04

Gamification in Education: Exploring the Role

of Video Games in Enhancing Problem-Solving
Skills
1
Madhumanti Halder [0009-0000-1155-0874] and 2 Madhurima Paul [0009-0001-3060-8709]
Institute of Computing and Analytics, NSHM Knowledge Campus, Kolkata
1
madhumantihalder.24@[Link], 2 [Link]@[Link]

Abstract
Video games have more often been criticized as distractors from education, yet
their potential to enhance problem-solving skills and positively influence cognitive,
metacognitive, and emotional development has seldom been explored. The present
study adopted a holistic approach towards understanding how video games foster
problem-solving skills along these dimensions. Emphasizing gamified education
for its applicability globally, the study discusses how education can become more
inclusive and accessible. Besides, providing practical examples for educators
and developers on how to embed game mechanics in individual, it provides a
collaborative learning environment. The analysis was done on a Kaggle dataset to
investigate the effects of gamification on learning outcomes. The most salient results
carry critical evidence on how the build-up of problem-solving skills is attained
through video gaming, thus looking deeper into greater educational implications.
These would help to bridge the two ends from more theoretical approaches to
gamified learning towards real-world applications.
Keywords: Gamification, Problem-Solving Skills, Cognitive, Metacognitive,
Emotional development, Gamified Education, Exploratory data analysis (EDA).

1. Introduction
1.1 Background
Right from Arcades to Mixed Reality and Metaverse, Gaming has come a long way.
Therefore, its effect and impact too have grown bigger wings. Most of us still get
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grounded at home, for playing games too long, yet some of us with time have tied
friendship with games to get over boredom. As the very old proverb goes, ‘too much
of anything is detrimental’, the same goes for gaming as well. As long as we use it for
virtuous reasons, it is helpful.
1.2 Context
Gamification is defined as the use of game design elements in contexts other than
games. It has emerged over the last few years as one of the innovative strategies
that enrich engagement, motivation, and learning outcomes because of its base on
firm psychological and pedagogical theories. This is achieved because of its backend
hero motivators like- ‘curiosity’, ‘competition’, and ‘achievement’(Deterding et al.,
2011). Educators use the integration of game mechanics such as ‘points’, ‘badges’,
‘leaderboards, ‘levelling’ and ‘storytelling’, to make the learning environment more
engaging. If we take the instance of teaching a chapter of battle in history in school;
educators can very easily implant the chapters with the help of game mechanics like
storytelling and levelling to make the learning more fun and engaging.
For problem-solving, video games have emerged as very strong tools hat mirror real-
world challenges like strategic thinking, decision-making, and adaptability. Minecraft
and Portal 2 games help in enhancing not only spatial reasoning but also creativity and
critical thinking. (Foroughi et al., 2016) in his research paper tried creating a measure
of fluid intelligence using Puzzle Creator within Portal 2. Whereas,(Ekaputra et al.,
2013) quoted in his paper, the different scientific aspects which are embedded within
the game that can be a wonderful educational tool for students
The cognitive processes that some games implant in students at a very tender age are
highly important in problem-solving skills, which is one of the important features
a teenager can have for the 21st century. Despite the potential, video games are
underestimated in education or perceived as distractions, leaving a gap in understanding
their full utility. (Plass et al., 2015)

Fig 1. Minecraft Education game poster Fig 2. Portal 2 game poster

Gaming the Classroom: Small-Scale Evidence ... 67

Fig3. Gamification model based on user interaction. Adapted from (Rincon-Flores &
Santos-Guevara, 2021)

1.3 Research Problem

As stated by (Hamari et al., 2014) gamification has been a wide field of research in
education and most studies tend to focus on either its motivational effects or short-
term academic benefits. The potential that a video game has to nurture the qualities of
cognitive, metacognitive, emotional and problem-solving skills in a learner remains
less explored. Few publications yet have tried doing experimental analysis of scientific
problem-solving skill testing of gamers and non- gamers. Like, (Foroughi et al., 2016)
, in his research have made gamers and non- gamers solve a puzzle on fluid intelligence.
Yet another challenge is to make the accessibility gamified education inclusive at all
school levels. Most of the current studies fail to consider the diverse ways different
learners interact with game mechanics and, fail to consider the broad applicability
of video games as educational tools for a wide array of subjects and topics. This
paper tries to fill these gaps through data analysis of video games to find patterns and
gain insights into how video games may influence different problem-solving skills at
different cognitive dimensions.

