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This study sought to determine if game design principles implemented within classroom curriculum positively affect student motivation and achievement. Past research has shown that students are motivated by a sense of agency, achievement, and peer cooperation as seen in game design principles. In this study, students were exposed to game design principles in their regular classroom curriculum. Students' pre and post test scores were then compared using a paired t-test. In addition, data from a student survey was collected and analyzed. The results indicateda significant relationship between motivation and learning with the use of game design principlesat the 0.01 level. This finding was also supported by students' responses.
Keywords: Gamification, Student motivation, Achievement.
Introduction
64 million U.S. children play video games. That is approximately 91% of 2-17 year olds in the U.S. (Van Camp, 2011). Other studies indicate U.S. users as high as 97% of the population. The videogame industry is a multi-billion dollar a year industry, which speaks to the number of people engaging in different types of gaming. Videogames cuts across all demographic boundaries: gender, race, and socioeconomic status. Why are videogames so successful? What makes our students run home to log on or power up? And most importantly, how can we harness that eagerness in our classrooms?
Reports from across the world indicate disturbing trends in schools of disengagement, cheating, learned helplessness, and dropping out (Lee, J. & Hammer, T, 2011). Studies indicate that current statistics for high school drop outs may be as high as 1.2 million students per year. A possible explanation may be that all too frequently, students do not see education as entertaining, engaging, or motivating, but videogames are. In fact, videogames that are both long and difficult to win are some of the best-selling games on the market (Gee, 2003). Gamification addresses the complex issues of agency and meaningful learning that increase student motivation (Sierra, W. & Stedman, K., 2012). Previous research has shown a correlation between student motivation and achievement. It follows, then, that educators should take a look at gamification as another form of support for students in the classroom. The theory of human learning is built in to good video game design (Gee, 2003). With 28 million people playing games like "Farmville" a...