Gamified web and mobile learning show moderate knowledge effects with greater variability than serious games¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesis r3 · q4 · i1 small
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q4 i1 Gamified web/mobile interventions showed a moderate pooled knowledge effect (SMD=0.55, 95% CI [0.23, 0.87]) with substantial heterogeneity (I2=70%). → Chen W.-L. 2026

Evidence¶

Chen W.-L. 2026¶

Chen W.-L., Winitchayothin S., Cheng C.-H., Tonapa S.I., Chou F.-H., & Zimmerman P.-A. (2026). A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of gamified clinical skill learning on learning outcomes in undergraduate nursing education. The Journal of Nursing Research. https://doi.org/10.1097/jnr.0000000000000772

q4 · i1 · quant-synthesis · r3

Subgroup analysis of six RCTs (n=295) of gamified web/mobile platforms in the knowledge meta-analysis. The review reports a moderate pooled effect, SMD = 0.55, quoting "a moderate pooled effect (SMD=0.55, 95% CI [0.23, 0.87])" with substantial heterogeneity (I2=70%).

"These interventions (six studies, n=295) exhibited a moderate pooled effect (SMD=0.55, 95% CI [0.23, 0.87]) with substantial heterogeneity (I 2=70%). They incorporated web-based or mobile platforms with embedded gamification elements, including quizzes, badges, and leaderboards."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Gamified flipped classroom/animation knowledge effects are inconclusive due to few studies and extreme heterogeneity — related
• Gamified clinical skill learning produces a large positive effect on knowledge acquisition in undergraduate nursing students — a broader claim this one bears on
• Gamified clinical skill learning moderately improves student attitudes toward learning, based on a small evidence base — related
• Gamified clinical skill learning produces the largest effects on skill performance, with very high between-study heterogeneity — related
• Gamified simulation-based learning shows a large knowledge effect but with substantial heterogeneity — related
• Standalone serious games show large, relatively consistent effects on knowledge acquisition compared with other gamification categories — related
• Gamification has small positive effects on cognitive, motivational and behavioral learning outcomes — a broader claim this one bears on
• Gamified mobile microlearning improved written exam scores but not global clinical performance assessments in psychiatry clerkship students — a narrower finding that bears on this claim