Fig4. A view of Gamified Educational classroom. Adapted from (Jennifer Roland, 2016)
68 Vishleshikaa – The Analytics Journal

1.4 Objectives
This research will give a wide insight into how video games improve problem-
solving skills in learners. Analyzing the dataset (Gianina-Maria Petrașcu, n.d.) titled
“Gamification in education”, this research will try to do the following:

Table1. Tabular view of Research Objectives

1 Find the correlations between gamified learning elements and

problem- solving performance
2 Look into cognitive, metacognitive, and emotional dimensions of
learning influenced by video games.
Experiment with some practical applications that educators
3 and game developers could use in order to stimulate individual
problem-solving and collaboration through gamification.
4 Figure out ways to make gamified education inclusive and
accessible at education levels
Data analysis helps us discover important pattern and trends in our data easily. As stated
by (Tukey, 1977), instead of using conventional ways of starting with hypothesis,
data analysis help us independently explore our data and discover unexpected visions.
These visions eventually encourage to dive more into study and practical applications.
Thus, would help us create a bridge between our theoretical ideas with conventional
educational methods, showing how video games enhance problem-solving skills in
everyday life.

2. Literature Review
2.1 Gamification in Education and Cognitive Skills Development
Gamification has become a significant educational innovation. This leverages game-
like elements to engage learners and promote skill development. Research studies
over the past decade, on gamification in education points out some of the positive as
well as the negative aspects of it. In the table 2(attached below), we have tried creating
a tabular view it, for clearer understanding. If we analyze the negative reviews first
then, we see that researches have not disapproved of the concept of gamification in
education, they have pointed out the loopholes in the design of games that are used
which might have a negative impact on learner’s psychology. On the other hand,
the positive reviews by the researchers have highlighted many positive aspects of
gamification in education. Their studies show that it makes the learner more active
and motivated to learn new skills by enhancing abilities like critical thinking, problem
solving and team building. This synergy between the positive aspects and rectification
of the negative aspects of gamification in education suggests a new pathway for
developing transferrable cognitive skills applicable in real-world scenarios.
Gaming the Classroom: Small-Scale Evidence ... 69

Table 2. Tabular view of the positive and negative aspects of Gamification in

Education as highlighted by the researchers over a decade

Year Author Review Aspect

2014 (Hamari et al., Gamification makes learning more Negative
2014) enjoyable, but it may not always increase
learning outcomes, depending on how it
is employed.
2015 (Dichev & If gamification is not designed well, Negative
Dicheva, it can make students care more about
2017) rewards and less about learning.
2015 (Seaborn & Focusing too much on rewards in Negative
Fels, 2015) games can make students less interested
in understanding and learning deeply.
2016 (Turan et al., Gamification helps students stay Positive
2016) motivated, think critically, solve
problems, and work well with others.
2016 (Lumsden et Using game-based learning makes it Positive
al., 2016) easier for students to focus and remember
things, which helps solve tough problems.
2019 (Junior et al., Adding games to project-based learning Positive
2019) makes students more active and helps
them work together to solve problems.
2023 (Hussein et al., Using gamification for special education Positive
2023) helps students learn skills and become
more flexible in their thinking.
2023 (Almeida et Elements like badges and Negative
al., 2023) leaderboards, may lead to worsened
performance and motivational issues.
2024 (Prieto- Gamification may cause stress if focused Negative
Andreu, 2024) more on competition-based elements
like leaderboard, badges.
2024 (Triantafyllou Games can improve the way students Positive
et al., 2024) think and solve problems, especially with
math and logic skills.

