The Pedagogical Value of Gamification: a Systematic Review

Abstract

This paper aims to analyse the emerging methodology of gamification, defined as “the use of game design elements in non-game contexts” (Dertending et al., 2011). In particular, we focus on the pedagogical dimension of the methodology. Given the origin of the term in the informatics sector, the major part of the empirical studies that involve gamification developed in the field of Human-Computer Interaction and Psychology. These researches mainly analysed the efficacy of the methodology, and its relationship with some factors of influence on learning such as motivation and attention. In this context, it is not clear how
the Educational Sciences approached the concept, and how they contributed to the contemporary debate around it.
The aim of this work is to discuss the contribution of the Educational Science to the literature through a systematic analysis (Pettigrew and Roberts, 2006) of the pedagogical dimensions of the researches in which gamification was involved in either an empirical or theoretical way. Results show a limited pedagogical elaboration that appears only tangential to the psychological dimension. Furthermore, a number of criticisms emerged. Future work will fill this gap through a systematic pedagogical elaboration of the methodology of gamification, combining pedagogical tradition and technological innovation while integrating ICT in didactics.