Perceptions of MBBS Phase II Students on Gamification

Introduction: Traditional didactic lectures make classes monotonous and lead to reduced student engagement and interaction. Gamification can be used to break the monotony. Use of game elements in a non-gaming context is gamification. Simple digital tools can be used for gamification. We conducted this study to evaluate the student perceptions on gamification in medical education. Methodology: This study was carried out in the department of Pathology. MBBS phase II students who attended all the gamification sessions were included in the study. Gamification was done for sub-topics on Neoplasia, using digital tools like Slido, Socrative, google forms and crossword. Student perceptions were taken on validated questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale. One open-ended question was given. Statistical analysis was done using frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. Results: A total of 72 students responded to the questionnaire. Students liked google forms the most followed by Slido. The findings of the study showed that students felt that gamification increases knowledge retention, understanding, improves engagement and satisfaction, enhances motivation, and improves overall learning experience. Students felt that gamification increases opportunities for interaction with faculty. For the questions on perceptions, the highest mean score was 4.33 and the lowest score was 3.97. Students recommended more quizzes with images and gamification for other subjects and classes too. Conclusion: Gamification was well-received by the students. Students perceive that gamification improves their learning and retention. Gamification can be used in teaching to make classes more interesting and to increase student motivation. Keywords: Gamification, Medical Education, Teaching, Learning, Perceptions, MBBS