Educational Games For All Students: Using A Question And Answer
“Game Show” Format To Teach Psychiatry To Medical Students
Carolina Retamero, M.D., Rose Julius, D.O., Ruth Lamdan, M.D.
Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Abstract
Introduction
The use of interactive games to teach basic and clinical sciences has been
described in the literature. Active or Adult Learning Theory supports a
learning system that is self-motivated, gives immediate feedback and
involves interactive participation.
Methods
We developed a game-show-like educational activity to teach psychiatry to
3rd year medical students, however, our program can involve learners at all
levels, including attending physicians. It demonstrates to students
competitive, interactive play, good spirit, enjoyment of learning and
laughter. In front of a group of medical students, residents or mixed
learning groups, participants are given a series of questions in Psychiatry,
compete to be the first to answer questions correctly and then can look to
the audience to respond to unanswered questions. Scores are tabulated
and a small prize is given as additional playful incentive. Faculty works
together to develop questions to stretch the learning objectives and
maximize specific teaching points. Games are played over a Block or
other teaching period - giving students time to study and actively compete
with their knowledge base.
Results
Overall, the Game Show is enthusiastically endorsed by students. Adding
educational games to a psychiatry curriculum can promote camaraderie
amongst peers and other learner groups, engages them in a fun, enjoyable
way to review and learn the Psychiatry curriculum.
Conclusions
This paradigm should be considered a valuable tool to enrich students at
all levels of training and experience and promote interest in Psychiatry as a
discipline.
Introduction
Goals as Educators
* “Real” goals:
- Increase shelf examination scores
- “Psychiatry is great. I want to come back for more”
- To have a great time
* “Alleged” goals:
- Life long learners
- Problem solvers
- To be the kind of physicians we want to go to
Challenges to our Goals
* Large classrooms receiving conventional lectures
* Increase of clinical revenues in academic centers:
- Decrease time for teaching
- Increased demands for clinical time
* Limited training in educational techniques and theories
* Introduction of technology to medical education
* Students are “Adults” and want to be in control
* There is an “inequivalence” on sites
How can we overcome these educational challenges?
Discussion
Methods
Educational Games in the literature
Why are games useful?
Game Description
* Promote cooperative learning
* Motivate and engage learners
* Add elements of fun and the challenge of competition in a non-stressful
environment
* Allows the teacher to use creative teaching techniques and technology
* Allows students to be active participants in their own learning
* Students divide in 6 teams. We ask them to name their groups: “The
Manic-Panicʼs, Pink Freudʼs, Freudian slips, Cluster Aʼs, Delirious, Haldol
Stat, Munchausenʼs, Haldol Darts, The Psychlones, The DSM force, CFTʼs
(Cold Freudian Turkeys).” 3 semifinals (multiple choice).
* The winners of these 3 games will play on the final (single choice) and
one team will be Champion of the Psych Game
* We use our own PowerPoint template created to be similar in structure to
the popular TV show Jeopardy©.
* For the eliminatory questions game questions we use previous PRITE
questions and original questions. All the final game questions are original
questions.
* Buzzer system
How to Create an Educational Game
* Incorporate the right amount of challenge, curiosity, fantasy and control
* Set up adequate game goals and rules and provide feedback whether
these are being achieved or not
* Winning has to be possible for everyone. Winners as well as losers
must be able to learn the same
* If props are used they have to relate directly to the gameʼs purpose
* Keep the students interested
* Be original
* Incorporate clinical cases, two-way questions, multiple choice questions
and single answer questions
Advantages of Educational
Games
•
Provide a structure for
reinforcing pre-learned
concepts as well as
acquire new knowledge
and skills
•
Reduces stress and
anxiety
Promotes assimilation of
content
Decreases boredom as it
actively involves all
students
•
•
•
•
•
•
Motivate participants
Adds entertainment in the
classroom
Students like games and
forming teams as it
promotes communication
and social interaction
Students are “in control”
Results
Evaluation of the teaching method
* Pretest survey (handed during orientation)
* 2-part posttest survey (one before the NBME exam and one after the
NBME exam)
* N=201 3rd year medical students
Disadvantages of
Educational Games
•
May embarrassed and
stress students when
incorrect answers are
given
•
Competition may be seen
as threatening
•
May be expensive
•
May involve extensive
preparation and be time
intensive
•
May be difficult to assess
individual competencies
•
May loose the “serious”
component
•
It’s very difficult to apply
in large group classrooms
•
They may require special
equipment
Conclusions
References
Student responses regarding the game show format
96
97
* The graphic shows the distribution of student
97
responses in 2 categories: disagree (includes
82
disagree and strongly disagree responses) and
agree (includes agree and strongly agree
responses).
