An educational board game for learning orofacial spaces: An experimental study comparing collaborative and...

Area of Science:

• Dental Education
• Anatomy
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Odontogenic orofacial space infections pose a challenge for dental students in understanding spread patterns.
• Engaging learning methods, such as gamification, can enhance comprehension of complex anatomical concepts.
• Current educational approaches may not fully address the difficulties students face in visualizing infection pathways.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an educational game, "Trace the Spread," for learning orofacial spaces and infection spread.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of a collaborative versus competitive game implementation for dental undergraduates.
• To assess student knowledge improvement and satisfaction with the developed game.

Main Methods:

• A table-top board game, "Trace the Spread," was created, featuring an anatomical map and specialized cards.
• Eight groups of four dental students were randomly assigned to either a collaborative or competitive gameplay condition.
• Pre- and post-knowledge assessments and satisfaction questionnaires were administered to evaluate learning outcomes.

Main Results:

• Significant knowledge score increases were observed in both collaborative and competitive groups post-gameplay.
• The collaborative group demonstrated significantly greater knowledge improvement than the competitive group (p < 0.001).
• Students reported higher satisfaction with the game in the collaborative setting compared to the competitive one.

Conclusions:

• The "Trace the Spread" game is an effective tool for dental students learning about orofacial space infections.
• A collaborative learning environment enhances knowledge acquisition and student satisfaction more than a competitive approach.
• Gamification offers a promising strategy for improving anatomical and clinical reasoning skills in dental education.