Exploring the Effects of Leaderboards on an Online Professional Development Course for Teachers

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of leaderboards on an online teacher professional development (TPD) course and examines: (1) module completion of the game and the non-game groups in terms of section views/visits, time spent and overall completion including optional activities; and (2) the learning gains for each individual participant and for the whole group based on pre- and post-test scores. An experimental research method was used for this study. The mediating process of Richard N. Landers' theory of gamified learning was used as a framework for the experiment while the self-paced online TPD course was structured in keeping with the four-stage model of David Kolb's experiential learning cycle. The results of this study support the mediation effect of leaderboards on learning gains by increasing section views/visits (↑ 9.6%), time spent (↑ 23.8%), and completion of optional activities (↑ 137.5%) in the game group compared with the non-game group. Further, the game group posted higher average of gains (↑ 20.5%) and gain of averages (↑ 26.1%). The game group's higher output count for completion of optional activities also points that the leaderboard functioned as an extrinsic incentive and promoted performance quantity, without impairing intrinsic motivation.