Exploring the effectiveness of a scaffold-based gamification pedagogy on children's reading and its sustainability

Abstract

Gamified learning is gaining increasing popularity in education due to the widespread use of gamification. However, research on children’s gamified reading is scarce, with little empirical evidence presented. Also, several studies have doubted the sustainability and potential negative impacts of gamification pedagogy. They argued that the effects of gamification pedagogy are short-term and may undermine learners’ intrinsic motivation. This study explores the effectiveness of a scaffold-based gamification pedagogy in children’s reading (SGPiCR) through a gamified reading e-quiz platform. It examines the effects and the sustainability of an SGPiCR program from various perspectives based on a longitudinal design. This study involves two main studies to answer the research questions roundly. Study 1 implemented a cross-over quasi-experiment in a primary school of Hong Kong for two semesters. Children’s reading motivation, interests, habits, and abilities were measured three times during the experiment to indicate the short-term effects of the SGPiCR program during the use of it (the first semester) and the sustainable effects after stopping the program (the second semester). Study 2 aims to explore the sustainability of the SGPiCR program from a longer perspective. Active participants who finished more than one hundred battles on the gamified platform were interviewed to report the sustainable effects of the program after they stopped it for more than half a year. According to the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data, this study finds that: (1) children’s participation level in the SGPiCR program varied due to several influential factors, such as reading interest, academic performance, and parental support; (2) active participants’ reading motivation and interest are enhanced during the participation of the program, leading to improved reading habits and abilities; (3) active participants can maintain the enhanced reading motivation and habits when they dropped out of the program; and (4) the scaffold-based gamification pedagogy can help internalize children’s extrinsic motivation for reading. The findings reveal that children’s reading interests and abilities gained from the SGPiCR program could be sustainable even after the program was withdrawn. This study offers both theoretical and pedagogical contributions. A theoretical framework of scaffold-based gamification pedagogy in children’s reading is proposed. Six components are summarized to guide the design of gamification pedagogy and assess the success of it: flow, relevance, social connection, autonomy, purpose, and mastery. This study helps deepen educators’ understanding of gamification pedagogy in primary education and guide them in the implementation of gamification pedagogy.