Educational gamification consists of the use of game elements and game design techniques in the educational context. The objective of this study is to examine the existing evidence on the impact of educational gamification on student motivation and academic performance in the last five years in order to analyze its distribution over time, educational level, variables, and most used game elements, and know the advantages of its implementation in the classroom. For this, a systematic review is proposed through the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology in three multidisciplinary databases, through an exhaustive search with inclusion and exclusion criteria on quantitative experimental studies that explore gamification in educational centers, which provide information about the most current lines of research. Fourteen studies were included in this review. These used experimental or quasi-experimental designs. Most of them report gamification as a valid learning strategy. The results support the conclusion that educational gamification has a potential impact on the academic performance, commitment, and motivation of students. Therefore, this study implies the need to expand research on the needs and challenges of students when learning with gamified techniques.

The video game has been one of the phenomena with the greatest impact on the entire social fabric, and especially among young people. Therefore, it is essential to understand the interaction between the players and the video game itself. However, few instruments have been designed to assess the types of players in the adolescent population. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to validate the Gamification User Types Hexad Scale for the Spanish adolescent population. The sample of participants consisted of 1345 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18. To evaluate the psychometric properties of the scale, a confirmatory factor analysis and a multi-group analysis of invariance by sex were performed. The results provide evidence of a valid and reliable six-factor instrument to measure the types of players in the Spanish adolescent population, regardless of their sex.

Playful learning strategies, such as educational gamification, game-based learning, and escape rooms are increasingly being incorporated into the university education system. In this study, it aims to develop and validate an instrument to analyze motivation regarding the use of playful learning strategies in university students. A total of 450 university students aged between 18 and 55 (Mean = 22.72; Standard Deviation = 5.01) were part of the sample, with whom playful strategies were implemented during the 2019/2020 school year. The results obtained in the confirmatory factor analysis indicate that the questionnaire on motivation for playful learning strategies has adequate psychometric properties to assess the motivation and perception of student learning in the implementation of ludic strategies in the classroom in the Spanish university context.

El objetivo del estudio es revisar y evaluar sistemáticamente la literatura relacionada con las estrategias de enseñanza incidental en atletas nóveles y expertos en el aprendizaje de habilidades relacionadas con el baloncesto, con objeto de analizar los efectos subyacentes entre dos procesos cognitivos diferentes en el aprendizaje y el rendimiento.  Durante el proceso de búsqueda se consultaron las bases de datos Web of Science, Scopus, SportDiscus y PsycInfo, además de otras fuentes de investigación, siendo finalmente seleccionados 26 estudios. Los resultados indican que, en líneas generales, reducir la cantidad de información que procesan los jugadores produce un efecto positivo en el aprendizaje y el rendimiento. Los atletas con nivel de experiencia bajo en el dominio de una habilidad se benefician de un estilo de enseñanza que favorezca un aprendizaje incidental. Los atletas expertos se basan en un procesamiento más intuitivo que los jugadores nóveles.