Dissertation: Games can improve learning outcomes, but only if well designed and accompanied by teacher guidance

In his dissertation, M.Sc. Ayaz Karimov studied how serious games can improve learning and social inclusion in schools.

Serious games refer to digital games designed for learning and skill development. The games included in the study were Legends of Learning and Khan Academy.

Karimov focused especially on how learners’ preferences influence what kind of gamification features should be chosen for serious games, and on the other hand, what factors influence learners' motivation and learning outcomes in real school contexts.

Karimov also studied how game localization processes can improve both efficiency and learner experience when scaling platforms to new language and cultural settings.

“According to the results, serious educational games can motivate, engage, and improve learning outcomes, but only if they are well designed, alignment with the school curriculum and are accompanied by teacher guidance”, Karimov says.

According to Karimov, poorly designed or structured games can lead to neutral or even negative outcomes, such as distraction problems or decreased motivation.

Paying attention to students' preferences and game localisation increases inclusivity

According to Karimov, students' own preferences have an impact on how inclusive gamified features in learning are. As a part of the study, Karimov conducted a survey, which was answered by a total of 406 Estonian primary school students.

The survey revealed that collecting points and badges in games was generally viewed positively. However, more competitive elements, such as leaderboards, divided the respondents' opinions.

"Points and badges are a relatively safe and inclusive design choice in learning games. More competitive mechanics should only be applied selectively, attention to local classroom culture and student groups”, Asimov states.

As part of his research, Karimov conducted a pilot study in Azerbaijan, where the Khan Academy learning game was localized into the Azerbaijani language. Linguistic and cultural localization helped improve the learner’s reported experience and perceived learning quality.

The study offers help to teachers, schools, and game developers

The results provide teachers, schools, and learning platform developers with guidelines on how gamification can be implemented in a way that supports learning and participation rather than creating obstacles to it.

"The use of games in teaching is worthwhile, but it must be done in a pedagogically sound manner and under the teacher guidance. Gamification can increase inclusion, but it requires recognition of the different student preferences," Karimov sums up.

Karimov points out that, from a learning perspective, the localization of serious games is essential to ensure that digital solutions support equality and motivation to learn.

Ayaz Karimov defends their doctoral dissertation “Game-based learning for social inclusion: From evidence synthesis to scalable classroom implementation” on 5 December at 12:00. Opponent is PhD, Game researcher and entrepreneur Harri Ketamo (Headai) and custos is Assistant Professor Mirka Saarela (University of Jyväskylä).

The language of the event is English. The dissertation event can be attended in University Main building hall C4 or online.