Gamification in higher education: A review of the literature

Abstract

Gamification is a learning technique that transfers the mechanics of games to the educational environment in order to achieve better pedagogical results mediated by technological tools, this technique is used as an alternative to the traditional teaching methodology that is increasingly used in higher education, which is why the objective of the study is to know how gamification influences the teaching-learning process in higher education. In order to answer this question, a systematic review of the literature is carried out, based on the analytical method, using the scientific databases Web of Science and SCOPUS for the search of information. The impact of gamification within the formative context is significant since its evolution as a didactic strategy manages to meet the educational objectives improving learning outcomes, its application is methodical that considers the principles and appropriate elements of the game to solve problems and promote learning, which causes the change of student behavior, because it takes advantage of the main motivations of human behavior in two ways connected to each other: reinforcements and emotions, thus obtaining effective and motivated learning, reaching several types of knowledge, such as: declarative, conceptual, regulated, procedural, soft skills, affective and psychomotor mastery, which demonstrates its versatility and usefulness in learning environments.

Keywords: Game based learning, Higher education, Edugame, serious game, gamification.