The Impact of Gamified Learning on Students' Learning Engagement

With the rapid advancement of information technology, teaching models have undergone profound transformations. However, the issue of insufficient student engagement remains prominent in practical classroom teaching today, manifested by inadequate learning concentration, learning burnout, and diminished learning enthusiasm. As an innovative learning approach, gamified learning centers on applying elements, mechanisms, and principles of games to non-game teaching environments, aiming to stimulate learners' interest and motivation and enhance their learning initiative. To address this problem, this study adopted a mixed-methods approach combining qualitative and quantitative research, selecting two parallel classes—Class 1, Grade 8 and Class 2, Grade 7 of M Middle School—as research objects. Among them, Class 1 served as the experimental class adopting the gamified teaching model, while Class 2 was the control class using the traditional teaching model. Data analysis tools were employed to conduct pre-tests and post-tests on both classes, analyzing the impact of gamified learning on learners' engagement from three dimensions: cognitive engagement, behavioral engagement, and emotional engagement. The results indicated that gamified learning can promote students' cognitive engagement, strengthen their behavioral performance in the learning process, and foster their positive emotions toward learning. This study not only provides practical references for future educational and teaching research but also offers theoretical support for the reform direction of teaching methods.