The interactive virtual muscle and heart: using Minecraft Education Edition to teach skeletal muscle and cardiovascular physiology.
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| Title: | The interactive virtual muscle and heart: using Minecraft Education Edition to teach skeletal muscle and cardiovascular physiology. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Perry, B. D.1 (AUTHOR) b.perry@westernsydney.edu.au, Jenkin, K. A.1 (AUTHOR), Perrone, G. G.1 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Advances in Physiology Education. Sep2025, Vol. 49 Issue 3, p764-773. 10p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Postsecondary education, *Educational games, *Interactive learning, *Physiology education, Skeletal muscle, Cardiovascular system physiology |
| Abstract: | Video games have been used more frequently in educational settings in recent years. Research investigating the efficacy of games with an educational focus is predominantly utilized in primary and secondary school settings, but educational games with sufficient complexity could have utility in tertiary education. Minecraft Education Edition (MEE) is an immersive, three-dimensional (3-D) game where players/students have freedom to use and manipulate a variety of blocks, akin to "virtual Lego." The open-world and creative nature of MEE fosters collaborative play, and the freedom to build structures, switches, and other mechanisms allows educators to create functional and interactive models of physiological systems. This article describes how MEE was used to teach skeletal muscle and cardiac physiology to second-year university students through creation of custom-made interactive worlds. Explorations of the virtual skeletal muscle and heart were run as an on-campus activity. In the first teaching activity, a virtual 3-D interactive model was created in MEE where students activated distinct processes of skeletal muscle excitation, excitation-contraction (EC) coupling, and contraction. In the second teaching activity, a 3-D interactive model of the heart was created in MEE where students controlled each part of the cardiac cycle. Both activities were followed by a custom-made "escape room"-style quiz, followed by an in-class discussion aimed to highlight any limitations of the models. This article explores how these virtual models were created, providing a detailed description of the learning activities, and discusses the benefits, limitations, and relevant education theories of using Minecraft Education Edition in physiology teaching. NEW & NOTEWORTHY: This is the first published work exemplifying the use of Minecraft Education Edition (MEE) in tertiary-level physiology education. We describe two separate interactive teaching activities for skeletal muscle and cardiac physiology using MEE. Recommendations are provided so that educators can adapt the use of MEE virtual worlds to their own curriculum design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Advances in Physiology Education is the property of American Physiological Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 187950978 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: The interactive virtual muscle and heart: using Minecraft Education Edition to teach skeletal muscle and cardiovascular physiology. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Perry%2C+B%2E+D%2E%22">Perry, B. D.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> b.perry@westernsydney.edu.au</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jenkin%2C+K%2E+A%2E%22">Jenkin, K. A.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Perrone%2C+G%2E+G%2E%22">Perrone, G. G.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Advances+in+Physiology+Education%22">Advances in Physiology Education</searchLink>. Sep2025, Vol. 49 Issue 3, p764-773. 10p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Postsecondary+education%22">Postsecondary education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+games%22">Educational games</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Interactive+learning%22">Interactive learning</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Physiology+education%22">Physiology education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Skeletal+muscle%22">Skeletal muscle</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cardiovascular+system+physiology%22">Cardiovascular system physiology</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Video games have been used more frequently in educational settings in recent years. Research investigating the efficacy of games with an educational focus is predominantly utilized in primary and secondary school settings, but educational games with sufficient complexity could have utility in tertiary education. Minecraft Education Edition (MEE) is an immersive, three-dimensional (3-D) game where players/students have freedom to use and manipulate a variety of blocks, akin to "virtual Lego." The open-world and creative nature of MEE fosters collaborative play, and the freedom to build structures, switches, and other mechanisms allows educators to create functional and interactive models of physiological systems. This article describes how MEE was used to teach skeletal muscle and cardiac physiology to second-year university students through creation of custom-made interactive worlds. Explorations of the virtual skeletal muscle and heart were run as an on-campus activity. In the first teaching activity, a virtual 3-D interactive model was created in MEE where students activated distinct processes of skeletal muscle excitation, excitation-contraction (EC) coupling, and contraction. In the second teaching activity, a 3-D interactive model of the heart was created in MEE where students controlled each part of the cardiac cycle. Both activities were followed by a custom-made "escape room"-style quiz, followed by an in-class discussion aimed to highlight any limitations of the models. This article explores how these virtual models were created, providing a detailed description of the learning activities, and discusses the benefits, limitations, and relevant education theories of using Minecraft Education Edition in physiology teaching. NEW & NOTEWORTHY: This is the first published work exemplifying the use of Minecraft Education Edition (MEE) in tertiary-level physiology education. We describe two separate interactive teaching activities for skeletal muscle and cardiac physiology using MEE. Recommendations are provided so that educators can adapt the use of MEE virtual worlds to their own curriculum design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Advances in Physiology Education is the property of American Physiological Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1152/advan.00244.2024 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 10 StartPage: 764 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Postsecondary education Type: general – SubjectFull: Educational games Type: general – SubjectFull: Interactive learning Type: general – SubjectFull: Physiology education Type: general – SubjectFull: Skeletal muscle Type: general – SubjectFull: Cardiovascular system physiology Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: The interactive virtual muscle and heart: using Minecraft Education Edition to teach skeletal muscle and cardiovascular physiology. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Perry, B. D. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Jenkin, K. A. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Perrone, G. G. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 09 Text: Sep2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 10434046 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 49 – Type: issue Value: 3 Titles: – TitleFull: Advances in Physiology Education Type: main |
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