Effects of Gamified Station-Rotation Instructional Approach on Students' English Language Reading Comprehension in Senior Secondary Schools in Kebbi State, Nigeria
This study examined whether combining gamification with station-rotation activities could improve the English reading comprehension of secondary school students in Kebbi State. The study assessed not only whether the approach was effective overall, but also whether students at different levels of prior achievement responded differently to it. A total of 120 SS II students from two secondary schools in Birnin Kebbi participated: 67 in a gamified station-rotation program and 53 in conventional instruction. Reading comprehension was measured using a 40-item test covering seven skills: identifying main ideas, locating supporting details, understanding vocabulary in context, making inferences, interpreting meaning, recognizing author's purpose, and applying what was read. After six weeks of instruction, students in the gamified station-rotation group scored significantly higher on the posttest (M = 27.84, SD = 4.18) than those receiving traditional instruction (M = 22.31, SD = 4.06). After adjusting for pretest scores, this 5.53-point difference was statistically significant, F(1, 117) = 32.47, p < .001, ηp² = .217. The benefit of the approach was not uniform across achievement levels: although students at all levels improved more under the gamified approach, average-achieving students showed the largest gains, suggesting the approach may be particularly effective for students in the middle range of performance. Because the experimental and control groups were drawn from different schools with different teachers, the findings are presented as a promising association observed under real classroom conditions rather than definitive proof of a causal effect. The results nonetheless suggest that teachers should consider adopting structured gamified station-rotation activities, with additional support built in for students who are struggling.
