Gamified E-Quizzes with Accountable Academic Role-Play in an Interactive Narrative Scenario

Abstract

While previous research on gamified e-quizzes is not scarce, the impact of accountable academic role-play in gamified e-quizzes remains underexplored. Most role-play in gamified e-quizzes is designed to shift students' attention from mundane tasks to engaging adventures or immersive storylines. In practice, however, students, regardless of age, are often motivated by exams and assignment deadlines. Therefore, it may not be necessary to distract them from their academic roles to enhance performance. For example, the teacher-in-role method has been shown to effectively engage young learners and improve learning outcomes. A strong sense of responsibility could serve as a key driving force for improved learning outcomes and engagement. This study investigated whether pupils' learning performance and engagement could be enhanced through a gamified e-quiz incorporating accountable academic role-play within an interactive narrative, compared to traditional e-quiz usage. Two academic roles, student and teacher, were selected, as they are the most familiar to pupils. In one experimental group, participants' sense of being a student was reinforced by providing a non-player character (NPC) mentor to guide them through the process of answering the e-quiz. In the other group, they assumed the role of a teacher, assisting an NPC student in answering the same questions. The role-plays were embedded within an exam preparation scenario to immerse pupils in an academic environment and heighten their sense of responsibility. A quasi-experimental approach was implemented, as participants were drawn from three schools and were not randomly assigned. The study found no significant improvements in learning performance or engagement in the experimental groups. After comparing its setup with that of previous research, possible reasons and suggestions were discussed. Future research will aim to deepen the academic role-play experience and create a more immersive virtual academic environment, thereby reinforcing pupils' sense of responsibility to perform better.