the impact of reward types and leaderboard use in kahoot-based learning: a quasi-experimental study

Background: motivation plays a critical role in student engagement and learning outcomes. however, limited research has compared the effects of tangible versus intangible rewards in game-based learning environments. this study aimed to investigate the comparative effects of tangible and intangible rewards on students' motivation and engagement when using the kahoot platform for mathematics education.methods: this study utilized a quasi-experimental approach with pre-test and post-test assessments, conducted among 277 elementary students between september 2020 and june 2021. using convenience sampling, participants were assigned to three groups: a control group (95 students), an experimental group using kahoot with intangible rewards (90 students), and a second experimental group using kahoot with both tangible and intangible rewards (92 students). the intervention was carried out over a six-week period. content validity was confirmed using the content validity ratio (cvr), with all items exceeding 0.80 and an overall agreement coefficient of 0.84. the reliability was verified with a test–retest correlation of 0.70.results: the comparative analysis revealed that kahoot-based learning was more effective than social network-based instruction. furthermore, the group that received both tangible and intangible rewards demonstrated significantly greater learning gains compared to those who received only intangible rewards (p<0.05).conclusion: the findings support the use of gamified platforms such as kahoot to enhance mathematics learning, particularly when leaderboard-based reward strategies are employed. future research should investigate the long-term effects of different reward types and their influence on sustaining student motivation.