Running head: GAMIFICATION & MOTIVATION 1

The effects of gamification on student motivation in higher education settings: A state of

the current literature

Meranda Roy

University of North Texas

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The effects of gamification on student motivation in higher education settings: A state of the

current literature

Games have been used in a variety of different contexts to capture the attention of

children and adults across the world. Given the countless benefits of games, the potential of

games can be harnessed through the concepts of gamification. Gamification can be defined as the

use of game design elements in non-game contexts (Deterding, Dixon, Khaled, & Nacke, 2011)

and is often used to increase engagement and motivation. To no surprise, given the potential

motivational properties, gamification is increasingly being implemented in a range of educational

classrooms from primary to post-secondary classrooms to influence or change behavior.

Currently, gamification is most often associated with the game elements of digital points,

badges or leaderboards (Deterding, Dixon, Khaled, & Nacke, 2011). However, little research has

been conducted to explore the game elements and mechanics impacting student motivation and

performance, and even less has been done on the influence of specific game elements (Deterding,

Dixon, Khaled, & Nacke, 2011). Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to present a brief

literature review about the effects of gamification in higher education, specifically focusing on

game elements and mechanics and their impacts on student motivation.

Methods

Literature Review Methodology

Articles used in this literature review were found in the Scopus database. A search was

conducted using the following search terms: higher education, gamification, and motivation. The

initial search identified 90 documents. However, this list includes studies that do not address the

gamification in higher education, studies that are published in multiple sources, and publications

in languages other than English. Articles were excluded from the review if articles did not
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address gamification in higher education, mentioned motivation as a benefit but did not measure

the effects of gamification on student motivation, did not specifically state game elements or

mechanics, or if the document was other than an article. Articles were included in the review if

articles were peer-reviewed, conducted in higher education settings, and measured student

motivation. After applying the inclusion/ exclusion criteria, a list of 12 research articles was

generated for in-depth review.

Results

The literature review of the effects of gamification on student motivation revealed a

number of key findings. In recent years, research in this area has grown. Early attention in this

area started in 2014 but grew thereafter. Additionally, research in this area ranges several

different disciplines including business, education, engineering, English, human resource and

development, interdisciplinary studies, nursing, and political science. Surprisingly, this

contradicts previous research citing most of the gamification literature is found in Computer

Science and Information Technology (Dicheva, Dichev, Agre, & Angelova, 2015; Subhash &

Cudney, 2018).

All 12 studies investigated the effects of gamification on undergraduate students’

motivation. Delello, Hawley, McWhorter, Gipson, and Deal (2018) was the only study to use a

limited number of graduate students as their participants. This may give the impression that

gamification is not suitable or accepted with the evolving teaching and learning tools available to

instructors at the graduate level.

Points, badges, and leaderboards were the most frequently used game elements in

gamification. Points were often in the form of virtual experience points and earned points, while

badges were in the form of achievement badges, and virtual trophies and rewards. Other
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elements such as levels in the form of quests, missions and challenges; collaboration among

peers and teammates; engaging narratives; frequent and immediate feedback for learners; and

freedom to fail (multiple attempts at missions/quests) were used to gamify courses or

assignments within a course. In 10 of the 12 studies, three or more game elements were used

concurrently. Of these studies, only one (Chapman & Rich, 2018) investigated the impact on

motivation of both the course overall and each of the 15 game elements used. All other studies

investigated the impacts of all the game elements combined. Additionally, only two articles

investigated digital badges in isolation. For example, Kyewski and Kramer (2018) investigated

the influence of digital badges on motivation, activity, and performance in an online learning

course.

Anecdotal data such as self-reported surveys were used in 10 out of the 12 studies to

investigate learners’ perceptions regarding the effects of the gamification elements on their

motivation. All of the surveys included either 5 or 7-point Likert-scale questions and only two of

the studies included open-ended questions for participants to openly describe their experiences.

Additionally, surveys were provided to students at the conclusion of the study; typically, near the

end of the semester. Objective measures such as comprehension exams, task completion rates, or

participation logs were used in four of the studies. For example, Hew, Huang, Chu, and Chiu

(2016) and Tan (2018) used pre and post tests to determine student’s comprehension of the

reading materials. Knautz, Wintermeyer, Orszullok, and Soubusta (2014) used participation logs

created by the gaming platform to track students’ quests (i.e., attempted quests, date of

completion, duration, etc.) and achievements earned during gameplay.

The majority of studies in this review rarely went beyond simply examining if students

were more or less motivated as a result of gamification broadly. Results were often general
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descriptions of the data and studies often lacked rigor. For example, only three studies used an

experimental design to evaluate the effects of gamification on student motivation (Knautz,

Wintermeyer, Orszullok, & Soubusta, 2014; Kyewski, & Krämer, 2018; Stansbury & Earnest,

2017). In each case, students were semi-randomly assigned to either an experimental or control

group.

Findings regarding the effects of gamification on student motivation were generally

positive. Students appear to enjoy the gamification elements in their courses and reported being

more or much more motivated in the gamified course in comparison to traditional courses.

Additionally, in many cases, students perceived the gamification elements as useful and easy to

use. Interestingly only one study reported that not all students were motivated by the game

elements to the same extent (Hew, Huang, Chu, and Chiu, 2016). However, in the experimental

designs, objective measures suggest that the impact of game elements on student motivation is

non-significant. This would suggest a lack of empirical evidence to support the students’

perceptions of various gaming elements being more motivating to them.

Conclusion

This brief literature review found encouraging support from the student’s perspective for

gamified elements in higher education. However, a lack of empirical data suggests there is still

work to be done. Although the number of studies is increasing related to gamification and

student motivation in higher education, there is still a need to conduct further research on

applying gamification in different disciplines as well as with graduate students. This review also

highlights the various gaming elements including points, badges, leaderboards, levels, and

feedback that are important game elements suitable for use in higher education. Students also

reported increased motivation in gamified contexts in comparison to traditional courses. One

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study found that not all students were motivated by the game elements to the same extent (Hew,

Huang, Chu, and Chiu, 2016). Additional research would be needed to better understand and

accommodate different students’ motivational styles.

Further research is also needed to see what the long-term effects of gamification on

student motivation are. Studies investigating student motivation over time as well as how to

maintain high levels of motivation could be useful for instructors commonly struggling with a

lack of student engagement in their classes. Future research could also investigate what game

elements have the most effect on student motivation or if there is an optimal combination of

multiple elements driving student motivation in higher education settings.

There are a few limitations to mention regarding this brief literature review. One

limitation of this study that should be considered is only papers published in English and peer-

reviewed journals were included. As a result, studies that may have been published in other

languages or included in grey literature, books, or dissertations were excluded. Additionally, the

focus of this paper was in the context of higher education; therefore, insightful papers in primary

and secondary education settings that may have been relevant to student motivation were not

included. Overall, it appears there is a potential future of gamification in higher education.

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