What evidence is there that digital games can contribute to increasing students' motivation to learn?

This paper reports on both theoretical and empirical evidence pertaining to why and how video games can motivate students to learn in traditional or non-traditional settings. The first section describes the background and rationale of the paper. It explains key concepts linked to motivation, engagement and flow, and illustrates how some features in video games can promote intrinsic motivation, a motivation that is believed to encourage and sustain learning. In the second part of the paper, empirical evidence of the motivational aspects of video games is presented, with reference to recent scientific studies conducted essentially between 2005 and 2011. The evidence collected demonstrates that games are employed to successfully increase motivation on the part of the learners, in a wide range of settings, for different topics (e.g., science, literature, or engineering), and to address the needs and specificities of different types of learners (e.g., gender, age, or special needs). The literature review shows that games can teach both academic and non-academic skills, and motivate students to collaborate, share information, and increase their attainments. The results presented in the review emphasize that, while games are motivating, some additional mechanisms need to be implemented to ensure that they will systematically manage to engage, teach and change students' behaviors. These include game design (e.g., personalized strategies, adapted challenge or a good balance between educational and entertaining features), and teaching strategies (e.g., briefing, debriefing, and teachers' support).