Abstract

This paper reports on a large-scale experimental study examining the impact of AI-enhanced gamification on mathematics achievement and motivation among K-12 students. The study involved 3,200 students from 48 schools across Spain, Turkey, and Germany, randomly assigned to three conditions: traditional instruction, gamification without AI, and AI-driven adaptive gamification. The AI system dynamically adjusted game difficulty, reward schedules, and learning pathways based on individual student performance and engagement patterns. Results from pre-post assessments showed that the AI-gamification group demonstrated significantly higher gains in mathematical problem-solving (F(2,3197) = 45.3, p < .001, eta-squared = .028) and sustained motivation over the 16-week intervention period. Notably, the AI-adaptive condition was most effective for students with initially low mathematics self-efficacy. The study provides evidence-based guidelines for designing and implementing AI-enhanced gamification systems in diverse educational contexts.