This systematic review by Oliveira et al. (2023) aimed to provide a complete understanding of the field of gamification design in education, uncovering topics within existing literature that are scarce and therefore contributing to the domain. As a result, this should provide researchers and educators with some direction on how to improve the research on tailored/adaptive gamification in education. Their consideration of existing literature found studies stating that gamified educational systems do not necessarily improve student outcomes, and that positive effects can only manifest if systems were tailored. This mirrors the implication and findings of Dehghanzadeh et al. (2024), who finds that “the successful implementation of gamification in educational contexts requires an adaptive (and not one-fits-all) approach” (p. 56).

It is worth mentioning from the offset that all but one reviewed study relied on theoretical studies or critics on the subject, which personally I don’t feel like is enough to gain a good footing on the state-of-the-actual in any field. However, the authors have reported findings that I find to be useful for my area of research. 11 psychological approaches to tailoring gamified learning environments have been identified, namely: gamer type, learning style, goals, personalities, and personal data - I do feel like all of these can be bundled into a single category: “learner profile”. “Gamer type” was used by most studies to tailor gamified systems, and often was the only aspect considered. Only two out of 19 showed positive learning outcomes for tailored gamification compared to non-tailored gamification, with the only empirical study being one of them. Even the authors themselves state that the findings cannot be generalised due to it being from a single study.

Something that is particularly useful for my research is the identification of game elements. It was found that “badges, leaderboards, and progress positively affected competence and satisfaction, and also perceived task meaningfulness. At the same time, avatars, meaningful stories, and teammates affected experiences of social relatedness” (Oliveira et al., p. 393). The keywords “competence” and “social relatedness” stand out to me as they are two out of three psychological needs of Self Determination Theory (Deci et al., 2001). There is a potential link to be made there.

A clear gap in the literature at the time of this review was the lack of empirical and longitudinal studies that focused on gamified and tailored gamified education. Only one out of 19 studies conducted empirical/experimental research. That said, I do believe a few have been conducted since then, as per the systematic literature review conducted by Dehghanzadeh et al. (2024), although the emphasis there was not on tailored gamified learning experiences, but gamified learning experiences in general.

This review was a good introduction to tailored/adapted gamification in education. It does make sense that gamified learning systems will need to be tailored to students using it, if not each individual student interacting with the system. This may not be plausible for group classes or formal learning environments, but there is an opportunity in the private learning sector, such as private instrumental music learning, where a student’s learning journey is extremely personal and tailored to them. The quote from (Lorenzo-Lledó et al., 2023) stands out again: tailored gamified learning can offer “students to be the active protagonist of their own learning” (p. 870), and where better to conduct this than a private lesson context where it’s all about the one student.

References

  • Deci, E. L., Koestner, R., & Ryan, R. M. (2001). Extrinsic Rewards and Intrinsic Motivation in Education: Reconsidered Once Again. Review of Educational Research, 71(1), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543071001001
  • Dehghanzadeh, H., Farrokhnia, M., Dehghanzadeh, H., Taghipour, K., & Noroozi, O. (2024). Using gamification to support learning in K-12 education: A systematic literature review. British Journal of Educational Technology, 55(1), 34–70. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13335
  • Lorenzo-Lledó, A., Vázquez, E. P., Cabrera, E. A., & Lledó, G. L. (2023). Application of gamification in Early Childhood Education and Primary Education: Thematic analysis. Retos, 50, 858–875. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v50.97366