How effective is student-centric edutainment in large introductory is survey courses?

IS teachers who teach large introductory courses are faced with two primary challenges: a curriculum that is perceived as being dull and impersonal and students that require constant stimulation to remain engaged in the course materials. This paper examines the effectiveness of a student-centric approach to learning embedded within an edutainment-oriented environment. This curriculum engaged students by providing a game show atmosphere and other interactive learning exercises that facilitate active learning during class time. Students were kept engaged outside of the classroom by completing mandatory exercises and homework assignments. These online activities provided students with control over when they learned and offered immediate feedback to check their understanding of the concepts. A regression discontinuity analysis of the mean test scores for thirteen semesters demonstrates that there is a significant increase in student performance after the implementation of the new curriculum. © 2007 EDSIG.