Effects of Gamification on the Benefits of Student Response Systems in Learning of Human Anatomy: Three Experimental Studies

Gamified Strength Recognition and Quiz to Enhance COVID-19 Prevention, Knowledge, Behaviors, and Family Well-Being

Background: Promoting COVID-19 prevention is key to pandemic control and innovative interventions can help communicate reliable science to the public. Under the Hong Kong Jockey Club SMART Family-Link Project, we developed and evaluated a pilot intervention for promoting COVID-19 prevention through a web-based family game, guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior and a strength-based approach. Methods: The "SMART Epidemic prevention" pilot theme was launched to the public on September 21, 2020 for 4 weeks. The game had two parts: (i) strength recognition and (ii) quiz questions on knowledge and behaviors about COVID-19 prevention. Simple baseline, in-game, and postgame evaluation assessed players' perceived knowledge, behaviors, family well-being, game satisfaction, and perceived benefits. Results: Of 86 registered families, 55 played actively, including 212 players (51% female, 35% aged below 18) who self-identified as children (44%), parents (39%), and grandparents (11%). In weeks 1 and 4, an average of 7 and 18 game rounds were played per family, and 86.6% and 75.9% of rounds had perfect (2) behavior matches. Postgame evaluation with 51 families showed improvements in epidemic prevention knowledge and behaviors, family communication, family happiness (all P < 0.001), and family relationship (P = 0.002) with small effect sizes (0.15-0.29). Overall game satisfaction was rated 4.49 (scale of 1-5). Ninety-four percent of families shared knowledge from the game with others. Conclusions: Our pilot web-based family game first showed preliminary evidence on enhancing COVID-19 prevention knowledge and behaviors, and family well-being, with participants recognizing family strengths, reporting high satisfaction and various perceived benefits, and showing sustained gameplay. Trial Registration: The research protocol was registered at the National Institutes of Health (Identifier No. NCT04550065) on September 16, 2020.

The combined effects of an anatomy program integrating drawing and gamification on basic psychological needs satisfaction among sport sciences students: Results of a natural experiment

According to self-determination theory, the need for competence, autonomy, and relatedness has been associated with intrinsic motivation. Fulfilling basic psychological needs can lead to better learning, academic performance, and well-being. In this study, an anatomy program integrated gamification and drawing methods to explore their influence on basic psychological needs satisfaction and potential learning implications. Basic psychological needs outcomes of sport sciences students were compared to test the effects of the Observe-Reflect-Draw-Edit-Repeat (ORDER) method and gamification (experimental condition) versus a non-ORDER and non-gamified program (control condition). These two different 30-h (7-week) anatomy education programs were implemented at two Spanish public universities with 116 first-year sport sciences students. Pre and post-treatment measurements were collected using the Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction Scale. Statistical analyses included independent samples t-tests, ANCOVAs, and factorial repeated measures ANOVAs 2 × 2 (time × treatment). The gamified ORDER program achieved higher satisfaction scores in basic psychological needs compared to the control group (t = 2.98, p = 0.004, d = 0.54). Additionally, an interaction effect between time and treatment was observed (p = 0.042,η p 2  = 0.038). Treatment and interaction effects were observed for 'autonomy' (p = 0.003,η p 2  = 0.074) and 'competence' satisfaction (p = 0.048,η p 2  = 0.035). A time effect was found for 'relatedness' in the control group, but no significant treatment or interaction effects were identified. The causes of these effects are debated in the study, as well as the limitations. These findings support the notion that students' basic psychological needs are better satisfied in anatomy education with the implementation of this multimethod educational intervention based on ORDER and gamification.

Education in Focused Lung Ultrasound Using Gamified Immersive Virtual Reality: A Randomized Controlled Study

Focused lung ultrasound (FLUS) has high diagnostic accuracy in many common conditions seen in a variety of emergency settings. Competencies are essential for diagnostic success and patient safety but can be challenging to acquire in clinical environments. Immersive virtual reality (IVR) offers an interactive risk-free learning environment and is progressing as an educational tool. First, this study explored the educational impact of novice FLUS users participating in a gamified or non-gamified IVR training module in FLUS by comparing test scores using a test with proven validity evidence. Second, the learning effect was assessed by comparing scores of each group with known test scores of novices, intermediates and experienced users in FLUS. A total of 48 participants were included: 24 received gamified and 24 received non-gamified IVR training. No significant difference was found between gamified (mean = 15.5 points) and non-gamified (mean = 15.2 points), indicating that chosen gamification elements for our setup did not affect learning outcome (p = 0.66). The mean scores of both groups did not significantly differ from those of known intermediate users in FLUS (gamified p = 0.63, non-gamified p = 0.24), indicating that both IVR modules could be used as unsupervised out-of-hospital training for novice trainees in FLUS.

Gamification: Basic concepts and applications in radiology

Gamification is the use of elements from games in non-game environments, such as education. It is an alternative educational focus that promotes students' motivation and participation in the learning process. Gamification had proven effective in training health professionals and can play an important role in diagnostic radiology training, both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Gamification activities can be carried out in real environments, such as classrooms or session rooms, but there are also interesting online modalities that favor remote access and user management. The possibilities of gamification in virtual worlds to teach undergraduate students radiology are very promising and deserve to be explored in training residents. This article aims to review general concepts in gamification and to present the main types of gamification used in medical training, pointing out its applications and advantages and disadvantages and emphasizing experiences in radiology education.

Learning veterinary anatomy playing cards

Gamification is a dynamic tool for educational transformation useful to encourage student interest and enhance learning. Here we present a study conducted to investigate the effectiveness of an educational card game developed by us in veterinary anatomy practicals to reinforce knowledge acquisition in veterinary students. A total of four sets of cards were designed, each one with different anatomical topics (structure identification, articulation and positioning, clinical anatomy, and comparative anatomy); students were arranged in small groups (7-10 students per group) and played the game at the end of each anatomy practical session, discussing the corresponding questions, randomly chosen, as a team. This activity was highly valued by students, most of whom (>80%) expressed that the game was enjoyable, challenging, helpful to improve their knowledge and understanding in clinical anatomy, and effective for anatomy exam preparation. Thus, the use of educational games in practical sessions seems to improve student engagement in the learning process individually and as a team.NEW & NOTEWORTHY The development and implementation of a card game as a training resource that allows learning veterinary anatomy in a motivating and cooperative environment, promoting teamwork, relationships, and trust and communication between colleagues, is described. Stimulating the ability to solve problems as a team has provided help to students preparing for their exams in a more dynamic and enjoyable way.