Classes with game features may raise students' motivation a little.

The review

1. 01

   Who took part

   About 2,500 students took part in 35 comparisons from 24 studies. Of 31 studies in the wider set, 21 were at university and 10 at school. Most were in Europe and the Americas.

2. 02

   What they did

   Classes added game features such as points, badges and leaderboards, and were compared with classes without them. The game features ran for 2 to 12 weeks in 12 studies and for over 16 weeks in 7. In 7 studies they ran for under a week, and 5 studies did not say.

3. 03

   What happened

   Here, motivation is enjoyment of learning for its own sake, and classes with game features gave a small gain in it. The gains in feeling in charge and feeling connected were bigger, and the connection result rests on only four comparisons. The gain in feeling capable was very small, and the studies differed a lot.

What the review found

1. Helped

   In 35 comparisons, classes with game features left students a bit more motivated than other classes.

   Pooled analysis of 35 studies with 2,500 people · vs classes with no game features · they rated themselves · ⚠ the studies disagreed a lot; whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited

2. Helped

   In 12 comparisons, students felt a little more able than those in other classes.

   Pooled analysis of 12 studies · vs classes with no game features · they rated themselves · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited

3. Helped

   In 11 comparisons, students felt more in charge of their learning than those in other classes.

   Pooled analysis of 11 studies · vs classes with no game features · they rated themselves · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited

4. Helped

   In 4 comparisons, students felt more connected to others than those in other classes.

   Pooled analysis of 4 studies · vs classes with no game features · they rated themselves · ⚠ results look too good to be true; whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited

Source