Students' perceptions of playing a serious game intended to enhance therapeutic decision-making in a pharmacy curriculum

Instructional educational games in pharmacy experiential education: a quasi-experimental assessment of learning outcomes, students' engagement and motivation

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to determine the impact of implementing instructional educational games on attaining the intended learning outcomes mapped with the competencies of a pharmacy practice experience course, and to assess students' attitudes towards motivation and engagement in this active learning activity.

METHODS

This was a quasi-experimental study that utilized a pretest-posttest for the research groups. Students were divided into teams and challenged to answer different questions related to the case scenarios. Different gaming platforms as Gamilab, Wisc-Online, and Quizizz were accordingly used to create different questions that help students memorize medications' brand names, and acquire the advanced community knowledge and skills. The attainment of the intended learning outcomes was assessed and compared between the experimental and control groups through the course total average of grades, and the subsequent averages of domains relating to the course competencies. Attitudes towards motivation and engagement in educational games activities were also assessed among the experimental group.

RESULTS

A total of 233 students were enrolled in the study. The experimental group had significantly higher total posttest average compared to the control group (Beta = 7.695, 95% CI = 4.964-10.425, P < 0.001). The experimental group had also significantly higher averages of competency domains related to foundational knowledge (Beta = 1.471, 95% CI = 0.723-2.219, P < 0.001), pharmaceutical care (Beta = 1.650, 95% CI = 0.673-2.627, P < 0.001), essentials to practice and care (Beta = 1.838, 95% CI = 0.626-3.050, P < 0.003), and approach to practice and care (Beta = 2.736, 95% CI = 1.384-4.088, P < 0.001) averages. The experimental group reflected positive attitudes toward gamification engagement and motivation, with greater than 60% of the students recommend engage educational games to be part of the course.

CONCLUSION

Incorporation of educational games into pharmacy practice experiences resulted in better learning outcomes. This kind of active learning appears to be acceptable and motivational for students, and is recommended for further research in didactic courses in the pharmacy curriculum.

Gamification in pharmacy education: a systematic quantitative literature review

OBJECTIVES

Gamification involves applying game attributes to non-game contexts and its educational use is increasing. It is essential to review the outcomes and the efficacy of gamification to identify evidence to support its use in pharmacy education.

THIS ARTICLE

systematically and quantitatively reviews and evaluates the alignment of learning outcomes and the quality of peer-reviewed literature reporting gamification in pharmacy education.

KEY FINDINGS

A literature search was undertaken in February 2022 using CINAHL Complete, MEDLINE, Science Direct, Scopus and ERIC databases, via keywords (game* OR gaming OR gamif*) AND pharmac* AND education. Google Scholar was searched using 'gamification of pharmacy education' and 'serious games in pharmacy education'. Data extracted included type of gamified intervention, mode of delivery, game fidelity, intended learning outcomes and outcomes reported. Quality assessments aligned with key aspects of the SQUIRE-EDU Reporting Guidelines. Of 759 abstracts and 95 full-text papers assessed, 66 articles met the inclusion criteria. They described gamification from 12 countries in the education of 8272 pharmacy and health professional students. Gamified interventions ranged from board games to immersive simulations, with escape rooms most frequently reported. Reporting quality was inconsistent, with observed misalignment between intended learning outcomes and outcomes reported, an apparent overreliance on student perceptions as primary data and a lack of reference to reporting guidelines.

SUMMARY

Gamification is included in the curricula of many pharmacy degrees, across multiple subject areas. This review identified evidence gaps and reinforces the need for improved quality of gamification research, critical alignment of learning outcomes with evaluation, and use of reporting guidelines.

Perceptions and factors affecting the adoption of digital games for engineering education: a mixed-method research

Digital games are considered relevant in higher education due to their ability to foster authentic, active and experiential learning opportunities that are of importance in engineering education. However, as a relatively new pedagogical tool, there is the need to understand the perceptions of engineering students as well as to identify factors that influence their adoption of games for learning. So far, only a few studies have investigated the perceptions of higher education students towards learning games and even fewer for engineering students. To bridge this research gap, the current study utilises a mixed-method research design to identify factors that influence the adoption of digital learning games by engineering students as well as their overall perceptions of the use of games for engineering education. Results from the analysed quantitative and qualitative data suggest that engineering students value fun and engagement as well as relevance to the curriculum as factors that would influence their intentions to use digital games for engineering education. Students also showed openness to the use of digital games for learning, but resistance to their use for assessment. These findings have implications for the design of games and classroom deployment of games, as these provide insights to game designers and educators on the factors to consider in the design and classroom deployment of games, respectively.

Computer-Based Simulators in Pharmacy Practice Education: A Systematic Narrative Review

Computer-based simulations may represent an innovative, flexible, and cost-efficient training approach that has been underutilised in pharmacy practice education. This may need to change, with increasing pressure on clinical placement availability, COVID-19 restrictions, and economic pressures to improve teaching efficiency. This systematic narrative review summarises various computer-based simulations described in the pharmacy practice education literature, identifies the currently available products, and highlights key characteristics. Five major databases were searched (Medline, CINAHL, ERIC, Education Source and Embase). Authors also manually reviewed the publication section of major pharmacy simulator websites and performed a citation analysis. We identified 49 studies describing 29 unique simulators, which met the inclusion criteria. Only eight of these simulators were found to be currently available. The characteristics of these eight simulators were examined through the lens of eight main criteria (feedback type, grading, user play mode, cost, operational requirement, community/hospital setting, scenario sharing option, and interaction elements). Although a number of systems have been developed and trialled, relatively few are available on the market, and each comes with benefits and drawbacks. Educators are encouraged to consider their own institutional, professional and curriculum needs, and determine which product best aligns with their teaching goals.

