The effect of gamifying virtual classes on academic motivation and academic performance of students

The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of gamification on the academic motivation and academic performance of first-graders in virtual classes. Study design was quasi-experimental with pretest-post-test and a control group. The study population consisted of all first grade students in Khomein, Markazi Province, Iran, of whom 30 female students were selected by convenience sampling. Harter's academic motivation scale (1980) and academic performance researcher-made test were used to collect data. Reliability of the researcher-made test for academic performance was calculated as 0.722 using the Kuder-Richardson Formula 20. The course was run for 10 sessions in Shad software. Covariance analysis was run for inferential analysis of the data. The results showed that gamification of virtual classes had a significant effect on the academic motivation and academic performance of students. It is therefore recommended to use the principles of gamification for the virtual teaching of elementary courses.