EDUCATIONAL GAMES AND HIGHER-ORDER THINKING SKILLS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract

The demands of the 21st-century curriculum place Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)—including the ability to analyze, evaluate, and create—as one of the main learning outcomes, including at the elementary school level. On the other hand , educational games, both digital and non-digital, are increasingly being integrated into learning practices because they are seen as being able to increase student engagement and motivation. This article presents a systematic review of the literature discussing the relationship between the use of educational games and the development of HOTS in elementary school students over the past ten years (2016-2026). A literature search was conducted in scientific databases using a combination of the keywords "educational games," "game-based learning," "higher-order thinking skills," and "elementary school," then filtered following the identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion process commonly used in the PRISMA approach. Articles that met the criteria were then analyzed thematically to reveal the types of games used, the HOTS dimensions they focused on, and the reported results. The review findings indicate that educational games are consistently reported to positively contribute to elementary school students' critical thinking, problem-solving, creative thinking, and analytical-evaluative skills, although the magnitude of the effect varies depending on the type of game, the duration of the intervention, and the extent of teacher scaffolding. The review also identifies several limitations in the existing literature, including the predominance of quasi-experimental designs, relatively short intervention durations, and the diversity of HOTS measurement instruments that make generalization difficult. Implications for instructional practice and future research directions are discussed.