A key component of students' training in the field of physical activity and sports is to position them as active participants in their own learning journey, helping them to construct knowledge and develop the skills necessary for their future careers. To achieve this, traditional lectures should be complemented by innovative teaching strategies that engage students more directly, sparking their curiosity, fostering creativity, and maintaining their interest. For this reason, an innovative educational project was carried out during the last academic year which has been focused on the integration of active methodologies such as gamification. This strategy has been used to promote student's attendance and participation in theoretical classes, improve their academic motivation and learning strategies and enhance their social skills through active participation in group dynamics. The aim of this paper is to analyze the benefits of using gamification to enhance motivation and develop skills (i.e., teamwork, problem-solving, and emotional regulation) among students of Psychology in physical activity and sport. A pre-post design was used for this evaluation. The Motivation and Learning Strategies Questionnaire (MLSQ) and the Social Skills Questionnaire (CHASO) were employed to measure students' learning engagement and their ability to interact effectively in social contexts, respectively. Students also completed a supplementary questionnaire on activity preference, learning perception, class attendance motivation, and the Group Diagnosis (GD), which assesses group functioning. In summary, results indicate that gamification was an effective learning strategy in reducing anxiety, increasing intrinsic goal orientation, and improving resource management and learning strategies, as evidenced by statistically significant MLSQ results. Improvements were also observed in specific social skills measured by the CHASO, including interacting with attractive individuals, refusing requests, and seeking clarification on others' behavior. Positive correlations were found between satisfaction with gamification and the use of strategies like elaboration and time management, although these did not reach statistical significance. Conversely, no significant changes were noted in the group diagnosis, potentially due to some students' perception of unequal group member contributions. Despite the limited sample size, this study suggests that gamification consistently supports structured learning and social skill development. Future research should expand the sample size and incorporate a control group for comparison with traditional methodologies.

Keywords: Gamification, motivation, social skills, teamwork, Psychology of physical activity and sports.