Game-style quizzes made nursing students more motivated, but not better at the skills

The study

1. 01

   Who took part

   128 nursing students in a basic nursing skills course at Mansoura University, Egypt, in 2020 to 2021. There were 64 in each group, and everyone was included in the results.

2. 02

   What they did

   Both groups had a 2-hour skills lab each week with the same teachers. Before each lab, they watched a video of the skill. For six weeks, one group also took online quizzes set up as a game, with points, levels, badges and a leaderboard. The other group had the same course without the game.

3. 03

   What happened

   At the end, the game group rated themselves as more motivated to learn. They also said they watched the videos about 4 times, against 2. Their actual nursing skills were no better. Some of the paper's numbers and its timeline don't add up, so treat the sizes with care.

What the study found

1. HelpedMotivation

   Students whose quizzes were a game with points, badges and a leaderboard felt more keen to learn than the rest.

   • Rule: Compete or compare with otherstested
   • Rule: Get a reward or payment for doing ittested
   • Rule: Make it enjoyabletested

   Randomised trial of 128 nursing students in Egypt · vs the same course without the game · they rated themselves · ⚠ numbers unreliable

2. HelpedGoals

   Students with the game quizzes watched the videos before each lab more often, about 4 times against 2.

   • Rule: Compete or compare with otherstested
   • Rule: Get a reward or payment for doing ittested
   • Rule: Make it enjoyabletested

   Randomised trial of 128 nursing students in Egypt · vs the same course without the game · they rated themselves · ⚠ numbers unreliable

3. No differenceGoals

   The game quizzes did not make students any better at actually doing the nursing skills.

   • Rule: Compete or compare with otherstested
   • Rule: Get a reward or payment for doing ittested
   • Rule: Make it enjoyabletested

   Randomised trial of 128 nursing students in Egypt · vs the same course without the game · they rated themselves · ⚠ numbers unreliable

Source