Educational Board Games Adjunct to Traditional Lectures for Learning Infectious Diseases

Objective : To determine if the utilization of modified games, such as ID-Candyland and ID-Taboo, are effective methods to reinforce student knowledge gained in traditional infectious diseases (ID) lectures. When confronted with various challenges of learning ID and the associated pharmacotherapy, pharmacy students often have difficulty applying knowledge learned within the traditional lecture setting to clinical practice and real-life situations involving patients. In addition to lectures and reading assignments, the utilization of educational games can extend learning opportunities, reinforce current understanding and promote a fun and competitive environment. Studies have shown that games are a powerful teaching strategy to develop creative learning experiences and lead to an increase in students’ knowledge and performance.

Methods : Prior to each exam, second year pharmacy students enrolled in the ID-1 course were provided opportunities to use the educational games for review. After each review session, a survey with ten questions was given to participants to determine the impact of the games on overall knowledge and retention. ID-Candyland followed similar rules to the actual game except, each person must correctly answer an ID-related question prior to drawing a card to move. An example question is “What is the first-line treatment for acute otitis media?”, with the correct answer being “amoxicillin”. The winner was the student who was furthest along the “Infectious Disease Trail” in 15 minutes. The rules of ID-Taboo mimicked the directions of the original game, except clues and words were ID-based. For example, if the guess word was “vancomycin” then the associated clue words would include, “MRSA”, “trough”, and “nephrotoxicity”. For each Guess Word correctly provided within one minute, one point was awarded to the team. The team with the most points in 15 minutes was the winner. Assessment scores were evaluated in a comparative analysis for the acquisition of knowledge between students who used the educational games and those who did not.

Results : Research in progress.

Conclusion : Research in progress.