Gamified app boosts kids’ emotional intelligence

Children interact with the app by navigating animated storylines, answering reflective questions, and participating in emotion-themed quizzes and mini-games. The interface includes a calendar feature where children can record their feelings daily through text, emojis, or audio. These inputs help adults understand the emotional state of children over time, fostering more targeted emotional support.

Researchers have developed a gamified app that teaches children to identify and regulate their emotions, by turning emotional awareness into an interactive digital experience. Designed for use in classrooms, the app challenges the traditional boundaries of emotional development in early education, showing that core emotional skills can be taught not through lectures or counseling, but through play.

Published in Education Sciences, the study titled "Gamification and Emotional Intelligence: Development of a Digital Application for Children," reveals how the app transformed classroom dynamics across nine Portuguese primary school classes, unlocking emotional insight where conventional tools fell short. Researchers say the model could redefine how schools worldwide approach socio-emotional learning.

How does the application use gamification to teach emotional intelligence?

The research team conducted a systematic review using the PRISMA methodology to identify best practices in the use of gamification to enhance emotional education among children. Based on this review, the authors developed a multimedia application that incorporates animated storytelling, quizzes, and real-time emotional tracking tools. The application, built with Unity and supported by PHP for database integration, uses the children’s book “Quando Estou Feliz | Quando Estou Triste” as a narrative foundation.

Children interact with the app by navigating animated storylines, answering reflective questions, and participating in emotion-themed quizzes and mini-games. The interface includes a calendar feature where children can record their feelings daily through text, emojis, or audio. These inputs help adults understand the emotional state of children over time, fostering more targeted emotional support.

The gamification strategies applied include reward systems, animated narratives, character-driven stories, augmented reality features, and user customization. By placing children in emotionally complex but age-appropriate scenarios, the app encourages them to recognize, label, and reflect on their own emotions and those of others. The developers emphasized that rewards are not directly tied to emotional outcomes in order to preserve authenticity in how emotions are processed.

What did testing in schools reveal about the app’s effectiveness?

The application was tested in a primary school in Castelo Branco, Portugal, involving nine classes from Years 1 to 4, with students ranging from ages 6 to 12. The pilot program was conducted under the TEIP Programme, a national initiative focused on improving educational equity and reducing dropout rates. Teachers and students were introduced to the app through structured classroom activities, and each student received an anonymous profile for interaction.

Initial feedback demonstrated high levels of engagement from students, particularly in Year 3 and 4. These students independently navigated the app’s features, answered questionnaires, and used the emotion calendar to express how they felt each day. Teachers noted that the app revealed surprising emotional insights from students, often challenging their assumptions. This increased understanding was seen as a potential tool to enhance classroom dynamics and individualized support.

However, younger students in Years 1 and 2 experienced challenges with reading and interpreting the questions. As a result, the developers made real-time modifications during the testing phase, such as simplifying language, increasing font size, and offering audio support. Teachers also suggested adding questions that explore how children influence the emotions of others, prompting the team to integrate this feature into later versions.

The app was praised for its capacity to allow educators to discreetly monitor students’ emotional states, making it a valuable resource in emotionally supportive teaching environments. Feedback indicated that students found the experience enjoyable and easy to use, with many requesting to play again in group settings.

What are the next steps for improving and expanding the application?

Following positive qualitative feedback and successful adaptation across multiple classes, the study outlines several future directions for enhancing the app. Planned improvements include the introduction of multimedia questions using images, audio, or video; integration of statistical tools to help teachers analyze classroom-wide emotional trends; and the addition of multiple supervisor roles so both parents and educators can monitor progress.

The development methodology employed allowed for iterative testing and refinement, contributing to a flexible and adaptive application structure. Further research will focus on collecting quantitative data to measure long-term impacts on emotional literacy and academic performance. The research team also plans to collaborate with psychologists and educators to ensure continued relevance and pedagogical rigor in future iterations.

To sum up, interactive digital tools can play a transformative role in early childhood education by promoting emotional literacy through play. By embedding psychological development within gamified learning environments, the tool not only helps children articulate their feelings but also equips educators with meaningful insights that were previously difficult to obtain.