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| 191P London, UK Pharmacology 2016 |
Using educational digital games to improve the engagement and performance of Applied Pharmacology students in an undergraduate cell biology course
Background and Aims: Using interactive activities to engage students is favoured over long-established objectivist teaching approaches (1). Technology features prominently in students lifestyles through use of social media, online gaming and other online multimedia; this playful aspect of technology could be harnessed to support teaching and learning (2,3). Indeed many constructivist educators utilize technology in interactive activities. However, although results from game-based learning are promising they suffer from poor design of both game and research (4). We aim to test whether a digital game can improve student engagement and performance in an Applied Pharmacology (AP) single-honours programme. The game design incorporates a mental representation of the course material (mental schema), which can improve learning clarity (5), and systemic rehearsal, a key method for lengthening memory retention hypothesized to enable effective knowledge consolidation.
Summary of work and outcomes: The game will be deployed within a Cell Biology and Human Physiology module at Queen Margaret University, with typical class sizes of 180. AP students will be randomly assigned to play the game, or complete an appropriate control task. Data collection will include; students’ performance in course content knowledge tests and final examinations; in-game analytics on students’ game engagement; interviews/focus groups to assess attitudes and value judgements of the game. The impact of the game will therefore be measured in terms of level of engagement with course material and overall course performance. Improvements will be evident in terms of generic biological science skills, a good grounding in which are vital for AP undergraduates to build on in later years of study.
Discussion and Conclusion: This proposal is at an early stage, but represents a unique interdisciplinary project combining the strength of experts in Cell Biology, Game Development, Psychology and Education to provide an interactive computer tool to facilitate learning. Short term goals involve developing a prototype, determining its benefit in a single institution and disseminating outcomes within education literature. Long-term goals are to expand the learning content, making it widely available and benefiting the wider education community.
References: (1).Vrasidas, C. (2000), Int. J. Ed. Telecom., 6(4),339-3622. (2) Junco, R. (2015), J.App. Dev. Psychol., 36, 18-293. (3) Padilla-Meléndez, A., Del Aguila-Obra, A.R. et al, (2013), J.Comp &Ed.,63, 306-3174. (4) Vandercruysse, S., Vandewaetere, M. & Clarebout,G., (2012), Handbook of Research on Serious Games as Educational, Business and Research Tools. Hersey: IGI Global, 628-647. (5) Wang, S.H. and Morris, R.G.M.(2010), Ann.Rev.Psychol., 61, 49-70