Enhancing Motivation in Training with Casual Games: A Twelve Month Field Study

Virtual Paper ID: 55919
  1. Karl Kapp
    Bloomsburg University
  2. Deltcho Valtchanov
    Axonify
  3. Ray Pastore
    University of North Carolina Wilmington

Abstract: The need to engage learners is becoming a larger and larger struggle within corporations and academic institutions as the number and type of distractions grow. One response has been to create serious games to help motivate learners to engage with the learning process. Creating a serious game can be an expensive endeavor when attempting to integrate content into a variety of game templates. We examined the question, does the opportunity to play a casual game prior to learning instructional content increase the level of employee engagement and learning on a learning platform? Can the motivational and engaging power of games lead a learner toward instruction because the game is seen as a reward in and of itself? In other words, can a short, content-free game motivate learners to engage, over time with instructional content? Our findings suggest that the effort to link game-play with content may not be necessary in a learning environment. Casual games used as a motivation tool may help learners more than non-game instruction. The current study, which examined learners’ training behavior over the course of a full year (12 months), suggests that a casual game may be played by the learner right before being provided instruction to enhance engagement with content and facilitate learning over a relatively long period.

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