Gamification and sustainability education: exploring psycho-educational dynamics with Play It Cool

Abstract

This paper introduces Play It Cool, a gamified digital learning platform designed to foster pro-environmental awareness and engagement within the broader context of sustainability education. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the platform incorporates game elements (e.g., storytelling, progress bars, interactive mini-games, points, badges, real-life scenarios, community challenges) to support learners’ needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Play It Cool represents a structured gamified experience that embeds sustainability concepts into interactive learning tasks and real-life challenges. The aim is to provide a structured, theoretically grounded overview of the psycho-educational processes through the gamified platform learning Play It Cool. The platform adopts a holistic approach aimed at exploring motivation and sustained engagement in environmental education. By providing a clear conceptual framework, Play It Cool offers a foundation for future research on the psychological and pedagogical mechanisms underlying gamified approaches to sustainability learning.