Three decades of game-based learning in science and mathematics education: an integrated bibliometric analysis and systematic review

Digital game-based learning research has received increasing attention in recent years due to advances in technology. A systematic review was conducted to understand the current status and potential of game-based learning (GBL) research in science and mathematics. This study reviewed articles on GBL in science and mathematics education published in the Web of Science (WoS) database from 1991 to 2020. The 146 articles were selected for content and bibliometric analysis. After a systematic analysis of the trends and overviews, we present discussions and insights for the future. The study raised relevant research questions to analyze authors, regions, applied subjects, educational stages, research methods, game types and devices, performance issues, and author keywords. The results revealed that the majority of the published research in this field has been carried out in Taiwan, followed by the United States. GBL is currently applied in mathematics and science to increase learner motivation and engagement and reduce learning anxiety. The results also revealed that higher order thinking skills such as problem solving, group collaboration, and critical thinking, have become an increasingly important focus of research in recent years. The systematic review also found that researchers have been engaged in the field since 1993 and have conducted a large number of studies since 2011. In terms of keywords, game-based learning and interactive learning were the most used keywords in the articles, indicating that they were the most explored topics by researchers, while learning behaviors and competition were relatively new directions to explore. This study analyzed and summarized GBL in science and mathematics education in the hope that it may contribute to future research.