Gamification and the development of metacognitive processes: a systematic literature review

RQ1. What is the relationship between gamification and the development of metacognitive processes?

The findings show a meaningful relationship between the gamification process and the development of metacognitive processes such as monitoring and self-regulation of learning. Antonaci et al. (2019), Goddiksen et al. (2024), and Mei and Yang (2019) agree that elements of gamification such as immediate feedback, rewards, challenges, and autonomy foster critical reflection on learning and enhance students’ awareness of their cognitive performance.

According to Edo Agustín (2023), gamification generates favorable conditions for the construction of meaningful learning by promoting increased engagement with instructional content. This interaction is not merely superficial; by integrating strategies such as feedback, students can analyze their decisions and consciously correct errors, thereby enhancing critical reflection and logical thinking (Hwang et al., 2024). However, this effect enables learners to move beyond unstructured trials and error dynamics are often observed in poorly designed gamified experiences.

An example of this is provided by Zhao et al. (2024), who emphasized that the use of augmented reality in gamified environments fosters reflection on one’s own learning, which in turn increases confidence in the use of technology. From this perspective, it can be stated that gamification activates internal self-regulation mechanisms, as it enables students to assess their progress, identify errors, set goals, and adjust cognitive strategies. This contributes to the development of personalized educational experiences and encourages self-assessment as an active component of the learning process.

Similarly, Beça et al. (2022) emphasized that the appropriate integration of game-based content enables students to achieve meaningful learning outcomes, such as winning, losing, and receiving feedback, which increases their awareness of the learning process. From this perspective, gamification extends beyond motivation and acts as a mediator in reflective thinking. Other studies, such as that of Cáceres Reche et al. (2022), have demonstrated how games with reward systems promote processes such as planning and monitoring. Similarly, Reche et al. (2022) highlight the academic, emotional, and social benefits of gamification. Emotionally, it enhances students’ motivation and interest in task completion while socially emphasizing its contribution to collaborative work by fostering environments that stimulate self-regulated learning.

Several studies, including Manshoven and Gillabel (2021) and Qiao (2024), indicate that gamified processes are widely related to emotional abilities such as autonomy, self-efficacy, and competence, which can be developed through well-designed gamification. Dong et al. (2024) highlighted that educational games that stimulate planning and problem solving are useful for consolidating significant and reflective learning.

In general, review studies such as those by Goddiksen et al. (2024) and Rosli et al. (2019) agreed that gamification enhances cognitive structures and fosters the development of factual knowledge, including memory and the acquisition of critical application skills in real-world scenarios. This reinforces the role of gamification as a pedagogical process that facilitates activation and enhancement of metacognitive processes.

RQ2. What theoretical frameworks support the use of gamification to foster the development of metacognitive processes in educational contexts?

The literature review identified three fundamental theoretical categories that supported the frameworks used to explain the relationship between gamification and metacognitive processes. These categories are linked to learning methods, psychological theories, and underlying cognitive processes involved in teaching and learning. Together, these dimensions offer a comprehensive approach to understanding how gamification influences the development of metacognition in educational contexts by integrating a theoretical-practical perspective.

Table 3 summarizes the findings associated with each category, as reported in the analyzed studies. This quantitative perspective helps to identify the most commonly used foundations to justify the incorporation of gamification as a facilitator for developing the metacognitive process.

Regarding the methodologies used to implement gamification processes that foster metacognitive development, the literature points to Game-Based Learning (GBL) as the predominant approach. GBL was present in 60.6% of the articles analyzed, while the remaining percentage did not mention a specific methodology. Game-Based Learning is based on the incorporation of game dynamics within educational contexts with clearly defined learning objectives. According to Leal Uhlig et al. (2023), technology plays a key role in GBL environments as it facilitates immersive experiences that promote student engagement and generate positive impacts on the development of critical thinking. Likewise, Davis (2022) and Hwang et al. (2024) emphasized that the game-based approach increases intrinsic motivation and strengthens metacognitive processes, such as planning, monitoring, and self-reflection, by integrating disciplinary content with dynamic structures that stimulate conscious decision-making and the continuous evaluation of learning.

Davis (2022) explained that serious game-based learning is supported by Piaget’s cognitive theory, which integrates playful elements into instructional content, thereby improving motivation and learning. Game-based learning contributes to the development of cognitive processes such as reading comprehension, attention, and memory by combining cognitive theory, instructional content, and game elements that leverage the motivational and immersive nature of games to improve learning outcomes. In terms of metacognition, serious games promote planning, which is understood as the learner´s ability to anticipate actions and set goals before starting a task, and monitoring, which involves constantly reviewing and evaluating one´s own performance and understanding during the activity. These dynamics require reflection on the decisions made to allow for the adjustment of strategies based on the feedback received, thereby strengthening self-regulation of learning.