2.2 Problem-Solving Through Gaming

The idea of teaching with games is getting more support these days from the researchers
as well. Studies by (Schöbel et al., 2023) have presented that the design of levels in
games, makes it compelling for players to take decisions to level up in the game. In
such scenarios, it is mostly observed that, players when kept under such circumstances
take decisions by adapting new strategies that affect their progress and performance.
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Mostly in these scenarios, it is observed that, the decisions that the player take, are
mostly considering real- world scenarios. Such decisions improve the problem-solving
skills in learner at a very tender age. If such situations can be created in games for
classroom teaching, it can actively engage students and nurture their critical thinking
ability.
For instance, if we consider the most common subjects have infused gamification in
their learning, this is how the classrooms would sound, as studied by the researchers:
♦ Math Problems Made Fun: Researcher (Egri et al., 2022) found that, if we add
gamification in solving math problems, the students would actively enjoy problem
solving and spend more time solving the sums instead of fearing or running away
from it.
♦ Learning Through Challenges: Another study by (Machmud et al., 2023)
revealed that, sometimes when certain difficult topics are taught in class in the
conventional method, the individual difficulties of students are often overlooked.
But when the same topic is being taught with gamification involving challenging
levels, students might take their time in solving the level and make progress. This
way, no student’s issue is overlooked and teachers get a personal overview of the
students’ understanding level
♦ Stories That Teach Problem-Solving: It is found in a study by (Poonsawad et al.,
2022) that, interactive games with rich storyline improves the problem-solving
ability in a cognitive manner. Like if stories like ‘Robinson Crusoe’ are taught
with gamification, where students face similar situation in game like Crusoe and
eventually with the storyline experience the story, instead of memorizing it.
♦ Teamwork and Thinking: In games that involves team playing, students at a very
early stage learn importance of team building. They experience the differences
between working alone and working in a team scenario. As stated by (Stoeffler et
al., 2020) in this work, these games mostly improve not only brainpower but also
team bonding skills at the same time
In brief, problems that are bit tricky to solve in classrooms with conventional methods
becomes fun and engaging when adapted gamification. This enhances abilities like
critical thinking, problem solving in students helping them connect with the classroom
lessons with the real-world scenarios, all in an interactive way.

3. Methodology
3.1 Dataset Description
This study uses a dataset generated from a gamified learning platform by (Gianina-
Maria Petrașcu, n.d.). The platform uses collaborating features like flashcards and
badges. This improves student engagement and learning outcomes.
The dataset used in this paper, named "Students_gamification_grades.csv," has
information about student performance and interaction with a gamified learning
platform, which includes 64 records and 16 variables. Each row represents an
individual student's data. This includes their grades on practice exams, final exams,
and their usage of the gamification features. Below is a detailed description of the
dataset in a tabular format:
Gaming the Classroom: Small-Scale Evidence ... 71

Table3. Dataset Description Table

Variables Description
A binary indicator (User) denotes whether the student
Platform Usage has used the gamified platform (1) or did not (0).
Scores from a practice exam recorded before students
Practice Exam Grades interacted with the gamified learning platform.
Scores from a final exam taken after using the platform.
Final Exam Grades This offers a measure of improvement in academic
performance.
Average grades for six quizzes (Avg_Grade_Q1 to
Quiz Grades Avg_Grade_Q6). This is designed to assess topic-
specific understanding.
The number of times each quiz was accessed (NO_
access_Q1 to NO_access_Q6). This reflects students'
Quiz Access Frequency
engagement levels with the platform.
The dataset contains numbers showing how well each students performed and how
much they engaged with the learning materials. This lets us thoroughly examine the
data to find any interesting trends or connections. A first look shows that there are 15
different pieces of information for each student. This can be grouped into two main
categories: how well they did in their studies, and how actively they participated in
the activities.

3.2 Data Preprocessing and Cleaning

To maintain data quality, preprocessing steps were taken:

Fig5. Steps involved in Data Preprocessing and Cleaning

1. Handling Missing Values:

Reasoning: Missing values may result in biased or inaccurate results in analysis.
Implementation:
Numeric Columns: Median values of columns are filled in the missing values
in numeric columns (like exam scores). This helps maintain the distribution
of the data.
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Categorical Columns: Mode (most frequent value) are filled in the places of
missing values in categorical columns (like user type). This confirms the most
common category is used to replace data.
Observation: The missing values after implementing this step was found to
be zero.
2. Handling Duplicate Values:
Reasoning: Duplicate entries can skew analysis result and cause bias.
Implementation: Here we identify and remove duplicate rows from the
dataset using the duplicated() and drop_duplicates() functions in pandas.
Observation: The number of duplicate rows after implementing this step was
zero.
3. Identifying and Handling Outliers:
Reasoning: Outliers are dangerous values that can alter statistical measures
and model performance.
Implementation:
Z-scores are used to detect outliers. Values that have a z-score above a threshold
3 are considered outliers and removed.
Observation: The number of outliners after implementing this step was zero.

