Gamified Learning App and Exam Performance in Undergraduate Accounting Courses Before and During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced educators worldwide to implement new and innovative learning tools to address changing teaching conditions. However, comprehensive studies on the impact of such innovative tools on learning outcomes are rare. This study explores the impact of a gamified mobile learning app on exam performance at a large German university in an undergraduate accounting course over four semesters. The app was launched before the pandemic. Therefore, the data allow an analysis of the general impact of the app on the one hand and of the changes due to the conversion of teaching from face-to-face to online lectures on the other. The results indicate that better performance in the app relates to good exam results, however, intensive app usage alone does not contribute to good exam performance. We also find that people who like to participate in challenges in the app show better exam performance. Our findings contribute to the question of the portability of predictive models of learning data across different teaching contexts