Using instructional games: a teaching strategy for increasing student participation and retention

Area of Science:

• Occupational Therapy Education
• Sexuality and Disability Studies

Background:

• Teaching sexual expression for physically disabled individuals presents challenges for students due to discomfort.
• Traditional classroom methods are often insufficient for addressing sensitive topics requiring self-reflection on attitudes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe an innovative game designed for occupational therapy students.
• To facilitate exploration of personal attitudes towards sexuality and enhance understanding of sexual expression issues in the physically disabled population.

Main Methods:

• Development and implementation of a novel educational game.
• Inclusion of game rules, procedures, and sample items for content illustration.
• Collection and analysis of student responses to the game.

Main Results:

• The game provides a structured approach for students to engage with sensitive subject matter.
• Student responses indicate the game's potential to foster self-examination and learning.
• The innovative game format appears more effective than standard lectures for this topic.

Conclusions:

• An innovative game can be an effective tool for teaching occupational therapy students about sexual expression in physically disabled individuals.
• This approach helps address student discomfort and promotes deeper engagement with the subject matter.
• Further exploration of game-based learning in sensitive health education topics is warranted.