Fig6. Normalization graphs before and after cleaning the dataset

3.3 Application of EDA

EDA was used to visualize patterns in the dataset:

Fig7. Visualization of patterns using EDA

Gaming the Classroom: Small-Scale Evidence ... 73

1. Descriptive Statistics:
Purpose: To gain an initial understanding of the data's characteristics, and to
focus on central tendency, dispersion, and distribution of key variables.
Implementation: We have used dataframe. describe() to generate descriptive
statistics for numerical features like Practice_Exam and Final_Exam. This
provides vision into the mean, median, standard deviation, quartiles, and range
of these scores.
dataframe. info() is used to display the data types and check for missing values
in each column.

Fig8. Block diagram showing the process of descriptive statistics

Summary: Descriptive statistics is used to review the dataset. The dataframe.

describe () function in pandas helps us get insight of the distribution of practice
and final exam scores, including measures like mean, median, and standard
deviation. This initial exploration revealed the overall performance trends and
variability within the data.
2. Correlation Analysis:
Purpose: To investigate the relationships between different variables in the
dataset. To specifically focus on the correlation between practice exam scores and
final exam scores.
Implementation: We have calculated the correlation matrix using dataframe.
corr().

Fig9. Block diagram showing the implementation of correlational analysis

A heatmap is generated using seaborn. ℎeatmap to visually represent the correlation matrix.

Summary: Correlation analysis was performed to explore the relationships

between variables. This specifically focuses on the correlation between
practice exam performance and final exam performance. The correlation matrix
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was computed using df. corr(), and a heatmap was generated to visualize the
correlations. This analysis highlighted the strength and direction of relationships
between variables. This helps in understanding the interdependencies within the
dataset.
3. Comparative Analysis:
Purpose: To compare the performance of students who used the gamification
platform ("Users") with those who did not ("non-users"). To primarily focus on
final exam scores

Fig10. Types of plots we have used in EDA

Implementation:
Following plots were implemented:
Box Plots:
♦ Visualizing the distribution of final exam scores.
♦ Comparing the scores between users and non-users.
♦ Using a custom colour palette for better visualization.
Scatter Plots:
♦ Showing the relationship between practice and final exam scores.
♦ Differentiating data points by user type using colour (hue).
Histograms:
♦ Displaying the distribution of practice and final exam grades.
♦ Using stacked bars for comparing the distributions.
Violin Plots:
♦ Illustrating the distribution of final exam scores by user type.
♦ Utilizing a colour palette to distinguish between user types.
Pair Plots:
♦ Generating scatter plots for all combinations of practice and final exam
scores.
♦ Highlighting differences in relationships between user types.
Summary: Comparative analysis was conducted to examine the impact of gamification
on student performance. Box plots were utilized to compare the distribution of final
exam scores between users and non-users of the gamification platform. Scatter plots
Gaming the Classroom: Small-Scale Evidence ... 75

further illustrated the relationship between practice and final exam scores. This
highlighted the differences between the two groups. This comparative exploration
gave insights into the potential benefits of gamification for improving student’s results.
3.1 EDA Approach: Detailed Explanation
To effectively explore the dataset, the following statistical and visualization techniques
were used. This helped us gain meaningful insights into the relationship between
gamification and educational outcomes:
Descriptive Statistics
Descriptive statistics were calculated to summarize the dataset’s key variables:
Measures of Central Tendency:
Mean, Median, Mode:
These measures were computed for numerical variables, primarily Practice_
Exam and Final_Exam grades. The mean represents the average score. The median
represents the middle value when scores are sorted. The mode represents the most
frequent score. These statistics offer a general overview of student performance and
central tendencies within the data.

Table 4. Tabular representation of measures of central tendency of parameters

Parameters Mean Median Mode

Non-user 5.4 5.87 5.87
Practice Exam
User 6 5.87 5.87

Non-user 3.98 4.39 3.98

Final Exam
User 5.79 5.95 3.98

Measures of Spread:
Standard deviation and interquartile range (IQR) were calculated to understand the
variability and dispersion of grades and quiz performances. The standard deviation
quantifies the average distance of data points from the mean. The IQR represents the
range between the 25th and 75th percentiles of the data.

