Gamifying Formative Quizzes Increases Student Engagement and Makes Learning Fun 

Gamifying Formative Quizzes Increases Student Engagement and Makes Learning Fun 

What is this Research About?

Gamification introduces games and game-like elements (such as friendly competition, immediate feedback, and rewards) into education. Gamifying learning encourages student participation, increases their motivation to learn, and allows for increased interactivity and engagement in the classroom. Understanding how gamification influences student engagement and learning can help inform fun, evidence-based ways to incorporate games during class time. This is especially important in the context of assessing students’ learning throughout the semester. The following research investigated the effect of using online gamification tools as modes of formative assessment on student engagement and learning performance.  

What did the Researchers Do?

Researchers were interested in determining if gamified assessments, such as online quizzes, had positive impacts on student learning and engagement, compared to traditional assessments like paper-based quizzes.  Three online gamification tools – Socrative, Quizizz, and iSpring Learn LMS – were used in three separate high-school classrooms to test this question. Both traditional and gamified formative assessment quizzes were employed in alternating weeks of a semester in each classroom. The researchers then reviewed all quiz scores over the semester and interviewed students on their perception of and engagement with the different tools. 

What did the Researchers Find?

Researchers found that students’ quiz scores increased over the semester for all students, regardless of if traditional versus gamified methods were used. Between the three online platforms, students who used Quizizz in the classroom had the highest scores throughout the semester, though all platforms yielded quiz results of over 84% by the end of the semester.  

Despite the researchers finding no large difference in student performance between the two assessment methods, students still found the gamification platforms to be valuable to their learning. They were emotionally engaged in what they were doing and felt that they could improve their teamwork and problem-solving skills in a fun way through friendly group competitions. 

→ How to Implement this Research in Your Classroom

Gamification allows for increased participation and engagement from students in the classroom. To understand how gamified tools impact student performance and engagement, researchers looked for differences between online gamified quizzes and traditional, paper-based quizzes. Though no large differences were found, students found the gamified learning approaches to be positive and fun ways to develop crucial skills such as teamwork and problem solving.  

Gamifying the classroom offers instructors the opportunity to adapt from a conventional teacher-centered teaching approach to a more student-centered approach. Friendly competitions, immediate feedback, and rewards can support innovative instructional methods which tailor to the needs and skills of 21st-century students.  

Instructors should consider integrating both traditional, paper-based quizzes and online, gamified quizzes within the classroom or as supplemental learning tools for students, to diversify course activities and increase meaningful engagement from students. Tools such Quizizz or Kahoot are a great user-friendly starting point for individuals new to gamification who want to try it out! 

→  Citation

Zainuddin, Z., Shujahat, M., Haruna, H., & Chu, S. K. W. (2020). The role of gamified e-quizzes on student learning and engagement: An interactive gamification solution for a formative assessment system. Computers & Education, 145, 103729. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.103729 

→  Keywords

  • Gamification
  • Formative Assessment
  • Student Engagement
  • E-Quizzes 

Creative Commons by logo This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Canada License

Snapshot Writer: Nida Ansari

Snapshot Publication Date: 2024

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