Effectiveness of innovative gamified learning among undergraduate medical students

Abstract

In today's world of technology, gamification has become increasingly popular in education. Previous studies have reported that gamified learning enables 21st century students to motivate and engage in academic fields. However, there is a paucity of information on empirical studies on effectiveness of gamified learning in various fields of medicine. This lack of empirical evidence is evident in the varying recommendations for the implementation of gamification in medical education. This research aimed to investigate the effectiveness of gamified learning among undergraduate medical students. This was an quasi-experimental study comparing digital online gamified learning with conventional electronic learning (e-learning) at undergraduate level in medicine. Modified Kirkpatrick evaluation was used to appraise the outcome of educational intervention. The change in pre and post-test score was used to measure cognitive gain. There were twenty-one knowledge and skill assessment questions (twenty multiple choice questions and one objective structured clinical examination question respectively) to assess the knowledge and skill acquisition. The findings from this study revealed that gamified learning is more effective than conventional e-learning in improving ECG diagnostic accuracy while gamified learning is as effective as conventional e-learning for improving ECG interpretation skill.