Abstract:

The traditional lecture is characterised by a one-way transfer of information from the teacher to the student. However, this methodology affects the student's attention in class, as it has been shown that learning is not effective when the material limits independent thinking and does not stimulate students. In this context, and faced with motivational lack, gamification has emerged as a tool capable of linking student satisfaction and curriculum content through pedagogically progressive and inherently fun learning.

The term gamification is the introduction of game elements into a non-game context to increase engagement and promote the performance of desired behaviours by users (Dzandu et al., 2022). The basic game components are points, badges, leaderboards, challenges, levels and virtual goods. Furthermore, recent research supports the idea that millennials prefer technology-based lessons, which they perceive as more entertaining and experiential (Gupta and Goyal, 2022). Hence, the game dynamics presented often incorporate technological resources as well as e-materials in order to enhance the experience and the achievement of objectives.

The incorporation of technological resources together with game elements in the teaching environment promotes a new learning model based on "thinking and doing", allowing for participation, imagination or observation in dynamic sessions. Therefore, after finding consistent results about the high willingness of educators and students to teach-learn with the support of various digital technologies, the following study is presented to analyse the results obtained after the incorporation of gamification in an educational context. The study has been carried out specifically on students in degrees belonging to the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Almeria. The period in which this analysis was performed covers the full duration of a subject and the results have been recorded through the virtual classroom.

The results obtained show that the incorporation of gamification in university education improves not only the experience of the students themselves, but also the marks recorded in the continuous and final assessment of the subject in which the gamification has been introduced. In addition, a reduction of stress has been perceived on the part of students through a new and playful approach, as they are not aware that the assessment is being carried out through the proposed activities. Finally, the collection of useful and immediate information provided by gamification and new technologies allows teachers to make it possible to delve into the progress made by students.

Keywords:

University, teaching innovation, gamification, motivation, active methodologies.