Gamification has been widely deployed in educational contexts across society, but few scenarios are as complex as medical education, yet a recent study from the University of Eastern Finland provides a reminder that it can provide benefits to students even in this most challenging of domains.

The research demonstrates how students were given trivia quizzes on various course topics around human cells and tissues, with the result being both higher motivation and learning outcomes.

The study examined the field of histology education, which explores the human body at a cellular and tissue level.  The histology curriculum was reformed at the University of Eastern Finland in 2016, with student-centered learning platforms introduced.  The platforms are based on virtual microscopy and allowed students to examine digitized tissue samples easily online.

The course recently had a gamification element added to it via the Kahoot quiz platform, which allows faculty to create trivia quizzes on whatever topics are covered during the course.  The quizzes are taken on the students’ mobile device and answers are submitted anonymously, with instant feedback provided to the student.

Student engagement

The team hoped that the quizzes would boost interaction as well as retention of knowledge and even the general interest in the topic.  The researchers examined the impact the quiz had on student grades, with comparisons made with students from the previous year when the same curriculum was taught but no quizzes were deployed.  Students were also surveyed to examine their thoughts on the quizzes, and on gamification in education more broadly.

Most of the students reported feeling more motivated as a result of the quizzes, and that they helped absorb the content more effectively, especially when it involved challenging concepts.  They also said that the anonymous nature of the quizzes allowed them to test their skills in a relatively safe and relaxed environment.  This resulted in a higher proportion of the class securing good grades compared to the previous year (although correlation and causation issues are clearly evident in this isolated sample).

It’s clear that a bit more work is required to prove the robustness of these findings, but they are nonetheless interesting and worth further examination.