Table 5. Tabular representation of measures of central spread of parameters

Parameters Standard Deviation Inter-Quartile Range

Practice Exam 2.19 2.76

Final Exam 1.48 2.01

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Data Visualization:To discover patterns and trends in the data and get a deeper
understanding of the relationship between gamification and educational outcomes,
different visualizations were generated:
Histograms:
Purpose: Histograms were used to explore the distribution of Practice_Exam
and Final_Exam grades. This helped providing insights into the frequency of different
score ranges.
Implementation: matplotlib. pyplot. ℎist was used to create histograms for these
variables, with customizations for bin size, colour, and legends.

Fig11. Histograms showing distribution of exam grades

Box Plots:
Purpose: Box plots were used to compare the distribution of Final_Exam grades
between users and non-users of the gamification platform. This would mainly focus
on central tendency, spread, and potential outliers.
Implementation: seaborn. boxpolt was used to create box plots, by differentiating
user groups using the 'User' variable.

Fig12. Box plot showing Final exam grades between user and non-user
Gaming the Classroom: Small-Scale Evidence ... 77

Purpose: Scatter plots were used to explore the relationship between two numerical
variables, specifically Practice_Exam grades and Final_Exam grades. This
visualization helped us examine potential correlations and trends between these
variables. This was achieved by categorizing user groups (0 representing non-users
and 1 representing users of the gamification platform).
Implementation: seaborn. scatterplot was used to create scatter plots. We have used
the 'hue' parameter to differentiate data points based on user group. This color-coding
helps in visual comparison of the relationship between practice and final exam scores
for users and non-users.

Fig13. Scatterplot showing Final Exam grades of user and non-user

Pair Plots:
Purpose: To investigate the relationship between Practice Exam scores and Final
Exam scores. Additionally, to explore potential differences in this relationship between
users and non-users of the gamified learning platform
Implementation: Seaborn's pairplot function was used to generate scatter plots
specifically for Practice Exam scores against Final Exam scores. The 'User' category
was highlighted as a hue to differentiate data points based on user type. This allowed
us to direct compare of the relationship between these two variables for users and
non- users.
78 Vishleshikaa – The Analytics Journal

Fig14. Pairwise Scatter plots of Practice Exam and Final Exam

Violin Plots:
Purpose: To visualize and compare the distribution of Final Exam scores between
users and non-users of the gamified learning platform. To provide insights into
potential performance differences.
Implementation: Seaborn's violinplot function was utilized to create violin plots
depicting the distribution of Final Exam scores. The 'User' category was used as the
grouping variable on the x-axis. This helped us to direct compare score distributions
between user and non-user groups. The 'flare' color palette was used to enhance visual
distinction.

Fig15. Distribution of final exam scores by user type

Gaming the Classroom: Small-Scale Evidence ... 79

Correlation Analysis and Feature Identification: To measure the relationships

between different variables in the dataset and identify potential predictors of final
exam performance, a correlation analysis was performed. This involved computing a
correlation matrix to assess the strength and direction of linear relationships between
pairs of variables. This step is important in understanding the interdependencies
within the data and selecting relevant features for further analysis and modeling.
Implementations: df. corr() function was used in pandas to calculate the correlation
matrix. This matrix provides a comprehensive overview of the correlations between
all pairs of numerical variables in the dataset.

Fig16. Correlation Matrix that was formed

Methodological Insights:Combining descriptive statistics and visualization methods

provided an in-depth understanding of:
1. How gamified platform usage affects final exam grades.
2. Relationships between individual quiz performances and overall learning
outcomes.
3. The distribution of exam scores and potential performance gaps between users
and non-users.
3.2 Software and Tools Used for Analysis
The analysis in this study was conducted using a combination of widely used language
and hadware to ensure accuracy and robust insights:
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Python Programming Language: Python was the primary tool for conducting
Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) due to its versatility and extensive libraries for data
manipulation, analysis, and visualization.
Hardware Specifications:

Table6. Hardware Specifications

Hardware Specifications
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6200U CPU @ 2.30GHz 2.40 GHz

RAM 8.00 GB
Hard Disk 1TB
SSD 250GB
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

