Rima International Journal of Education (RIJE), Vol. 2 (No. 1): May, 2023; 55 - 68: ISSN: 2756 - 6749 EFFECTS OF GAMIFICATION ON STUDENTS’ LEARNING: A SYSTEMATIC MAPPING STUDY 1 Prof. Nasiru Ibrahim Tambuwal; 2 Abdullahi Yusuf and 3 Hassan Aliyu 1,2,3 Department of Science Education, Faculty of Education, Sokoto State University, Sokoto Correspondence e-mail: 1 natambuwal68@gmail.com Abstract The purpose of this study was to review the directions and tendencies of the conducted research on the application of gamification in education, and more specifically, to provide insight and understanding on which game elements are mostly used, results generated, predominance context, region, and research approach. A total of 43 articles were filtered from three databases: Scopus, Science Direct, and Jstor. Mapped results show that badges, points, levels, and leaderboards are the predominant game mechanics employed by researchers. In addition, the most used game dynamics in educational context are visual status, social engagement, rapid feedback, freedom to choose, and freedom to fail. Further result shows that Information Technology (IT), Engineering and Education were the predominant context in which gamification research is applied. South-East Asia was found to have received many gamification studies. The most used research approach is quantitative study, involving experiments and surveys. Results were generally mixed, but most results were positive, suggesting that gamification improves learning. From these reviews, a number of gaps were found. It is still not clear which game elements are responsible for the positive impact of gamification. Thus, research is needed to compare the impact of various game elements. The review recommends among other things, that game elements should be integrated into the school curriculum as an alternative to learning different topics, there is also the need to conduct more studies on gamification in different settings to come up with more findings. Keywords: Gamification, Learning, Systematic Mapping Introduction Over the last decades, there has been a rapid growth in technological development and innovation (Mitchell, Schuster & Jin, 2020), with the education sector capitalizing on this growth to integrate new teaching methods such as virtual collaboration, application of mobile learning, and other technology enhanced learning (Bai, Hew & Huang, 2020). A growing influx of research has explored the significance of these alternative classroom processes on students‟ learning outcomes. Despite the practical benefits of these alternative classroom processes, unfortunately, restructuring classrooms to cater for students' learning needs are always difficult due to logistical issues and limited resources (Sanchez, Langer & Kaur, 2020). Educators are therefore in continual search of possible alternatives that are cost-effective and can improve learning. Gamification has been considered by many authors as one the alternatives that are a cost-effective and efficient tool for improving learning outcomes (Mitchell et al., 2020). Gamification is defined as the use of game elements in non-game game contexts for the purpose of improving learning outcomes (Deterding, Khaled, Nacke & Dixon, 2011). It also refers to game design principles and methods, services, organizations, and activities to create the same experiences and motivations as those experienced in serious games, in https://rijessu.com/volume-2-issue-1-2023