The effectiveness of games as assignments in an introductory programming course

Computer games are an often cited motivational tool used as assignments in introductory programming courses. This paper presents the results of a study that attempts to quantify the effectiveness of computer games as programming projects over non-games. Students completed five major programming assignments during the semester in an introductory programming course. For each assignment, students were given an option between two programming projects, a game and a non-game. Throughout the term, 78.9% of the assignments submitted by students were the game option. The average grade, however, on game assignments was 89.1%, while the non-game average was 95.1%. In a post-term survey 84% of student respondents answered yes to the question, Did the games provide any extra motivation for you to complete the projects with a high level of quality? Results suggest that games do indeed provide psychological motivation and increase course enjoyment, even though they may not improve students\u27 scores. © 2006 IEEE