4. Results and Findings

This section summarizes the primary insights obtained from our analysis of the gamified
education dataset. This highlighted trends, relationships, and visual correlations
between various variables. These insights enhanced our visualization of the effect of
gamification on student problem-solving skills.
4.1 Key Insights
Impact of Gamification on Final Exam Performance: The primary objective of
this study was to investigate the impact of gamification on student performance,
particularly on final exam scores. Through the data analysis and correlation analysis,
several key insights emerged. This suggested a positive relationship between
gamification platform usage and improved final exam outcomes.
Higher Final Exam Scores for Platform Users: The comparative analysis using
box plots revealed that students who used the gamification platform (Users) tended
to achieve higher final exam scores compared to those who did not (Non-Users).
Specifically, the median final exam score for Users was observed to be 5. 95, while
the median for Non-Users was 4. 39. The correlation was found to be 0. 349.
Insight: This difference in median scores and moderate positive correlation between
the User variable and Final _Exam scores in the correlation analysis, provides evidence
for the positive influence of gamification on student performance in educational
assessments.
Quiz Performance as a Strong Predictor: The correlation analysis also highlighted
the strong predictive power of quiz grades (Avg_Grade_Q1 to Avg_Grade_Q6) on
final exam performance. For instance, Avg_Grade_Q6 showed a correlation of 0. 669
with the Final _Exam score. Similarly, Avg_Grade_Q5 andAvg_Grade_Q4 exhibited
correlations of 0. 647 and 0. 628, respectively.
Insight: This finding indicates that consistent engagement with quizzes and
assessments throughout the course is important for achieving higher scores on the
final exam.
Reduced Variability in Performance:Visually comparing the box plots for Users and
Non-Users suggests that platform users might exhibit a narrower range of final exam
Gaming the Classroom: Small-Scale Evidence ... 81

scores and fewer outliers. The IQR for Users appears to be smaller compared to Non-
Users, indicating less variability in their performance.
Insight: This observation suggests that gamification might contribute to more
consistent performance improvements across students, reducing the variability in final
exam scores.
Practice Exam vs. Final Exam Performance
This study also explored the relationship between Practice Exam and Final Exam
performance. This helps to understand the predictive power of the practice exam
and identify potential trends. The analysis revealed valuable insights regarding the
association between these two assessments.
Positive Correlation: The scatterplot visualizing the relationship between and scores
showed a clear positive trend. This is because the correlation coefficient between
these two variables is 0. 772.
The positive correlation from the chart suggests that students who performed well on
the Practice Exam generally achieved higher scores on the Final Exam as well.
Variability within and between User Groups:
Though the overall trend is positive, there is noticeable variation in the scatter plot, both
within and between user groups (Users and Non-Users of the gamification platform).
Insight: This variability indicates that other factors other than Practice Exam
performance influence Final Exam scores. The relationship between these two
assessments might differ slightly for users and non-users.
4.2 Visualization
Let us consider some of our graph plots for visualization:
Histograms of Exam Grades (Figure 11):
Figure 11 shows the distribution of Practice_Exam and Final_Exam grades. The grades
show a left-skewed distribution, with most scores falling between 4 and 6, the grades
also show a more even distribution, with a noticeable peak around 6-8 for platform
users, this shift in distribution suggests a potential improvement in performance from
practice to final exams.
Box Plot of Final Exam Scores by User Type (Figure 12):
Figure 12 compares the distribution of final exam scores between users (User = 1) and
non-users (User= 0) of the gamified platform. Users exhibit a higher median score of
7.0 compared to non-users with a median of 6.0. The interquartile range (IQR) for
users appears to be smaller. This indicates reduced variability and potentially more
consistent performance among platform users.
Heatmap of Correlations (Figure 16):
Figure 16 displays the link matrix heatmap. The links between the traits are shown
here. We can see that the quiz marks are strongly linked to each other by the correlation
factor of 0.669, which is made clear by the darker shades, showing how test scores can
tell a lot about how well a student will do on the real test. Furthermore, the moderately
positive association of can be seen in the heatmap. This supports the idea that students
can do better on their final tests if they use the platform.
82 Vishleshikaa – The Analytics Journal

