The use of leaderboards in education: A systematic review of empirical evidence in higher education

IF 5.1 2区教育学 Q1 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

Journal of Computer Assisted Learning Pub Date : 2024-10-04 DOI:10.1111/jcal.13077

Chunqi Li, Lishi Liang, Luke K. Fryer, Alex Shum

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Abstract

Background

Leaderboards are among the most popular gamification elements in education. Some studies have implemented leaderboards and reported their individual effects on students' learning. Despite the emergence of relevant empirical studies, most of the existing reviews have only investigated the holistic impact of gamification. No previous systematic reviews were identified examining the individual use of leaderboards.

Objective

To address this gap, this review aims to systematically synthesise the existing empirical evidence concerning leaderboard use in education, examine their designs and effectiveness, and propose leaderboard design recommendations in gamified educational settings.

Method

This systematic review drew upon 20 articles (22 studies; 29 interventions) published from 2014 to 2023.

Results

The results found that using leaderboards can have a beneficial influence on students' learning motivation, engagement, and performance, but their effectiveness largely depends on their designs. Thus, this review examined the effectiveness of specific leaderboard design practices on students' learning and proposed four corresponding leaderboard design recommendations based on well-established educational and motivational theories as well as pertinent empirical studies.

Discussions and Conclusions

Notably, this review found that all included studies were undertaken in higher education and around half of them had short durations (less than or equal to 1 h). More longitudinal studies in other educational levels (e.g., primary and secondary schools) are thus called for to examine the validity and generalisability of the recommendations proposed.

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在教育中使用排行榜：对高等教育实证证据的系统回顾

背景排行榜是教育领域最流行的游戏化元素之一。一些研究已经实施了排行榜，并报告了排行榜对学生学习的个别影响。尽管出现了相关的实证研究，但现有的大多数综述都只调查了游戏化的整体影响。此前还没有系统性的综述对排行榜的单独使用进行研究。目的针对这一空白，本综述旨在系统地总结有关在教育中使用排行榜的现有经验证据，研究其设计和效果，并提出游戏化教育环境中排行榜的设计建议。方法本系统性综述参考了 2014 年至 2023 年间发表的 20 篇文章（22 项研究；29 项干预措施）。结果结果发现，使用排行榜可以对学生的学习动机、参与度和成绩产生有益的影响，但其有效性在很大程度上取决于排行榜的设计。因此，本综述基于成熟的教育和动机理论以及相关的实证研究，考察了特定的排行榜设计实践对学生学习的有效性，并提出了四项相应的排行榜设计建议。讨论与结论值得注意的是，本综述发现所有纳入的研究都是在高等教育中进行的，其中约有一半的研究持续时间较短（小于或等于 1 小时）。因此，需要在其他教育阶段（如小学和中学）开展更多纵向研究，以审查所提建议的有效性和普遍性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Computer Assisted Learning EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH-

CiteScore

9.70

自引率

6.00%

发文量

116

期刊介绍： The Journal of Computer Assisted Learning is an international peer-reviewed journal which covers the whole range of uses of information and communication technology to support learning and knowledge exchange. It aims to provide a medium for communication among researchers as well as a channel linking researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. JCAL is also a rich source of material for master and PhD students in areas such as educational psychology, the learning sciences, instructional technology, instructional design, collaborative learning, intelligent learning systems, learning analytics, open, distance and networked learning, and educational evaluation and assessment. This is the case for formal (e.g., schools), non-formal (e.g., workplace learning) and informal learning (e.g., museums and libraries) situations and environments. Volumes often include one Special Issue which these provides readers with a broad and in-depth perspective on a specific topic. First published in 1985, JCAL continues to have the aim of making the outcomes of contemporary research and experience accessible. During this period there have been major technological advances offering new opportunities and approaches in the use of a wide range of technologies to support learning and knowledge transfer more generally. There is currently much emphasis on the use of network functionality and the challenges its appropriate uses pose to teachers/tutors working with students locally and at a distance. JCAL welcomes: -Empirical reports, single studies or programmatic series of studies on the use of computers and information technologies in learning and assessment -Critical and original meta-reviews of literature on the use of computers for learning -Empirical studies on the design and development of innovative technology-based systems for learning -Conceptual articles on issues relating to the Aims and Scope