Gamification Found to be Useful for Dental, Medical Education

Gamification has been found to be useful for dental and
medical education, according to a research done by University of Eastern
Finland.
Using their own mobile devices,
students on a histology course took trivia quizzes on the course topics
focusing on human cells and tissues. According to students, this promoted
interaction and created a positive learning atmosphere. The findings were published
in BMC Medical Education. Advances in digital technology have opened up new
avenues for medical education, and technology can also be used to bring more
interaction to teaching.
Histology education focuses on
the human body at the cellular and tissue levels. In 2016, the University of
Eastern Finland reformed its histology curriculum and introduced a
student-centred learning platform that is based on virtual microscopy, allowing
students to examine whole-slide digitised tissue samples online. In addition,
the classrooms were equipped with large touch screens, making it possible for
students to work in groups when analysing virtual tissue samples.
Recently, gamification was
introduced to the histology course through Kahoot, a game-based quiz platform freely
available on the internet. Kahoot enables professors to create trivia quizzes
on topics covered on the course, and students can take the quizzes on their
mobile devices. Answers are submitted anonymously and students get instant
feedback on them. The use of trivia quizzes in histology education is geared
towards increased interaction, better remembering of things taught, and
promoting general interest in the topic. Kahoot is a relatively rarely used
tool in medical education.
The newly published study
sought to investigate whether taking digital trivia quizzes would have an
impact on student grades in the histology course. Students’ grades were
compared against the grades of students from the previous year, when the course
was implemented according to the same structure, but without Kahoot. Students
also completed a survey that focused on their views of gamification in
education.
The majority of students felt
that Kahoot quizzes enhanced their motivation to learn and made it easier to
understand difficult concepts. The opportunity to discuss the results with
professors was also considered important. According to students, anonymous
quizzes made it possible to test one’s own learning in a relaxed manner. In
addition, anonymous quizzes fostered collaboration, and students also tended to
perform better when working in groups rather than alone. Since introducing
gamification to histology education, an increasing number of students have got
a good grade in their final exam, although there hasn’t been a significant
change in the mean grades.
More than 200 first-year
students of medicine and dentistry participated in the histology course in both
years. Roughly 160 students responded to the survey.
Source: https://www.uef.fi/en/-/pelillisyys-voi-tukea-laaketieteen-opiskelua
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