5. Discussion
5.1 Interpretation of Findings
The data analysis showed us some exciting outcomes about how gamification in
education which helps in the improvement problem- solving skills. To begin with, it
showed that students who used gamified learning methods often tended to gain better
final exam grades. This adds to our vision of effectiveness in including gamification
elements in education.
Moreover, in the Self- Determination Theory by (Deci, 1985) , it is stated that
gamification boosts motivation by giving learners a sense of control, competence
and teamwork. Now, this has two major questions in relevance to our discussion.
Firstly, how is this achieved? This is mostly achieved by learners who build a level
of connection with their team players. And lastly, what impact does this have on
learners? With reference to our analysis, the learners who grows the above discussed
skills of control, competence and teamwork, tend to perform better in studies. The
better performance of students, frequently using gamified quizzes, shows how these
elements can enhance motivation and cognitive engagement. This in a way proves our
vision of implementing gamification in education.
Now, let us take the instance of our daily life, it is seen that most of us, including people
of any age of any background, irrespective of their hectic schedule, we tend to resonate
more to a movie that we have watched. Even if the movie was watched by us a decade
back, we often remember the protagonist, or as we call, the lead actors in connection
with the plot and the main climax of the movie(Yang & Roskos-Ewoldsen, 2007) . But
do we always remember the stories that were being taught to us in high school days?
The same thing happens to players who play video games, it is more often seen that
they remember every unique detail of the games they played- the plot, their character.
This ideology is also stated by (Hamari et al., 2014) in his paper, where it discussed
about how repeating and practicing the gamified content help learners think better and
remember more. This in way helps us connect with the better performance of students
using the gamified methods.
A hypothesis by (Faßbinder & Rodrigues, 2024) , discusses about the change in
human behaviour after a positive experience. They highlight about how neural and
psychological state of human mind is filled with motivation after winning or getting
a reward.
Hence, game features like badges, leaderboard and rewards encourages students to
participate regularly, learn competitively, both individually and in a team. Game
designs that include feedback loops and level goals, helps students learn from their
mistakes. This helps them think better, learning more strategies. (Gee, 2003)
To end our discussion, let us look into few more studies that adds weight to our topic.
According to the cognitive theory stated by (Sweller, 1988) , breaking chapters into
smaller interactive parts makes it easier for students to focus more on important
topics and tasks. Similarly, the study by (Prensky, 2003) , shows that games help in
improvement of mental skills like planning, decision making and adaptability. These
in turn helps in fostering problem-solving skills.
Gaming the Classroom: Small-Scale Evidence ... 83

5.2 Implications
The results point out some ways that schooling can be made better. Gamified learning
systems can be used to help with math, statistics, or any other subject that needs
more problem-solving skills. These games-like apps can be used by teachers to make
classrooms that are involved and fun. Students are more likely to be motivated and
involved in these settings, even those who find traditional teaching methods hard.
The fact that gamification worked so well in our analysis study opens up new ways
to teach. It shows that we can make educational games with game-like features like
scoreboards, level bars, and individual learning paths. These features can help students
meet their educational goals by making their learning experiences more personalized.
These game-based learning tools can also be used in group learning sessions. Team-
based games help students think about and solve real-world problems, which can help
them grow as individuals and as a group. They also improve their critical thinking
skills, which will help them in the future.
5.3 Limitations
Although the results are useful, the data analysis can only look at a certain amount of
information. The information comes from (Gianina-Maria Petrașcu, n.d.),so it might
not show the whole group of students. The reason for this is that it focuses on students
using a certain gaming app, which means there might be a picking bias.
Also, the analysis doesn't look at things that might affect results, such as the background
of the students, their previous game experiences, or their preferred subjects. Since
the data is only a blip in time, it is hard to say for sure if gamified learning directly
helps students learn how to solve problems. Long-term studies with a wider range of
students should be considered for future research. This would help us learn more about
these connections in a variety of settings and situations.

6. Conclusion
This research shows that using games in the classroom can be very helpful, especially
for teaching students how to solve problems better. In spite of this, teachers and
developers still need to work on some design and implementation problems with
student's requirements in mind. It is important that these game-based learning tools
are easy for all students, no matter where they come from or how well they can learn,
to use. For them to really work, they should also be based on good teaching concepts.
If we pay attention to these things, we can make learning spaces that are interesting
and fun for everyone. These places would inspire students and help them learn useful
skills for dealing with problems in the real world..

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