Game-based learning, supported by learning theories such as constructivism, favors the development of metacognitive processes by creating interactive environments that foster self-reflection and learning regulation. According to Hwang et al. (2024), GBL facilitates problem solving through active experimentation, allowing students to analyze decisions and receive immediate feedback. This process of analysis and decision making strengthens self-regulation and metacognitive awareness, as it requires constant evaluation of their strategies and adjustment according to the results obtained.

Dong et al. (2024) highlighted its application to students with cognitive disabilities, emphasizing that gamification improves skills such as memory, attention, reasoning, and planning. These findings show that game-based learning promotes the development of metacognitive strategies, such as organization, adaptation to new situations, and reflective decision-making, all of which are essential for autonomy in inclusive educational environments.

The literature review makes it possible to identify that, from a psychological perspective, three fundamental theories support the learning process: the theory of self-regulated learning, self-determination theory, and Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. The first was the theory of self-regulated learning, which was presented in 8.5% of the reviewed articles. This theory is presented as a psychological foundation, as it analyzes how students plan, monitor, and evaluate their learning process. In gamified contexts, these processes are enhanced by dynamics such as immediate feedback, personalized challenges, and progress monitoring (Kim et al. 2021, as cited in Choi et al., 2022). According to Marks et al. (2024), gamification fosters a self-regulated mind-set by facilitating the identification of knowledge gaps and strategic adjustments through constructive feedback.

Figure 2 illustrates the distribution of the articles according to the identified theoretical frameworks.

Figure 2. Articles based on theories.

This figure presents the number and percentage of studies in the systematic review classified by their underlying theoretical foundation, highlighting the predominance of studies that did not explicitly mention a guiding theory.

The second theory identified is Self-Determination Theory (SDT), which was presented in 4.2% of the articles analyzed. This theory, proposed by (Deci & Ryan, 2000), emphasizes the importance of intrinsic motivation, which arises from interest in and enjoyment of the activity itself and is essential for promoting meaningful learning. SDT states that this form of motivation is activated when three basic psychological needs are satisfied: autonomy, understood as the student’s ability to make decisions and act with a sense of regulation; competence, referring to the feeling of effectiveness when facing challenges; and social relatedness, which implies a feeling of connection with others and establishment of meaningful relationships (Qiao et al., 2022).

In gamified environments, these needs are activated through specific mechanics, such as avatar customization (autonomy), progressive difficulty levels and achievements (competence), and collaborative interactions (relatedness). Satisfying these needs enhances students’ engagement and willingness to reflect on their learning, thereby promoting metacognitive processes (Calderón et al. 2024; Wan et al. 2021; Siala et al. 2019).

The third theory is Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development, which was cited in 1.4% of the reviewed articles. This provides a fundamental framework for understanding how gamification can favor both cognitive development and metacognitive processes in educational settings. Piaget postulated that children learn through evolutionary stages related to functional, constructive, symbolic, and rule-based play, which plays a decisive role in the development of emerging cognitive abilities (Dong et al. 2024). Studies, such as those by Dong et al. (2024), have designed gamified experiences for children with cognitive impairment, showing that adapting playful mechanics to their level of development through positive feedback activities and progressive challenges improves functions such as memory and reasoning.

Likewise, Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development posits that knowledge is built through active interaction between the subject and environment. Gamification, by structuring playful dynamics with learning objectives, allows students to progressively construct and reconstruct their knowledge. These findings extend to the development of metacognitive skills, since gamification, by integrating reflective strategies, such as self-assessment journals and evaluation spaces, promotes awareness of one’s own learning processes. For example, students in gamified environments report their ability to monitor progress, adjust strategies, and reflect on their understanding (Trigueros et al., 2024).

In contrast, within the psychological theories underlying the analysis of gamified processes in relation to metacognition, three main approaches were identified: self-regulated learning, metacognition, and the meta-reasoning model. Figure 3 shows the articles based on a single cognitive process.

Figure 3. Articles based on cognitive processes.

This figure shows the number and percentage of studies categorized according to the cognitive or metacognitive processes addressed, emphasizing the limited explicit focus on metacognitive frameworks.

