Cooperative Gamification in Education and Learning: a Comparison Between Modalities and Supported Activities
type: CreativeWork
description: The use of gamification – i.e., the use of game elements in non playful contexts – in the field of education is growing every year, to face the students’ low motivation and engagement toward learning. Gamified educational apps use cooperation and competition – important features of traditional learning – without having a comprehensive understanding of the role of game modality. This doctoral thesis focuses on the role of game modality in educational gameful systems, and in particular on the cooperative modality. First, I identified the gaps in gamification research through the analysis of the literature on (1) gamification in education, and (2) the role of game modality in education. The results showed how the study of cooperative gamification needs deeper exploration. To address this gap, two empirical studies were conducted using the StandByMe platform, a gamified system designed to raise awareness about gender-based violence through a series of thematic activities. These studies compared the effects of individual and cooperative modalities, assessing their respective strengths and limitations. The second study further examined the influence of individual differences, such as personality traits and player types, on the user experience. The two studies incorporated qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate how the two game modalities impacted participants' learning outcomes and user experiences. The findings revealed that contrary to existing literature, the individual modality appeared more effective for teaching sensitive topics, and this could represent an advantage when the primary goal is learning. This effect is likely attributable to the greater focus and cognitive engagement in the individual modality. In contrast, the cooperative modality fostered higher levels of motivation, suggesting it may be more suitable for contexts where learners exhibit low initial interest in the subject matter. While personality traits and player types moderated the user exp…
abstract: The use of gamification – i.e., the use of game elements in non playful contexts – in the field of education is growing every year, to face the students’ low motivation and engagement toward learning. Gamified educational apps use cooperation and competition – important features of traditional learning – without having a comprehensive understanding of the role of game modality. This doctoral thesis focuses on the role of game modality in educational gameful systems, and in particular on the cooperative modality. First, I identified the gaps in gamification research through the analysis of the literature on (1) gamification in education, and (2) the role of game modality in education. The results showed how the study of cooperative gamification needs deeper exploration. To address this gap, two empirical studies were conducted using the StandByMe platform, a gamified system designed to raise awareness about gender-based violence through a series of thematic activities. These studies compared the effects of individual and cooperative modalities, assessing their respective strengths and limitations. The second study further examined the influence of individual differences, such as personality traits and player types, on the user experience. The two studies incorporated qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate how the two game modalities impacted participants' learning outcomes and user experiences. The findings revealed that contrary to existing literature, the individual modality appeared more effective for teaching sensitive topics, and this could represent an advantage when the primary goal is learning. This effect is likely attributable to the greater focus and cognitive engagement in the individual modality. In contrast, the cooperative modality fostered higher levels of motivation, suggesting it may be more suitable for contexts where learners exhibit low initial interest in the subject matter. While personality traits and player types moderated the user exp…
author: Gini, Federica
language: eng
keywords: Cooperation, Sensitive Topics, Gamification, Game Modality
date published: 2025-06-06
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:04:43Z
provider: Università degli Studi di Trento
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Università degli studi di Trento

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/11572/456051

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.15168/11572_456051