article · Salud Ciencia y Tecnología - Serie de Conferencias
Gamification and computational thinking are increasingly used in education to help students develop essential digital, analytical, and problem-solving skills. A review of thirty-seven studies across four databases examines how learning theories, research findings, and gamified science, technology, engineering, and mathematics applications intersect. Gamification promotes strong participant engagement, while computational thinking provides a framework for cultivating critical thinking. Existing literature reveals initial positive outcomes from early research efforts, though these require deeper examination. When educational tools incorporate suitable game mechanics and design elements, they effectively capture student interest through gameplay. This engagement encourages learners to build computational thinking abilities and acquire foundational digital competencies essential for cognitive growth.
Equipping students with digital and analytical skills is vital for modern cognitive development. Understanding how game mechanics interact with computational thinking helps educators and curriculum designers build more engaging instructional tools. Evidence confirms that thoughtfully crafted gamified learning environments can capture learner attention and foster problem-solving abilities effectively.
The review highlights early-stage research into gamified applications for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. These insights could inform educational software developers and institutions seeking to design interactive digital learning tools. However, because the evaluated applications stem from early research attempts that require further examination, the underlying solutions remain in early-stage development rather than offering near-market commercial products.
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The rapid development of gamification and computational thinking seems to open up new educational horizons by providing new opportunities for students to acquire the basic digital skills needed for their cognitive development. Gamification, on the side, flourishes because it brings about high degree of participants’ engagement in an activity. Accordingly, on the other side, the growing scientific interest in computational thinking centers on the fact that it provides a fruitful field of dialogue in the research community for the development of critical and analytical thinking of students. Hence, this paper aims to synthesize knowledge about gamification and computational thinking for improving education for the benefit of students. Specifically, this paper describes: (a) the theoretical background of gamification in learning and education, (b) relevant studies in literature and their findings, and (c) specific gamified applications of STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics] which have been developed to this subject area. Four databases were searched, and 37 papers were finally selected for this review. The findings from the presented learning theories set the foundation on how students obtain knowledge, and the relevant studies in the field of gamification and computational thinking showed some first positive outcomes stemming some first research attempts which need further examination. Furthermore, it seems that with the right use of game mechanics and elements, well-designed applications of STEM gain students’ interest to learn through gameplay and motivate them to cultivate computational thinking and problem-solving skills
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DOI: 10.56294/sctconf2024659
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