The Breakout educational methodology is an innovative strategy that promotes active learning and student participation. This study analyzes the interaction between cognitive load, gamification and gender in the context of the Breakout methodology, with a sample of 540 future teachers of Primary Education at the University of Seville. Two instruments were used for data collection: the GAMEX scale to evaluate gamification and a cognitive load scale to measure this variable. The results revealed a moderate perception of the difficulty of the tasks, supported by a high valuation of the learning achieved and its improvement. Gamification stood out in dimensions such as fun and absorption, indicating a positive impact on the educational experience, with significant differences according to gender: women perceived knowledge acquisition more positively. Previous experience with Breakout was also associated with a greater tendency to have fun and absorption during the learning process. It is concluded that the Breakout methodology efficiently balances intrinsic and extrinsic cognitive load. Consequently, further research is recommended on gender dynamics in active and gamified educational environments, considering the diversity of the participants.
Cejudo et al. (Tue,) studied this question.