Abstract
Athough it is generally assumed that gamification improves learning, there is not enough studies that would support this assumption. According to Cognitive-Affective Theory of Learning with Media (Moreno, 2005) motivation helps to select, process and organize new information.
On the other hand, motivation might enhance cognitive load of the learning material (Sweller et al., 2011). We conducted a study to investigate the effects of several game elements on learners' affective motivational states induced by the learning experience.
The experiment of between-subject design consisted of 3 conditions, of which 1 gamified (and narrative at the same time) and 2 control (narrative and non-narrative). Affective-motivational states were measured before, during and after 2 hours long intervention.
Knowledge was assessed three times, before and after learning, and a month later. Data from 98 college students were analyzed.
No significant effect of gamification on learning outcomes and affective-motivational states was found, however gamified version was perceived as easier to learn.