Gamification in Education: Understanding Children’s Perspectives on Interest and Motivation

Introduction: This thesis explores how gamification influences middle school pupils’ interest and motivation for learning, from a user experience perspective. In an increasingly digital society, traditional educational methods often fail to effectively engage pupils. While previous studies show that gamification enhances learning outcomes, few have focused on the children’s own perceptions. By addressing this gap, the study investigates how gamified learning systems, designed with motivational principles and user experience heuristics, can support more engaging and motivating educational learning experiences for middle school pupils aged 10 - 12. Research Question: The primary research question is: “How does a gamification prototype, developed in line with user experience principles, affect middle school pupils’ (ages 10 to 12) interest and motivation for learning?” Method: Interviews were held with six middle school pupils between the ages of 10 - 11 to gather data on their favourite and least favourite subjects, experiences with learning in both regular classroom education as well as through games and what their general gaming experiences are. This collected data laid the foundation for the developed gamification prototype. Additionally, once the prototype was finished, user testing observations were held with three of the six participants from the interviews, where data regarding the usability of the prototype, the participants’ general experience with it as well as how motivating, interesting and fun it was to learn through the game compared to regular classroom education was collected. Results: The results indicate that learning through the game is more engaging, motivating and fun, especially in social studies, compared to regular classroom education. The user testing highlighted that the prototype’s competition, clarity, and subject variety was appreciated. Although limitations such as initial confusion with tasks and difficulty adapting the game to all subjects was found, the prototype’s usability rating was “Excellent”. The SUS score had an average of 90 points, which indicates strong user satisfaction and effective design. Although the prototype was positively received, all participants agreed the game worked best when combined with regular classroom education. Discussion: These findings suggest that integrating gamification into middle school pupils’ education increases their motivation and interest in learning, but that a combination with teacher-led instruction is preferred. The strong user experience score (System USability Scale score: 90) indicates that well-designed gamified tools can be both engaging and effective. However, initial confusion with the exercises proves the importance of including clear tutorials. The study’s limitations, such as focus on a single subject (social studies) and small sample size, restricts the generalizability of the results. Future research should examine the impact of gamification across various school subjects, and investigate the long-term effects on learning outcomes.