-world challenges in a structured format.

    “Our observations of students collaborating under pressure and systematically considering resource distribution corroborate findings of researchers who have identified that gamified learning environments foster active learning and critical thinking by simulating real-world challenges in a structured format (76, 80).”

    From Global Health Trade Summit: an AI-enhanced simulation of international trade and global health for undergraduate public health education (2025) · cites this paper as [76]

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Cites

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1 of the 69 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Bloom B.S. Taxonomy of educational objectives, handbook: The cognitive domain 1956 David McKay http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Taxonomy%20of%20educational%20objectives%3A%20the%20classification%20of%20educational%20goals%3B%20Handbook%20I%3A%20Cognitive%20domain&author=BS.%20Bloom&publication_year=1956
  2. Freire P. Chapter 2 from ‘Pedagogy of the oppressed’ (M. B. Ramos, Trans.) Race/Ethnicity: Multidisciplinary Global Contexts 2 2 2009 163 174 https://www.jstor.org/stable/25595010

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Authors
Angelelli, C. V., Ribeiro, G. M. D. C., Severino, M. R., Johnstone, E., Borzenkova, G., & da Silva, D. C. O.
Affiliations
  • Heriot-Watt University (GB)
  • Universidade Federal de Goiás (BR)
Corresponding author
Severino, Maico Roris
ORCID
Venue
Thinking Skills and Creativity
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2023-09
Volume
49
Pages
101354
ISSN
1871-1871 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.tsc.2023.101354
PMC
PMC10279556
OpenAlex
W4381334605
Cited by
67
References
69
Citations by year
2026: 18 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 6
FWCI
32.51
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Thinking Skills and Creativity (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • e-space (Manchester Metropolitan University) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AH/V007025/1)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Educational Games and Gamification
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Misinformation and Its Impacts
  • Social Sciences › Education › Education and Critical Thinking Development
Keywords
critical thinking, gamification, serious games, misinformation, fake news, COVID-19 pandemic, vulnerable populations, homeless people, favela residents, recyclable material collectors, information literacy, problem-solving skills, Goiânia

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