Escape box and puzzle design as educational methods for engagement and satisfaction of medical student learners in emergency medicine: survey study
Abstract Background Gamification in medical education has gained popularity over the past several years. We describe a virtual escape box in emergency medicine clerkship didactics to teach chest pain and abdominal pain and compare this instructional method to a traditional flipped classroom format....
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2022-07-01
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| Series: | BMC Medical Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03585-3 |
| _version_ | 1817976558514601984 |
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| author | Christina Cantwell Soheil Saadat Sangeeta Sakaria Warren Wiechmann Gabriel Sudario |
| author_facet | Christina Cantwell Soheil Saadat Sangeeta Sakaria Warren Wiechmann Gabriel Sudario |
| author_sort | Christina Cantwell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Gamification in medical education has gained popularity over the past several years. We describe a virtual escape box in emergency medicine clerkship didactics to teach chest pain and abdominal pain and compare this instructional method to a traditional flipped classroom format. Methods A virtual escape box was designed at our institution and incorporated into the mandatory two-week emergency medicine clerkship. The game consisted of a PDF with four cases containing puzzles to unlock a final clue. Likert scale surveys were administered to assess participants’ perceptions of the escape box format; of clerkship didactics as a whole; and of the clerkship overall. These responses were compared to the prior year’s evaluations on flipped classroom didactics and clerkship. Results One hundred thirty-four learners participated in the escape box and completed the survey. Eighty-six percent strongly agreed with feeling more engaged with the escape box, 84% strongly agreed with learning something new, 81% strongly agreed with finding the escape box to be satisfying, 78% strongly agreed with being able to apply knowledge gained, and 74% strongly agreed with wanting more escape boxes incorporated into medical education. The escape box showed a higher average score (3.6 ± 0.63) compared to chest pain (3.5 ± 0.67) and abdominal pain (3.2 ± 0.77) flipped classroom sessions (p = 0.0491) for the category of “lecturer explaining content clearly and at the proper level of complexity.” For the category of “lecturer provided effective instructional materials,” the escape box showed higher scores (3.6 ± 0.63) compared to flipped classroom for chest pain (3.4 ± 0.77) and abdominal pain (3.1 ± 0.80) (p < 0.001). Conclusions Escape boxes are adaptable to a virtual format and can teach abstract concepts such as teamwork and communication in addition to traditional lecture content. Ratings of didactics were higher for the escape box compared to the flipped classroom, while ratings of overall clerkship experience were not found to change significantly. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T22:05:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-62508d89a70f41bda7d23c673708fcf0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-6920 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T22:05:09Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Medical Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-62508d89a70f41bda7d23c673708fcf02022-12-22T02:27:58ZengBMCBMC Medical Education1472-69202022-07-012211710.1186/s12909-022-03585-3Escape box and puzzle design as educational methods for engagement and satisfaction of medical student learners in emergency medicine: survey studyChristina Cantwell0Soheil Saadat1Sangeeta Sakaria2Warren Wiechmann3Gabriel Sudario4Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, IrvineDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of California, IrvineDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of California, IrvineDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of California, IrvineDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of California, IrvineAbstract Background Gamification in medical education has gained popularity over the past several years. We describe a virtual escape box in emergency medicine clerkship didactics to teach chest pain and abdominal pain and compare this instructional method to a traditional flipped classroom format. Methods A virtual escape box was designed at our institution and incorporated into the mandatory two-week emergency medicine clerkship. The game consisted of a PDF with four cases containing puzzles to unlock a final clue. Likert scale surveys were administered to assess participants’ perceptions of the escape box format; of clerkship didactics as a whole; and of the clerkship overall. These responses were compared to the prior year’s evaluations on flipped classroom didactics and clerkship. Results One hundred thirty-four learners participated in the escape box and completed the survey. Eighty-six percent strongly agreed with feeling more engaged with the escape box, 84% strongly agreed with learning something new, 81% strongly agreed with finding the escape box to be satisfying, 78% strongly agreed with being able to apply knowledge gained, and 74% strongly agreed with wanting more escape boxes incorporated into medical education. The escape box showed a higher average score (3.6 ± 0.63) compared to chest pain (3.5 ± 0.67) and abdominal pain (3.2 ± 0.77) flipped classroom sessions (p = 0.0491) for the category of “lecturer explaining content clearly and at the proper level of complexity.” For the category of “lecturer provided effective instructional materials,” the escape box showed higher scores (3.6 ± 0.63) compared to flipped classroom for chest pain (3.4 ± 0.77) and abdominal pain (3.1 ± 0.80) (p < 0.001). Conclusions Escape boxes are adaptable to a virtual format and can teach abstract concepts such as teamwork and communication in addition to traditional lecture content. Ratings of didactics were higher for the escape box compared to the flipped classroom, while ratings of overall clerkship experience were not found to change significantly.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03585-3GamificationEscape boxPuzzleEscape roomDidacticsUndergraduate medical education |
| spellingShingle | Christina Cantwell Soheil Saadat Sangeeta Sakaria Warren Wiechmann Gabriel Sudario Escape box and puzzle design as educational methods for engagement and satisfaction of medical student learners in emergency medicine: survey study BMC Medical Education Gamification Escape box Puzzle Escape room Didactics Undergraduate medical education |
| title | Escape box and puzzle design as educational methods for engagement and satisfaction of medical student learners in emergency medicine: survey study |
| title_full | Escape box and puzzle design as educational methods for engagement and satisfaction of medical student learners in emergency medicine: survey study |
| title_fullStr | Escape box and puzzle design as educational methods for engagement and satisfaction of medical student learners in emergency medicine: survey study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Escape box and puzzle design as educational methods for engagement and satisfaction of medical student learners in emergency medicine: survey study |
| title_short | Escape box and puzzle design as educational methods for engagement and satisfaction of medical student learners in emergency medicine: survey study |
| title_sort | escape box and puzzle design as educational methods for engagement and satisfaction of medical student learners in emergency medicine survey study |
| topic | Gamification Escape box Puzzle Escape room Didactics Undergraduate medical education |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03585-3 |
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