Self-regulated learning is recognized as an effective strategy for mastering knowledge and improving attitudes toward learning (Zhao et al., 2024). This perspective emphasizes students’ management of their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors to achieve their goals, thus promoting an active role through planning, monitoring, and adjusting personal strategies. Self-regulated learning appears in 9.9% of the studies, reaffirming its role as a bridge between gamification and the development of metacognitive processes.

Similarly, self-regulated learning enables learners to develop self-determination and reach a state of active awareness in their activities, characterized by important levels of concentration and motivation. Studies such as those by Manshoven and Gillabel (2021); Trigueros et al. (2024) confirm that gamification, by designing environments that meet these fundamental needs, fosters self-determination and active engagement with learning tasks. This framework explains how elements such as immediate feedback systems, level progression, and collaborative dynamics motivate and create ideal conditions for the development of metacognitive processes, by turning students into conscious agents of their learning processes.

Another cognitive process identified was the meta-reasoning model, which was cited in 7% of the articles. This model focuses on monitoring mental processes during decision making, in contrast to metacognition, which supervises the entire learning process. According to (Kleitman & Narciss, 2019), meta-reasoning examines how individuals assess the difficulty of a task, and how these evaluations determine the amount of time, effort, and cognitive resources they are willing to invest in. Gamified contexts are applied through games that require problem-solving, error analysis, and strategic reflection. These dynamics enable students to make decisions and evaluate tasks, thereby contributing to the development of self-regulation and effort control (Juan-Lázaro & Area-Moreira, 2021). On the other hand, metacognition as an explicit construct was mentioned in only 1.4% of the articles, suggesting that, although it is often the ultimate goal of gamified interventions, it is frequently addressed in an indirect or implicit manner.

In summary, the analyzed theoretical frameworks support the use of gamification as a mediator for developing metacognition in educational contexts. This perspective emphasizes the internal processes of learning, such as motivation, self-regulation, and reasoning, in line with Juan-Lázaro and Area-Moreira (2021). In a pedagogical framework, the focus is on designing meaningful student-centered experiences. Both perspectives agree that beyond motivating, gamification promotes conscious reflection on learning, which is essential for fostering autonomous and meaningful learning (Voreopoulou et al., 2024).

RQ3. How is gamification related to the development of higher-order thinking skills in educational contexts?

The reviewed studies establish a significant relationship between gamification and the development of Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) in educational settings (Laksana et al., 2024). These skills encompass processes such as analyzing, evaluating, creating, problem-solving, and decision-making. This review highlights problem solving, critical thinking, and decision-making as the most prominent (Qiao, 2024).

According to Edo Agustín (2023), the relationship between the use of gamification and the development of metacognitive processes in learning is enhanced when gamification incorporates explicit mechanisms that promote conscious reflection on the learning process as it offers immediate feedback and invites students to face real situations that demand complex cognitive processes. Likewise, gamification promotes the development of higher-order skills by going beyond the repetition of knowledge; it favors analysis, synthesis, critical, reflective, logical thinking, problem-solving, and the ability to create (Hsbollah & Rosli, 2022). Antonaci et al. (2019) indicated that gamified environments promote higher-order thinking skills by requiring demanding cognitive abilities such as problem-solving, decision-making, and critical analysis, in challenging contexts that stimulate deep reflection.

However, the development of higher-order thinking skills is consciously and effectively presented when gamification is implemented through digital technologies, accompanied by intentional instructional design. Thus, elements such as immediate feedback, cognitive challenges, and the possibility of trial and error can activate advanced cognitive processes (Hwang et al., 2024). According to Voreopoulou et al. (2024), the role of emerging technologies such as augmented reality shows that gamified activities involve exploration, analysis, and evaluation, which makes higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) more explicit in the learning process. Similarly, Calderón et al. (2024) affirmed that solving challenges requires the application of thinking and logical skills (cognitive challenges), and often overcoming challenges that depend on solving previous situations, which implies a progression in the complexity of thinking.

Based on these findings, Oliva et al. (2021) pointed out that strategic decision making is a constant demand in gamified environments, in which students must define paths to achieve objectives. When gamification and metacognition are articulated, students make decisions, think about strategies, evaluate different options, and learn from their responses. Similarly, they self-assess their processes, which promotes critical thinking and planning skills.

In general, the relationship between gamification and metacognition is directly associated with the development of higher-order skills (Pirta-Dreimane et al., 2024), since both approaches promote problem-solving, critical thinking, self-regulation, planning, and monitoring, especially through challenging scenarios that stimulate high-level thinking.