Abstract
Background and Purpose:
The purpose of this report is to discuss the benefits of the strategic utilization of gamification activities during synchronous sessions in a four-course musculoskeletal sequence. The synchronous sessions in the sequence occurred twice per week for 60-75 minutes during each respective eight-week course and are designed to strengthen the DPT student’s understanding of asynchronous content and reading assignments. In addition, the benefits of strategically adjusting the prevalence of gamification activities during synchronous sessions as a complement to scenario-based case studies presented will be discussed. The participants of this presentation will be presented with examples of gamification tools utilized at Hanover College and will have the opportunity to try them during the demonstration portion of the presentation using their smart devices. Additionally, the presenters will provide the participants with an opportunity to field questions regarding strategic gamification prior to the completion of the session.
Case Description:
Students enrolled in the Musculoskeletal Practice I-V course sequence (DPT650, DPT651, DPT652, and DPT653) are responsible to engage in two synchronous sessions of direct instruction per week for approximately 60-75 minutes in length during each 8-week hybrid course within the musculoskeletal practice series. The synchronous sessions were structured to reinforce the students’ understanding of asynchronous course content delivered in the assigned module of the course. The integration of gamification within the synchronous sessions permitted students the opportunity to confirm their factual knowledge of the musculoskeletal- related content prior to engaging in higher-order case studies. The course instructors strategically decreased the utilization of gamification in DPT652 and DPT653 in alignment with the progression of the related course objectives progressed to a higher objective or category based on Bloom's Taxonomy.
Outcomes:
Post-course feedback for all four musculoskeletal courses indicated a general positive upward trend in synchronous sessions and for overall course ratings. Student’s responses of ‘Strongly Agree’ to ‘Synchronous learning activities increased understanding of course content’ progressed from 50.7% (DPT650), to 56.8% (DPT651), to 62.9% (DPT652) and to 61.8% (DPT653). Student ratings for the question ‘Overall, course satisfaction’ trended from 40.6% (DPT650) to 50% (DPT651), to 75.8% (DPT652) and to 61.8% (DPT653). The presenters plans to provide the audience with a brief comparison of how musculoskeletal-related courses compared to other required coursework in the DPT Program.
Discussion:
Post-course student responses indicated a generally inverse relationship between gamification technology use and overall course satisfaction. Gamification technology intentionally omitted in DPT652 and DPT653 was replaced with clinical case-based scenarios and simulations with an increased emphasis on course content application and clinical reasoning in alignment with progressing Bloom’s Taxonomy-based objectives. One theory for this phenomenon is that initially, students preferred the increased answer structure provided by gamification platforms and similar polling software, but as they become more comfortable with musculoskeletal content and clinical reasoning in general, the less structured clinical scenarios and the increased challenge that such scenarios supported critical thinking and course satisfaction. The key benefit of strategic gamification is that it supports interactivity between students as they progress through introductory musculoskeletal-related content to more complex case scenarios later in the course sequence.
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