Effect of Gamification on the Academic Achievement of Senior Secondary School Students’ in Biology in Cross River State, Nigeria

This study investigated the effect of gamification on the academic achievement of secondary school students in Cross River State, Nigeria. The research was guided by two objectives, two research questions, and two null hypotheses. It adopted a quasi-experimental design involving pre-test and post-test with non-equivalent control groups. The target population comprised all Senior Secondary II Biology students, from which a sample of 112 students were drawn using four intact SSII classes in the Calabar education zone. Data were gathered through the Biology Achievement Test, which was validated and confirmed to be reliable. Mean and standard deviation were utilized to answer the research questions, while Analysis of Covariance was applied to test the hypotheses. The findings showed a statistically significant difference in the mean achievement scores of students taught using gamification compared to those taught using conventional teaching method. Conversely, no significant difference was found in the achievement scores of students from urban and rural schools across both instructional strategies. Based on these findings, the study concluded that gamification is more effective than the conventional lecture approach in improving students’ academic achievement. It is recommended that teachers incorporate gamified instructional strategies to enhance students’ learning outcomes in Biology.

Keywords: Gamification, Academic Achievement, Location, Biology education, Genetic Drift, Secondary school students, Urban and Rural Schools.