A Murder Mystery Gamification Session to Consolidate Analytical Biochemical Techniques Learning
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| Title: | A Murder Mystery Gamification Session to Consolidate Analytical Biochemical Techniques Learning |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Alison M. Hill (ORCID |
| Source: | Journal of Chemical Education. 2023 100(11):4514-4524. |
| Availability: | Division of Chemical Education, Inc. and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 11 |
| Publication Date: | 2023 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Descriptive |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, Undergraduate Students, Chemistry, Science Instruction, Biochemistry, Gamification, Game Based Learning, Learner Engagement, Educational Games, Student Motivation, Technology Uses in Education, Teamwork, Multimedia Instruction, Problem Solving, Student Attitudes |
| Geographic Terms: | United Kingdom (England) |
| DOI: | 10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00279 |
| ISSN: | 0021-9584 1938-1328 |
| Abstract: | Gamification has a strong track record of improving student engagement and learning in the chemical sciences. Meta-analyses of different approaches to gamification have highlighted that providing a game fiction, encouraging students to work in teams, and breaking games into smaller "quests" are particularly effective. Here, we aimed to increase students' engagement and learning with four analytical biochemistry techniques (high-performance liquid chromatography, sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, Western blot, and mass spectrometry) by creating a game that required them to use every method to solve a "murder mystery". Our game was based on the popular games "Mafia" and "Among Us" and introduced an original game fiction relevant to our setting. Students attending the formative gamified session gave highly positive feedback. They indicated that they enjoyed the session and increased confidence in the methods involved. Free text comments praised many of the elements deliberately introduced into the game. To our surprise, the main criticism was that the session was not challenging enough. We developed a revised session that required students to undertake more detailed data interpretation, which students reported gave the expected increase in difficulty. All materials and code for running our session and generating new mysteries with original data are available online. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2024 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1445167 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Gamification has a strong track record of improving student engagement and learning in the chemical sciences. Meta-analyses of different approaches to gamification have highlighted that providing a game fiction, encouraging students to work in teams, and breaking games into smaller "quests" are particularly effective. Here, we aimed to increase students' engagement and learning with four analytical biochemistry techniques (high-performance liquid chromatography, sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, Western blot, and mass spectrometry) by creating a game that required them to use every method to solve a "murder mystery". Our game was based on the popular games "Mafia" and "Among Us" and introduced an original game fiction relevant to our setting. Students attending the formative gamified session gave highly positive feedback. They indicated that they enjoyed the session and increased confidence in the methods involved. Free text comments praised many of the elements deliberately introduced into the game. To our surprise, the main criticism was that the session was not challenging enough. We developed a revised session that required students to undertake more detailed data interpretation, which students reported gave the expected increase in difficulty. All materials and code for running our session and generating new mysteries with original data are available online. |
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| ISSN: | 0021-9584 1938-1328 |
| DOI: | 10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00279 |
