Impact of Incentives on the Use of Feedback in Educational Videogames

Educational videogames can provide instructional feedback, but research to date indicates that students often ignore such feedback and instead, use less effective help-seeking strategies. There is a noticeable gap in understanding regarding how to motivate and increase the use of feedback for improved learning. Using a pre-algebra videogame and a randomized design, this study compared learning outcomes of students who received an incentive to use feedback compared to students not receiving the incentive. Results indicated that students given the incentive to use feedback had significantly higher math scores than those not receiving the incentive. Effects were stronger for students with low academic motivation.