Digital storytelling and gamification to strengthen critical reading comprehension and creative writing in basic education.

Abstract

These days, teaching students to read critically and write creatively has become one of the biggest challenges in school. And honestly, it’s not hard to see why. A lot of students seem to have little interest in deep reading, and even less when it comes to writing something meaningful. We live in a digital world where information comes fast, in bits and pieces — it doesn’t exactly encourage focus or reflection. That’s the starting point for this study: wondering if there’s another way to approach this. What we did was try something different. We brought together two strategies that don’t usually go hand in hand: digital storytelling and gamification. The idea was to see if, together, they could help students improve how they read and write. To explore that, we designed a case study and collected data from different angles — we observed classes, ran pre- and post-tests, interviewed students, and looked closely at their writing using a creative writing rubric.

One of the most interesting parts was seeing how these scattered activities came together. The students ended up creating a collective creative writing book that reflected the curriculum goals, but also brought their voices into the process. Each task was meant to push them not just to write, but to think critically and express something of their own. And the results? They were clear. Students showed significant improvement in their reading skills — especially when it came to making inferences and evaluating texts. On the writing side, their work became more coherent, more original, and more expressive overall. But maybe what stood out the most was the change in their attitude. They were more engaged, more motivated, and much more involved. That was something we also saw in the interviews and during class observations. Students shared that they were enjoying the experience. They liked using digital tools this way. It made them want to participate, to contribute. It felt like the combination of storytelling and game elements gave them a real reason to care. In the end, what we learned is that when you bring these strategies together — thoughtfully and with clear educational goals — they can make a real difference. This project offers some concrete evidence that could inspire other educators to try new approaches. It also leaves open the possibility of future research into how to make that impact last, and how to adapt it to different kinds of classrooms.