This study investigated the effects of computer games on motivation to engage in an academic task subsequent to computer instruction. An instructional computer game was compared with a computer program that operated identically but without game features. The programs were designed to develop a vocabulary skill involving matching negation prefixes to root words. Continuing motivation on this academic task was measured in a noncomputer free-choice activity administered 1 day following the computer instruction. The experimental subjects were students identified by the school as learning disabled and placed in resource rooms or self-contained classrooms. The game and nongame programs produced equal gains in task skill. The game condition resulted in significantly higher levels of continuing motivation than the nongame condition.
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