The Effectiveness of Gamification vs. Traditional Teaching in Undergraduate Medical Education

NCT06763627 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: IR.IUMS.REC.1403.896
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 30
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study will evaluate the effectiveness of a gamification-based learning method (board game) versus traditional teaching (lecture) in enhancing the knowledge of acute cholecystitis and pancreatitis among medical students in the general surgery ward at Rasoul Akram Hospital. This study will be conducted as an extra-curricular program, using pre- and post-tests to determine the effectiveness of gamification in general surgery learning within undergraduate medical education. The board game will incorporate innovative educational strategies to engage students in learning about acute cholecystitis and pancreatitis

Conditions

Medical Education; Gamification

Keywords

Gamification; Boardgame; Medical Education; Medical Student; General Surgery

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in knowledge of acute cholecystitis and pancreatitis

  Change in Test Scores from Pre-test to Immediate Post-test, Containing 20 Multiple-Choice Questions and 10 Short-Answer Questions, Assessing Knowledge of Acute Cholecystitis and Pancreatitis: A Comparison Between Two Groups

  Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the intervention

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Retention of knowledge on acute cholecystitis and pancreatitis

  6 weeks after the intervention

Study Arms (2)

Gamification group

EXPERIMENTAL

The gamification group will consist of teams of three to four members, who will engage in the board game under the supervision of the supervising investigator for one hour.

Other: Gamification ( Board game )

Class group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The class group will consist of individuals who will attend a one-hour traditional, lecture-based session led by a faculty member in general surgery

Other: Traditional lecture-based teaching

Interventions

Gamification ( Board game ) OTHER

A three- or four-player board game will be designed to teach acute cholecystitis and pancreatitis. The game has two stages: educational (houses 1-9) and reinforcement (houses 10-30). Players roll dice and move their pieces to answer various questions such as multiple-choice, true/false, matching, puzzles, and scenario-based problem-solving. Each player starts with three hearts, and if they land on one of the three red "trap" spaces and answer incorrectly, they lose one heart. Yellow spaces introduce random events like gaining or losing hearts. One space features a general knowledge question for variety. Players must achieve a point threshold in the educational section to move to the reinforcement section, and the highest scorer at the end of the hour wins. Groups of 3 or 4 students will play for one hour under the supervision of the investigator.

Gamification group

Traditional lecture-based teaching OTHER

Students will attend a standard one-hour lecture delivered by a general surgery faculty member, covering the same topics. PowerPoint presentations prepared by the research team will ensure consistency with the game content.

Class group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Medical students in their clinical externship in the general surgery ward.
• Willingness to participate voluntarily.

You may not qualify if:

• Previous knowledge or exposure to acute cholecystitis and pancreatitis.
• Lack of consent or inability to attend the sessions.
• Medical students not currently assigned to general surgery clinical rotations.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Iran University of Medical Sciences: lead

Study Sites (1)

Iran University of Medical Sciences

Tehran, Tehran Province, Iran

Location

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 3, 2025
• First Posted: January 8, 2025
• Study Start: January 15, 2025
• Primary Completion: April 15, 2025
• Study Completion: May 30, 2025
• Last Updated: August 29, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-08

Locations

IR (1)