Leaderboards prompt upward comparison with group members, continued effort, and forum-based opinion comparison in fully online courses¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causalr1·q1
Currency · no dated study recorded · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Design limits · Bai 2021: no comparison group (read from the study by two models, 2026-10-29)
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q1 i? In both leaderboard conditions, students reported making upward comparisons mainly with their own group members, continuing to work hard after viewing positions, and using the discussion forum to compare opinions. → Bai 2021
Evidence¶
Bai 2021¶
Bai, Shurui, Khe Foon Hew, Michael Sailer, and Chengyuan Jia. 2021. "From top to bottom: how positions on different types of leaderboard may affect fully online student learning performance, intrinsic motivation, and course engagement." Computers & Education 173: 104297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104297.
q1 · i? · causal · r1
Thematic analysis of the open-ended surveys in the absolute leaderboard study; almost all students (22 out of 24) used the discussion forum often to compare opinions. In the relative leaderboard study, 22 out of 26 likewise reported frequent forum use, though students there reported making little effort to climb.
"Most students (21 out of 24) stated that they continued to work hard after viewing their positions on the leaderboard by completing any unfinished tasks or imitating high-ranked students' online behaviours to earn points."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Bottom-ranked students prefer anonymous comparison on an absolute leaderboard but public comparison on a relative leaderboard — related
- On an absolute leaderboard, top-ranked online students report significantly higher post-intervention intrinsic motivation than bottom-ranked students — related
- On a relative leaderboard, intrinsic motivation is equal across top, middle, and bottom ranked students — related
- Collaborative learning did not appear to sustain trainees' motivation in the online programme — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
status |
review |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-29 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
Frontmatter is the page's machine-readable record — see the Schema & Guide.