Enjoyable and Effective Gamification in Education

Gamification, defined as the integration of game design elements into non-game contexts, has emerged as a transformative strategy in education. Despite its widespread use, contemporary gamification practices are constrained by a critical limitation: their predominant focus on three elements, namely points, badges, and leaderboards (PBL). This talk includes two recent projects that investigates new gaming elements in educational context. In the first project, we examine whether converting points into a functional currency improves student learning behavior, and whether the design of the redemption mechanism matters. In the second project, we study richer and widely used gameplay elements that constitute important parts of the experience of play, including functional rewards, dynamic animations, social presence, and competitive narrative.