Investigating the causal relationships between badges and learning outcomes in SQL-Tutor

Faiza Tahir,Valerie Sotardi,Antonija Mitrovic

doi:10.1186/s41039-022-00180-4

Abstract

The practice of adding game elements to non-gaming educational environments has gained much popularity. Gamification has been shown in some studies to enhance engagement, motivation and learning outcomes in technology-supported learning environments. Although gamification research has matured, there are some shortcomings such as inconsistency in applying gamification theories and frameworks and evaluating multiple game mechanics simultaneously. Moreover, there is little research on applying gamification to Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS). This paper investigates the causal effects of gamification on learning in SQL-Tutor, a mature ITS teaching students how to phrase queries in SQL. Having conducted a study under realistic conditions, we present a quantitative analysis of the performance of 77 undergraduate students enrolled in a database course. There are three main findings of our study: (1) gamification affects student learning by mediating the time-on-task; (2) students’ background knowledge does not influence time-on-task unless students achieve badges; and (3) students’ interest in topic (motivational construct) moderates the relationship between badges and time-on-task, but does not improve learning outcomes directly.

Highlights

Engagement is a crucial ingredient for learning
In addition to defining queries, which students practiced in standard query language (SQL)-Tutor, the laboratory test covered other SQL topics, and the laboratory test cannot be considered as the direct learning outcome
RQ 2: Do students with different levels of prior knowledge react differently to gamification? We investigated the relationships between students’ prior knowledge, the number of badges achieved as the moderating variable, time-on-task as the mediating variable, and student level as the outcome variable (Fig. 5)

Summary

Introduction

One strategy to increase motivation in technology-supported learning environments is gamification (Deterding et al, 2011), i.e. the use of gaming elements such as leader boards, points, badges, and other virtual achievements common in games. These virtual achievements are not necessarily connected to tangible rewards; they are meant to increase user engagement and motivation to use those applications. Leader boards are often used in applications where social activities are important, like comparing the performance of students in a course (Huang et al, 2020).

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Conclusion