Abstract
This study investigates the effectiveness of gamification elements in teaching programming to future Informatics teachers, using Python as a case study. Gamification incorporates game mechanics such as points, badges, leaderboards, and narratives into educational settings to enhance student engagement, motivation, and academic performance. A quasi-experimental design was employed, comparing outcomes of an experimental group engaged in gamified programming tasks with those of a control group following traditional learning methods. Independent-samples t-tests were used to assess learning gains. Results revealed that the experimental group achieved scores between 85–87 points, significantly outperforming the control group, which averaged 63–65 points. These findings suggest that gamification was associated with greater gains in coding, problem-solving, and algorithmic thinking skills among students while addressing challenges like diminished motivation in conventional learning environments. Moreover, the study indicates that structured gamification may be aligned with curriculum goals to promote deeper cognitive engagement. Future research may examine how adaptive or artificial intelligence-enhanced gamification tools could expand these benefits across diverse learner populations.