Learning via Gamification: Latest Data, Stats & Trends

The effectiveness of gamification is well-represented in the field of education. Studies involving varied subject groups from young children to older professionals have often churned out positive results. One example is Theresa A. Papp’s paper ‘Gamification Effects on Motivation and Learning: Application to Primary and College Students’.

In the paper, Papp introduces gamification to two separate, and very different, groups of students. One group is attending university, while the other is a primary school class.

The results are interesting; the positive impact gamification had on the student’s motivation, ability to learn and in-class engagement is impressive.

The following is taken directly from Papp’s paper:

‘The consensus for both groups implied they found the gamified approach to be engaging, motivating and a preferred method to learn.’

Papp clearly demonstrated the value gamification can bring to a learning setting. This article looks to lay out the latest information relating to gamification’s impact on learning so you can apply it to your employee education program with confidence.

Gamification is more engaging

Engaging learners in a corporate environment is often the largest obstacle L&D managers need to overcome. Learners simply do not enjoy interacting with traditional forms of learning as much as they do gamification. An immersive experience which drags the user in on an emotional level, it is certainly an engaging form of learning as the below statistics show.

Firstly, eLearning Learning reported 80% of US workers find game-based learning a more engaging form of education, while the introduction of this method was also found to have a positive impact as reported by companies who found using games as part of their learning strategy to increase employee engagement by 60% and productivity by 50%.

89% of employees also reported they would be more productive if their work was gamified (be this learning or operational tasks). It seems gamification is a must-have for any employee education program. This increased level of engagement is even more desirable given European CEO’s research which found 50% of business transformation programs fail because of poor employee engagement.

Gamification increases motivation to learn

While engagement levels are measured intra-learning, motivation to engage in learning is another value which shows the effectiveness of an education program.

Gamification yet again proves to be a powerful method of increasing a learner’s motivation to engage in training. For example, Taylor & Francis reported 67% of students found gamified courses more motivating than traditional course-delivery methods.

Gamification performs strongly in relation to learner motivation, adding to its ability to maintain user’s engagement.

Gamification is enjoyable

Introducing methods of delivery learners want to and enjoy engaging with is one of the obstacles L&D managers are often tasked with overcoming.

One survey reported 78% of respondents found gamification would make a company more desirable to work for, aiding in the attraction of talent, while 85% of respondents in a 2018 survey said they would spend more time on an app or software because of gamification elements. While this figure is high, 2019’s report found an even higher number of respondents had the same answer with 89% of professionals stating they would spend more time on a piece of technology if it incorporated gamification.

The role gamification plays in terms of employee happiness should not be underestimated. It is clear learners find it more engaging and motivating, but they also seem to enjoy this method of delivery. Integrating elements of gameplay into learning appears to be a wise move for L&D managers.

Gamification is not just for young people

While some might think gamification is targeted solely at the younger cohort, this simply is not true. The positive impact of gamification can be experienced by a wide range of ages.

Enforcing this point is research conducted recently which found employees to be overwhelmingly positive about the role gamification can potentially play. 97% of employees above the age of 45 agree it would help improve their work while 87% of respondents found it makes them more productive at work and 85% would spend more time on gamified software than traditional technology.

Gamification is clearly a tactic which can be used across different age ranges.

Overall, the benefits gamification provides are valuable to those in charge of learning and development and likely in the areas deemed most valuable overall when it comes to an employee education program.