Gamification of university students’ physical education as a condition for enhancing the interactivity of a play-based educational environment

The article considers interactivity as a criterion that reflects the quality of interaction between students and the teacher, educational content, the team, game tasks, digital feedback, and mass sports forms of physical education and sports activities. The purpose of the study is to determine the pedagogical potential of gamification of university students' physical education as a condition for increasing the interactivity of a play‑based educational environment. Research methods and organization. The study was conducted in the 2024–2025 academic year at the Institute of Physical Culture and Sports of the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia with the participation of students aged 18–22 years. Theoretical analysis of scientific and methodological literature, pedagogical observation, questionnaires, expert assessment, pedagogical experiment, and mathematical statistics methods were used. Research results and conclusions. The obtained data indicate a more pronounced increase in the interactivity of the play‑based educational environment in the experimental group. The most noticeable changes were recorded in indicators of communicative involvement, role participation, feedback activity, readiness for team interaction, and autonomy in solving game tasks. The possibility of applying gamification in designing physical education classes, mass sports events, the work of a student sports club, and digital support for students' physical education and sports activities is substantiated. This approach allows physical education to be viewed as a space for the development of social interaction, autonomy, and meta‑subject competencies of the future graduate.