Students' knowledge and perceptions of social determinants of health utilizing interactive computer simulation-based learning

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study was to assess if using computer simulations as a supplemental tool for teaching social determinants of health (SDoH) would impact first-year pharmacy students' knowledge and perceptions of SDoH.

METHODS

A brief lecture and online poverty game were followed by completion of two, in-class, computer-simulated SDoH clinical scenarios and corresponding case discussion. Students completed a pre- and post-quiz and perception survey with two open-ended questions. Qualitative analysis of the open-ended questions and quantitative analyses of the poverty game choices, quiz, and perception survey were conducted.

RESULTS

In total, 132 students were enrolled in this study. Thematic analysis of the open-ended question asking students what they learned included empathy (42%), general SDoH knowledge (30%), culture/religion (18%), and economic impact (15%). Student perceptions for all teaching modalities had a mean score of 4. Mean quiz scores on the pre- and post-class quizzes were 2.31 (SD 0.93) and 2.51 (SD 0.89), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Computer simulations can be utilized as a supplemental tool to teach and apply clinical patient cases focused on SDoH. Strategically threading SDoH throughout the pharmacy curriculum is recommended to further develop SDoH knowledge and clinical skills.

Game-Based Learning in Pharmacy Education

Game-based learning (GBL) involves adding game elements to non-game activities to encourage engagement. Pharmacy curricula are required to incorporate active learning to meet accreditation standards. The literature supports that well-designed GBL holds the attention of students and improves knowledge in some instances. Furthermore, these adaptable experiences can be leveraged for a variety of content areas in pharmacy education. Some activities utilized by educators require large amounts of technological expertise, while others involve minimal use of technology. The incorporation of technology can create highly immersive experiences for learners; however, there are barriers (e.g., financial and technology prowess) to implementation compared to simpler designs. One area of GBL that is not well defined in the literature is how to adequately assess student learning outcomes. Most current studies describe subjective attitudes and confidence or assess content knowledge through objective pre- and post-tests. In the future, more defined and connected methods for assessment—such as active demonstrations within the game—will be needed to better incorporate GBL into pharmacy curricula. Based on the collective evidence in the literature, some GBL activities may serve as useful tools to improve pharmacy student engagement and learning.

Design and evaluation of a mobile serious game application to supplement instruction

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Pharmacy students often exhibit minimal interest in pharmacy management courses. This pilot study reports on the design and testing of a mobile game application (app) prototype to improve student engagement and learning of financial management concepts.

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING

A mobile app (Planet Finance) was designed to supplement instruction for two key financial management topics. The app was introduced to students in two schools of pharmacy after content on financial management was taught. Students were requested to use the game app for a minimum of two weeks and complete a questionnaire assessing their knowledge of management content and perceptions of the app.

FINDINGS

The overall survey response rate was 41%. The majority of respondents played the game app two to four times (48.3%). Only 13.8% of respondents completed all 10 levels. Participants generally agreed that game instructions were clear, and that the game was easy to navigate, entertaining and made learning fun; allowed more engagement with content; and enhanced financial statements and ratios comfort. Those who played the game app more often had more favorable perceptions. User data from the game app showed that the majority of respondents accessed the game app on not more than two days (89.1%) and played up to four levels (69.6%).

SUMMARY

Overall, students enjoyed playing Planet Finance; however, uptake of the app was low. Future revisions may involve adding additional competitive features, content, levels, incentives, and focusing on strategies to incorporate the game into traditional classroom instruction.

Pharmacy student experience, preference, and perceptions of gaming and game-based learning

INTRODUCTION

The incorporation of serious games in higher education has shown improvement in student engagement and motivation to learn. Research that explores local pharmacy student preferences of gamification aspects of serious games is scarce. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate local pharmacy student experience, preference, and perceptions of gaming and game-based learning.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted by distributing self-administered questionnaires among pharmacy students in Malaysia. Descriptive statistics, the Mann-Whitney test, the Kruskal-Wallis test, and the Spearman's correlation test were used for analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 328 pharmacy students enrolled in this study, and 84.1% (n = 276) had video game experience. Students usually played video games using mobile phones (n = 231, 70%). Pharmacy students showed positive perceptions regarding serious games with a mean score of 3.69. However, limited awareness and knowledge of serious games was observed among pharmacy students. The most preferred game genres were role-playing and strategy (n = 174, 53%). Pharmacy students also preferred playing a cooperative game style (n = 113, 34.5%) with scores as a reward system (n = 204, 62.6%). Over three quarters (n = 292, 89.3%) wanted to see the results of the assessment after the game.

CONCLUSIONS

This research provided information on serious games preferences of local pharmacy students. Further study should evaluate the acceptance and effectiveness of the implementation of serious games among pharmacy students in Malaysia.