ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Digital Education
Enhancing secondary education through gamification and Bloom's taxonomy: the BilimQuest Portal
Nazym Baltabaeva 1
Saltanat Adikanova 2
Elena V. Ponkina 1,2
Raikhan Nurkanova 3
1. S Amanzhelova East Kazakhstan State University S Amanzhelova, Ust'-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan
2. East-Kazakhstan State University, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan
3. Kazakh Academy of Sport and Tourism, Almaty, Kazakhstan
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Abstract
This study explores the scientific and methodological foundations for integrating gamification and Bloom's taxonomy into secondary computer science education through the development and testing of the BilimQuest e-learning portal. The portal was designed to structure learning tasks according to Bloom's cognitive hierarchy while embedding motivational game elements such as points, badges, and challenges. An experimental study with 312 fifth-grade students from three schools in East Kazakhstan tested whether integrating gamification with Bloom's taxonomy improves motivation, conceptual understanding, and practical skills. Students were divided into an experimental group using BilimQuest and a control group with traditional instruction. The experimental group used BilimQuest during informatics lessons, while the control group followed traditional instruction. The hypothesis was tested using Pearson's chi-square (χ²) analysis. Results showed significant improvements across all three components. Teachers noted that the platform's analytics supported real-time progress tracking and informed instruction. Based on these findings, it is recommended that gamified digital learning environments be systematically aligned with Bloom's taxonomy to support higher-order cognitive development and formative assessment in secondary education. The study concludes that the deliberate alignment of gamification with Bloom's taxonomy constitutes a robust pedagogical approach for digital learning environments, with both theoretical and practical relevance for digital pedagogy and the professional preparation of future educators.
Summary
Keywords
Bloom's taxonomy, computerscience teaching, E-learning portal, Gamification, Student motivation
Received
19 November 2025
Accepted
18 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Baltabaeva, Adikanova, Ponkina and Nurkanova. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Saltanat Adikanova; Elena V. Ponkina; Raikhan Nurkanova
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.