* 77.3% of the students believed that they
recall more information from the game show
format as compared to the lectures
(X2 = 18.32; p < .001).
18
* When asked to rank 9 educational techniques
4
in order of their contribution to the psychiatric
3
competency developed during the clerkship,
3
Keeps me
24.1% ranked “game show participant” as
awake Cover topics Is intellectually
number 1, while only 10.7% of the students
throughly
Is fun
stimulating
ranked “didactic lectures” as number 1.
* 86.4% of the students believe that they learn
Disagree
more when they have lectures and game show
Agree
format activities combined.
* Subjective feedback has been extraordinarily
positive.
* For Medical Students:
* Who wants to be a physician for pulmonary physiology and Survivor
for pulmonary physiology
* Fun, more understanding and retention of information.
* Extremely useful, well presented, thorough in its content,
valuable in the mechanisms it reinforced from their previous
course in pulmonary physiology, * Enjoyed the interaction and
collaboration that this educational game encouraged.
* T and B cell ontogeny game:
* Pre-post test design: studentsʼ test grades improved
significantly
* Game to educate about ectopic pregnancy
* As effective as standard lecture in educating students about
ectopic pregnancy, while being more enjoyable and stimulating.
* A card game to teach about host defense:
* Significant increase in test scores, from 39% to 58% correct in
the 8th graders, from 47% to 59% among 10th graders, and from
80% to 88% among the medical students.
* For residents:
* Mind Games
* Jeopardy to teach clinical pharmacology and therapeutics:
* Post-game survey results: 100%: enjoyable and useful way to
learn pediatric CP&T and 100% wanted to do it again sometime.
* Teaching methods on a 5 point scale for their effectiveness and
ability to stimulate interest: JEOPARDY game format (4.7), case
presentations (4.3), lectures (3.9), and journal club (3.3).
* Interactive game show type format to teach neuroanatomy
* RITE: primary outcome measure: an interactive game showtype format is more effective than faculty-prepared lectures for
improving resident understanding of basic and clinical
neurophysiology.
Educational games have been used to teach nurses, medical students and
residents. Although the literature of the usefulness of these games is
scarce, the positive impact in learners is widely described. As the
classroom lectures are likely to disappear from the medical students
curriculum in the incoming years, educators will need to use other methods
that are likely to be fun, promote long term retention of information and are
well liked by learners. Educational games should be consider a valuable tool
for teachers along with Team Based Learning, workshops and seminars.
88
100.0
89
86
75.0
50.0
12
25.0
14
11
0
Is less effective Is too chaotic
than lectures for concentration Is a distraction
from course content
% of students
* Use assumptions of Adult Learning Theory:
- Adults need to know why should they learn something
- Adults are self directed and independent, taking responsibility for their
own learning and the direction in takes.
- Adults are experienced, and they want to be able to use what they
know and be acknowledged
- Adults will be ready to learn something when they feel they “need” to
learn it
- Adults are more interested in immediate problem centered
approaches rather than subject centered approaches
- Adults are more motivated to learn by internal drives than external
drives
* Apply other methods: discussion, case based learning, team based
learning, simulation techniques, role playing, games
Educational Games
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