The Effectiveness of Gamification Tools in Enhancing Academic Performance and Motivation of Students in Fully vs. Partially Gamified Grading System of Online Classes

Gamification tools (GTs), added game design elements into non-game context which attracted attention of educators as a potentially useful method to increase engagement, motivation and performance of students. However, the efficacy of these tools has not been well-established due to conflicting results of relevant studies. In our study, the effectiveness of two most common GTs, badges (i.e., digital credentials for achievements) and leaderboards (performance based digital rankings), on the academic performance and self-reported motivation levels of students were investigated. Two experiments were conducted in two 100% online undergraduate physics courses taught via Learning Management System (LMS). In Experiment 1 (N=102), GTs were implemented in only the quiz scores (40% of the course grade) through LMS, e.g. badges were awarded and leaderboards created based on quiz scores. In Experiment 2 (N=88), both quiz and assignment scores (100% of the course grade) were gamified, e.g. badges and leaderboards were based on both quiz and assignment scores. Participants were randomly assigned into one of four groups: badges-only, leaderboards-only, badges-with-leaderboards and control (i.e., no badges, no leaderboards). Self-report questionnaire about students' attitudes and motivation toward GTs were collected at the end of study. The results from both experiments demonstrated that although most students showed positive attitudes towards badges and leaderboards on the motivation questionnaire, neither badges nor leaderboards significantly affected academic performance of students. This study suggests GTs may be useful in influencing student motivation however, they are not effective in increasing student academic performance.