The Effect of Gamification and Uncertainty in Rewards on Elementary School Students: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

Background: Gamification is an effective, dynamic, and engaging educational approach which makes the learning process more interactive for participants. This study aims to investigate the impact of gamification and the type of rewards on the learning outcomes of sixth-grade students in Karaj City in 2021.Methods: This study employs a quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test design featuring two experimental groups and a control group. The statistical population includes all sixth-grade students in Karaj schools who were studying in November 2021. Eighty-four participants were selected using convenient sampling and then randomly (simple random) assigned to three groups. The first experimental group (n=32) was taught using gamification, which included an element of uncertainty in rewards, and the second experimental group (n=31) was taught with gamification, which included fixed rewards. Conversely, the control group (n=21) used e-learning without gamification. The data collection utilized a 20-item questionnaire developed as an expert-validated learning test with confirmed reliability. The collected data were analyzed using covariance analysis with IBM SPSS v 26. Descriptive statistics were used to report quantitative findings.Results: The Mean±SD scores for learning outcomes in experimental group 1 were 9.43±3.79 and 14.14±3.52 in the pre- and post-tests, respectively. In experimental group 2, the Mean±SD scores for learning outcomes were 9.85±3.01 and 13.65±3.11 in the pre- and the post-tests, respectively. In the control group, the Mean±SD scores for learning outcomes were 8.47±3.05 and 10.85±4.04 in the pre- and the post-tests, respectively. The results indicate that gamification significantly affects learning (P=0.003). Both gamification groups outperformed the control group in learning outcomes. Despite a higher mean score in the uncertain rewards group, there was no significant difference between the two experimental groups.Conclusion: Gamification, regardless of the reward type, seems to positively impact students’ learning. Therefore, educators and e-learning designers are encouraged to implement gamification strategies, including elements of uncertainty and chance, to enhance learning experiences in elementary schools.

Keywords

• e-learning
• gamification
• learning
• reward