THE EFFECT OF INSTRUCTIONAL COMPUTER GAMES ON CONTINUING STUDENT MOTIVATION

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of computer games on motivation to engage in an academic task subsequent to computer instruction. An instructional computer game was compared with a computer program that operated identically but without game features. The programs were designed to develop a vocabulary skill involving matching negation prefixes to root words. Continuing motivation on this academic task was measured in a noncomputer free-choice activity administered 1 day following the computer instruction. The experimental subjects were students identified by the school as learning disabled and placed in resource rooms or self-contained classrooms. The game and nongame programs produced equal gains in task skill. The game condition resulted in significantly higher levels of continuing motivation than the nongame condition.