Does educational gamification improve students’ motivation? If so, which game elements work best?

Educational gamification is a growing field. The authors answer the following important questions: (a) To what degree does educational gamification, in general, increase students' perceived motivation in learning? (b) To what degree do specific game elements impact perceived motivation in learning? and (c) Are the benefits of gamification limited to or enhanced in participants with specific demographic characteristics? A survey of organizational behavior students' perceptions (n = 124) investigated how participating in a gamified course motivated students overall and examined the individual effect of specific game elements. Of the participants, 67.7% reported that the gamified course was more or much more motivating than a traditional course. Correlational data indicated that being a member of any measured demographic (e.g., gender, age, student status) was not a barrier to finding gamification motivating.