Liwei Ding

The digital wave sweeping the globe is irreversibly reshaping humanity’s connection with its own history, and the field of cultural heritage is at the heart of this profound transformation. From pr...

Following the significant disruption of traditional teaching by the COVID-19 pandemic, gamified education—an approach integrating technology and cognitive strategies—has gained widespread attention and use among educators and learners. This study explores how game-based learning, supported by situated learning theory and game design elements, can boost learner motivation and knowledge construction. Using 20,293 user comments from the Chinese video platform Bilibili, the study applies sentiment analysis and LDA to uncover users’ sentimental tendencies and cognitive themes. The analysis identifies four core themes: (1) The application of contextual strategies in language learning, (2) Autonomous exploration and active participation in gamified learning, (3) Progressive enhancement of logical thinking in gamified environments, and (4) Teaching innovation in promoting knowledge construction and deepening. Building on these findings, the study further develops a cognitive scaffolding model integrating “contextualization–procedural logic–active construction” to explain the mechanisms of motivation–cognition interaction in gamified learning. Methodologically, this study innovatively combines LDA topic modeling with sentiment analysis, offering a new approach for multidimensional measurement of learner attitudes in gamified education. Theoretically, it extends the application of situated learning theory to digital education, providing systematic support for instructional design and meaning-making. Findings enrich empirical research on gamified learning and offer practical insights for optimizing educational platforms and personalized learning support.

The integration of gamification into digital learning environments is reshaping educational models, advancing towards more adaptive and personalized teaching evolution. However, within large Chinese corpora, the transition mechanism from passive participation to adaptive gamified learning remains underexplored in a systematic manner. This study fills this gap by utilizing LDA topic modeling and sentiment analysis techniques to delve into user comment data on the Bilibili platform. The results extract five major themes, which include multilingual task-driven learning, early-age programming thinking cultivation, modular English competency certification, cross-domain cognitive integration and psychological safety, as well as ubiquitous intelligent educational environments. The analysis reveals that most themes exhibit highly positive emotions, particularly in applications for early childhood education, while learning models that involve certification mechanisms and technological dependencies tend to provoke emotional fluctuations. Nevertheless, learners still experience certain challenges and pressures when faced with frequent cognitive tasks. In an innovative manner, this study proposes a theoretical framework based on Self-Determination Theory and Connectivism to analyze how motivation satisfaction drives cognitive restructuring, thereby facilitating the process of adaptive learning. This model demonstrates the evolutionary logic of learners’ cross-disciplinary knowledge integration and metacognitive strategy optimization, providing empirical support for the gamification learning transformation mechanism in China’s digital education sector and extending the research framework for personalized teaching and self-regulation in educational technology.

Gamified education, as an emerging educational model, is gradually transforming traditional learning methods and has sparked widespread public discussion about its effectiveness and potential. According to connectivism, thinking and learning occur through the connections and interactions among a large number of units. Gamified education can serve as a form of connection, facilitating learners’ links and knowledge construction across different units through interactions, tasks, and feedback. This study aims to explore the public’s emotional attitudes toward gamified education, particularly analyzing the phenomenon of detachment and return regarding its educational function and essence. Through sentiment analysis and LDA topic modeling, three main themes were identified: the gamification and effectiveness of language learning, programmatic learning under temporal and spatial flexibility, and interactive entertainment and social learning. The study found that the public’s emotional attitude toward gamified education is diverse, reflecting the recognition of its potential in providing flexible learning and enhancing interactive experiences, as well as concerns regarding the entertainment-focused nature of educational functions. Additionally, based on the conclusions drawn, the study offers recommendations for educators and designers of gamified education to address issues such as distraction and excessive entertainment during the promotion of gamified education, helping them gain a deeper understanding of its evolution and challenges.