Reimagining Natural History Museums Through Gamification: Time, Engagement, and Learning in Teacher Education Contexts

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of a gamified educational experience on the training of future teachers, focusing on a visit to the Natural History Pavilion at the University of Almería, compared to a traditional instructional approach. A quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test design was employed with both undergraduate and master’s degree teacher education students, combining quantitative analysis with complementary data. The findings indicate that participants in the gamified groups demonstrated significant gains in knowledge acquisition following the visit, as well as higher levels of appreciation for the activity itself. This study concludes that gamification cognitively enriches the museum learning experience and stands out as an innovative and pedagogically relevant strategy in teacher education.