Question

It’s “Game On” for Good Study Habits!
1 Studying is an important part of student life, but it might not be much fun sometimes. Students can conquer study-time blues with the help of learning activities featuring or based on games. This idea is known as gamification. While critics point to some drawbacks of the concept, gamification can contribute in important ways to learning.
2 Gamification succeeds by increasing student motivation. Think about your own favorite game. One reason you play is probably to discover what comes next. Gamification applies this “what comes next” idea to learning. Perhaps you are struggling with new vocabulary words. If knowing the definition of a word opens the gates to the next realm in an imaginary land, you have a new, exciting reason to learn the word.
3 Gaming principles can be applied in other ways to support learning. For example, most games have reward systems. By imitating games and rewarding students for their accomplishments, educators can encourage good study habits. A student might be rewarded with points or some free time after completing a certain number of problems. Leaderboards can help track student progress as they gain points and progress from one level to the next. Students may study more diligently to gain these rewards. In doing so, they are acquiring knowledge and good habits.
4 Critics of gamification are concerned about changing student’s motives for learning. Let’s take a student who wants to play the violin. Once the student is offered a prize for playing a piece well, she may practice very hard to win the prize. However, research shows that the student may then lose interest in practicing—even though she originally wanted to learn the instrument. Her original reason for playing has been replaced by an interest in rewards. These critics would prefer that students learn to love learning for its own sake, not for a reward.
5 It may be, though, that gamification offers a great way for unmotivated students to get started. Students who are at first motivated to learn by rewards may later discover their own reasons to learn.
6 And, games and gamification work! In one study, college students were organized into groups. All groups heard a lecture and then took a quiz. One group, though, played a related game before taking the quiz. This group did about 45% better on the quiz than those who just heard the lecture. Another group read a related text instead of playing a game—but their performance was only around 30% better (Legaki).
7 See what gamification can do for you. The next time you are not feeling very motivated to study, think about your favorite game. How can it help you to practice better study habits and make studying more enjoyable?

Work Cited
Which best explains the way the author develops ideas in paragraph 6?
A. The author uses facts to explain the reasons gamification is popular.
B. The author uses facts to explain the best way to use games in the classroom.
C. The author uses statistics to show that games can be effective tools for learning.
D. The author uses statistics to show that gamification works by increasing motivation.

Answer 1

C. Paragraph 6 presents numerical results from a study (45% and 30% improvements) to demonstrate that playing a related game improved learning outcomes, so the author is using statistics to show games can be effective learning tools.