Gamified feedback in adaptive retrieval practice: Points and progress-bars enhance motivation but not learning

Retrieval practice is an effective but effortful learning strategy during which learners bring information from memory to mind (e.g., when self-testing with flashcard software). Because it is effortful, learners often find it hard to maintain during self-study. We therefore investigated if gamified feedback could make retrieval practice more attractive to learners, while maintaining or increasing its benefits for learning. In an online experiment, 166 adult participants studied foreign vocabulary (i.e., practiced retrieval of the word meaning) with an adaptive fact learning system. Each participant practiced once in a control condition, and once in a gamified condition: either a points condition which showed a score that increased for every correct answer, or a points-and-progress condition, that additionally displayed on two progress bars how the score increased. Compared to the control condition, the gamified conditions enhanced self-reported feelings of competence, enjoyment, and task value as well as experienced goal setting and the desire to perform well. Differences between points and points-and-progress condition were only found for goal-setting (which was higher for points-and-progress). Gamified feedback did not affect learning behaviors during practice, nor recall on a delayed posttest. However, the response speed, score achieved, number of practiced words, and number of trials completed with gamified feedback were lower when participants first practiced with gamified feedback and then without, compared to when they first completed the control condition and then received gamified feedback. Taken together, results suggest that gamified feedback may be a useful addition to enhance motivation for learning with retrieval practice software.