Abstract
Competition in digital game-based learning (DGBL) is tantamount to a double-edged sword, because it not only improves students’ learning performance, but may also cause them psychological stress. Therefore, researchers focus on collaboration, for it can mitigate the negative effect of competition. However, studies on the correlations among competition, collaboration, and learning performance in DGBL remain wanting so far. To remedy this deficiency, this study developed a question bank practice game which offers a situation of intergroup competition with intragroup collaboration, and devised a research model to investigate the correlations among competition, collaboration, and learning performance in DGBL. The research findings of this study indicated that: (1) perceived competition is a factor more significant than perceived collaboration behind learning performance, in which perceived competition directly affects perceived collaboration; (2) perceived competition not only directly affects behavioral intention, but also indirectly influences it via perceived enjoyment, whereas perceived collaboration simply has indirect influence on behavioral intention through perceived usefulness; and (3) behavioral intention directly influences learning performance. These research findings showed that the combination of competition and collaboration indeed influences students’ learning performance in DGBL, and competition occupies the most crucial role. This is because the pleasure brought by competition strongly prompts students to engage in DGBL, which in turn influences their learning performance in DGBL. Meanwhile, competition also facilitates students’ collaboration, from which they benefit personally in terms of learning.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to express special thanks to Ms. Jing-Xuan Shen, Ms. Pei-Yang Li, Ms. Yu-Pin Chen, Ms. Qiong-Yi Huang for their support in developing game and collecting data. Moreover, this research is supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, R.O.C. under Grant No. MOST 109-2511-H-218 -002 -MY2.
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Wang, DC., Huang, YM. Exploring the influence of competition and collaboration on learning performance in digital game-based learning. Education Tech Research Dev 71, 1547–1565 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-023-10247-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-023-10247-8