Gamification and learning: a review of issues and research

This paper will review the literature on gamification and aim to apply principles of analysis for synthesize existing research, identify issues of controversy, uncover areas that future gamification research should investigate. The paper starts with an introductory paragraph which gives an overview of the topic (i.e., define the concept, identify the characteristic components, discuss about the elements of a gamified experience). Then, the attention is focused on gamified learning, in order to investigate what happens when gamification is introduced in class, especially on student’s motivation, engagement, and performances. The last part focuses on the lines of research to be pursued in the area of gamification and suggestions are made regarding those aspects which would benefit most from future research.