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The present study assesses the effects of reward allotment for a highly motivating game through the examination of students’ variations in response to different schedules of reinforcement. Fifty-four Chinese children from preschool to grade three participated by playing a number-matching game on Sifteo cubes. Two types of reward allotment—a 25%-chance-of-winning reinforcement schedule, and an escalating 25-75% reinforcement schedule—were examined in the number-matching game. Overall, the results proved that both reinforcement schedules effectively sustained children’s motivation in playing the game. In this experimental study I hypothesized that if the findings could be replicated in an extremely simple game that does not have the manifold array of additional motivators found in commercial successful video games, we could have a powerful motivating element to be used in educational games, given that digital games are potentially beneficial in helping students to develop 21st-century skills such as collaborative and problem-solving skills.

The present study assesses the effects of reward allotment for a highly motivating game through the examination of students’ variations in response to different schedules of reinforcement. Fifty-four Chinese children from preschool to grade three participated by playing a number-matching game on Sifteo cubes. Two types of reward allotment—a 25%-chance-of-winning reinforcement schedule, and an escalating 25-75% reinforcement schedule—were examined in the number-matching game. Overall, the results proved that both reinforcement schedules effectively sustained children’s motivation in playing the game. In this experimental study I hypothesized that if the findings could be replicated in an extremely simple game that does not have the manifold array of additional motivators found in commercial successful video games, we could have a powerful motivating element to be used in educational games, given that digital games are potentially beneficial in helping students to develop 21st-century skills such as collaborative and problem-solving skills.