Comparing Digital Badges-and-Points with Classroom Token Systems: Effects on Elementary School ESL Students' Classroom Behavior and English Learning

This paper reports the findings of a field experiment that gamified the classroom experience of elementary school ESL students by implementing digital badges-and-points which students could earn by achieving specific behavioral and learning goals. Altogether, 120 children in eight different classes participated in this study. Four of the classes (experimental group) used the digital badges-and-points available in ClassDojo, a free online classroom management system, while the other four classes (control group) employed a nondigital conventional school token point system. The results showed that digital badges-and-points afforded by ClassDojo significantly improved student learning in two classes (Grades 3 and 4) but not in Grades 1 and 2 classes. Overall, students reported enjoying using digital badges-and-points in the classrooms. Teacher observational data indicated that the digital badges-and-points group displayed more positive and on-task behaviors than the non-digital classroom token point system group.