Unlocking the potential: Evaluating the impact of online gamified and non-gamified assessment tools on academic performance, motivation, engagement and satisfaction in undergraduate medical education

With the advent of technology-enhanced learning, gamification has emerged as a promising strategy to augment student engagement and motivation for formative assessments. This study investigates the effects of online gamified versus non-gamified formative assessment tools on undergraduate medical students' academic performance, motivation, engagement and satisfaction. Utilising a comparative experimental design, this research involved 222 undergraduate medical students who were randomly assigned to two groups for the end-module assessments. Academic performance was measured through end-module assessment scores, and a questionnaire assessed the motivation, engagement and satisfaction levels of the students with these platforms. Students exposed to gamified assessments showed a significant improvement in academic performance and motivation compared to their non-gamified counterparts. The findings of this study highlight the beneficial impact of gamified formative assessments in medical education, particularly in terms of improving academic performance and student motivation.