Adaptive Gamification in Science Education: An Analysis of the Impact of Implementation and Adapted Game Elements on Students’ Motivation

In recent years, gamification has captured the attention of researchers and educators, particularly in science education, where students often express negative emotions. Gamification methods aim to motivate learners to participate in learning by incorporating intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors. However, the effectiveness of gamification has yielded varying outcomes, prompting researchers to explore adaptive gamification as an alternative approach. Nevertheless, there needs to be more research on adaptive gamification approaches, particularly concerning motivation, which is the primary objective of gamification. In this study, we developed and tested an adaptive gamification environment based on specific motivational and psychological frameworks. This environment incorporated adaptive criteria, learning strategies, gaming elements, and all crucial aspects of science education for six classes of third-grade students in primary school. We employed a quantitative approach to gain insights into the motivational impact on students and their perception of the adaptive gamification application. We aimed to understand how each game element experienced by students influenced their motivation. Based on our findings, students were more motivated to learn science when using an adaptive gamification environment. Additionally, the adaptation process was largely successful, as students generally liked the game elements integrated into their lessons, indicating the effectiveness of the multidimensional framework employed in enhancing students’ experiences and engagement.