An examination of a gamified e-quiz system in fostering students’ reading habit, interest and ability

Abstract

Learning how to read is essential to a child's development. However, existing educational literature suggests that children are reluctant to read because of a decrease of reading motivation and a loss of interest in books (Alter, 2014). Gamified learning supported by information and communication technologies has gained popularity in recent years and been viewed by educators as an effective tool to facilitate pre‐adolescent learning (Kapp, 2012). In the present study, gamified learning is studied in the local educational context. Through a recently developed gamified reading platform called Reading Battle, this study seeks to test the impacts of the platform on local primary students' reading experience. Adopting a mixed‐method approach, the study fulfilled its quantitative objective by inviting 39 students, 23 parents and 7 teachers to complete a 4‐point Likert‐scale questionnaire. On the other hand, the study's qualitative objective was met by inviting 37 students, 20 parents and 7 teachers to face‐to‐face interviews. Results show that Reading Battle helps foster active reading habits in student users, improve their academic performance, enhance their reading competence, and boost their reading motivation. These findings in turn shed light on the educational implications of gamified learning: 1. It promotes self‐regulated learning; and 2. It has aided both teachers and students to actualise the learning outcomes of their curriculum.