Current educational trends emphasize active methodologies. Gamification, using game design elements in non-game contexts, is gaining prominence for its potential to boost student motivation and learning. History education, however, often struggles with student disinterest and superficial learning, prompting calls for a shift towards developing historical thinking skills. This study addresses a gap in research on gamification's effects in primary education, focusing on its impact on historical thinking. The study aims to analyze the academic performance of Spanish primary school students following a gamified intervention based on historical thinking and compare it to a control group using traditional methods.

Research supports the use of active methodologies in the classroom and highlights the potential benefits of gamification in improving motivation, participation, and learning. However, history education faces challenges due to student demotivation and a focus on rote learning, rather than developing historical thinking. Existing literature predominantly focuses on secondary and higher education; fewer studies examine gamification's effects in primary education, particularly in conjunction with historical thinking. This study bridges this research gap by investigating the effects of a gamified project on historical thinking in a Spanish primary school context.

This quasi-experimental study used a CIPP (Context, Input, Process, Product) evaluation model, focusing on the 'product' aspect. Two groups of 4th-year primary school students (experimental, n=23; control, n=21) from a low socioeconomic school in Murcia, Spain participated. A mixed-performance test (11 items) measuring various aspects of historical understanding was administered as both a pretest and posttest. The experimental group received a gamified intervention program focusing on historical thinking, incorporating game elements like narratives, avatars, challenges, points, badges, rewards, and levels. The control group used traditional textbook-based methods. Non-parametric tests (Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon W) were used for intergroup and intragroup comparisons due to non-normal data distribution. Effect sizes were calculated using Rosenthal's R test.

The experimental group showed significant improvement across all 11 items on the posttest compared to the pretest (Wilcoxon W test, p<0.05). Most items had a moderate effect size. The control group also showed significant improvement in the posttest for some items (Wilcoxon W test, p<0.05), but effect sizes were generally small, and fewer items exceeded the mean score. Comparing posttest results, the experimental group outperformed the control group significantly (Mann-Whitney U test, p<0.05) on almost all items, with predominantly moderate effect sizes. The results indicate a significant positive impact of the gamified intervention on students' learning of historical concepts and development of historical thinking skills.

The results strongly suggest that a gamified approach to teaching history is more effective than traditional methods. The significant improvements observed in the experimental group support the idea that integrating game elements into the learning process enhances students' understanding of historical concepts and skills, especially in the development of historical thinking. These findings align with previous research on gamification's benefits in education. The study highlights the potential of gamification to transform history education from rote memorization to active, engaging learning focused on critical thinking and problem-solving. These findings provide valuable insights for educators and curriculum designers looking for innovative ways to improve the learning experience in history.

This study demonstrates that a gamified project focusing on historical thinking significantly improves the learning outcomes of primary school students in history compared to traditional methods. The findings underscore the potential of gamification in promoting active learning and the development of historical thinking skills. Future research could explore the long-term impact of gamification, investigate the optimal design features of such interventions, and compare gamification with other active learning methodologies.

The study's limitations include a relatively small sample size and the lack of external assessors, which could limit the generalizability of the findings. Future research should consider larger samples and use triangulation methods for improved data validity. Additionally, the study focused on a specific context (a low socioeconomic school in Murcia, Spain), so further research is needed to determine whether these findings hold true across diverse educational settings.