The Impact of Gamification and Serious Games on Computational Thinking and Learning Motivation in Scratch Programming Education

As technology rapidly evolves, educational strategies that bolster computational thinking and stimulate students’ motivation for learning programming are becoming essential. This study explored how integrating a block-based programming language and gamified elements influenced primary school students' computational thinking and learning motivation.A quasi-experimental study was conducted with twenty grade three students who received instruction, incorporating gamification elements. During the course, students developed serious games and animations using mBlock, with rewards given as points via Classdojo. The Programming Computational Thinking Scale (PCTS) was used to assess computational thinking abilities, and the Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (IMMS) was used to measure student motivation. A Programming Achievement Test (PAT) was used to evaluate the students' programming performance.Our study found that integrating gamification with mBlock notably enhanced students' computational thinking abilities, especially their comprehension of computational concepts and practices. This approach also significantly improved students' motivation for learning, particularly across the various dimensions of the ARCS motivation model: attention, confidence, relevance, and satisfaction.Moreover, this study uncovered significant correlations between computational thinking, learning motivation, and programming achievement. Our analysis revealed that dimensions within the PCTS were strongly interconnected, suggesting that improvements in one aspect of computational thinking likely led to advancements in others. Similarly, dimensions within the IMMS also demonstrated strong correlations, indicating the interconnected nature of motivational elements in learning.A notable link was identified between the PCTS and IMMS results, underscoring the correlation between advancements in computational thinking and students' motivational experiences. Furthermore, a significant correlation was found between students' confidence and their programming performance, as measured by the PAT, highlighting the comprehensive connection between computational thinking, motivation, and programming achievement.Overall, the study highlighted the importance of incorporating gamification activities and block-based programming in teaching computational thinking concepts and their impact on students' learning motivation. These findings inform educational practice and curricular design for teaching programming in primary schools, potentially improving students' computational thinking skills and motivation for programming.