Audiovisual Media Center, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
Department of Prosthodontics and Biomaterials, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
BMC Med Educ. 2023 Jul 20;23(1):521. doi: 10.1186/s12909-023-04498-5.
A serious game application was developed to train factual knowledge and for self-assessment. The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of a game application (intervention group) or paper scripts (control group) on knowledge acquisition and to evaluate the acceptance of the new application among dental students.
The 4th semester students of the second preclinical prosthodontics course were randomly assigned to one of the two groups (n = 58/51) for two consecutive years. The study was conducted in two phases: First, all participants took a pretest, with the intervention group using the game application and the control group receiving the same set of questions in a paper script. In the second phase, all participants took a post-test. After the post-test, both groups had access to the application for another three weeks. After that, all participants completed standardized questionnaires and a scale to evaluate the usability of the system. Usage statistics were also tracked. Differences between groups were evaluated together and for both years separately in terms of pretest and posttest scores and learning success.
There was no significant difference between the groups with regard to the posttest and learning success. A significant improvement in knowledge between pretest and posttest (p < 0.05) was demonstrated in both groups. Each student played approximately 350 questions. Participants rated the application with the German school grade "good". Participants appreciated the application and rated it positively. They stated that the game motivated them to learn and that they spent more time with the learning content.
Due to the positive perception achieved through the game, this application is able to motivate students to learn. The learning effect achieved is similar to learning on paper.
开发了一款严肃游戏应用程序来培训事实知识并进行自我评估。本研究的目的是比较游戏应用程序（干预组）和纸质脚本（对照组）对知识获取的影响，并评估新应用程序在牙科学生中的接受程度。
将第二学期前临床修复学课程的第 4 学期学生随机分为两组（n=58/51），连续两年进行研究。该研究分为两个阶段进行：首先，所有参与者都参加了前测，干预组使用游戏应用程序，对照组则使用纸质脚本回答相同的问题。在第二阶段，所有参与者都参加了后测。在后测后，两组都有三周的时间可以使用该应用程序。之后，所有参与者都填写了标准化问卷和评估系统可用性的量表。还跟踪了使用统计数据。从后测和学习成功两个方面，以及从每年的后测和学习成功两个方面，评估两组之间的差异。
两组在后测和学习成功方面没有显著差异。两组在测试前和测试后的知识都有显著提高（p<0.05）。每个学生大约玩了 350 个问题。参与者对应用程序的评价为德国学校成绩“良好”。参与者对应用程序表示赞赏，并给予了积极评价。他们表示游戏激发了他们的学习兴趣，并且他们花了更多的时间学习学习内容。
由于通过游戏获得的积极感知，该应用程序能够激励学生学习。所取得的学习效果与在纸上学习相似。
