Encourage self-learning and collaborative learning through gamification during COVID-19 pandemic: A case study for...

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry Education
• Online Learning Technologies
• Educational Game Design

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a shift to online teaching, posing challenges for student motivation and interaction.
• Distance learning environments often struggle to maintain student engagement and facilitate collaborative learning.
• Traditional biochemistry education faces hurdles in making complex metabolic pathways accessible and engaging for students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and evaluate an interactive courseware, Metabolism Metro (Adventure Mode), to enhance student motivation in learning metabolic pathways.
• To foster collaborative learning and self-directed study among students in an online biochemistry course.
• To address the challenges of reduced student-student and student-teacher interaction in remote learning settings.

Main Methods:

• Development of a role-play game-based courseware, Metabolism Metro (Adventure Mode), featuring quizzes on carbohydrate, lipid, protein, and nucleotide metabolism.
• Implementation of a prize-winning competition to incentivize courseware usage and encourage both individual and group participation.
• Observation of student learning strategies, including group discussions, textbook consultation, internet research, and seeking teacher assistance.

Main Results:

• Students were motivated to self-learn metabolic pathways to successfully complete the game's quizzes.
• The game design and competition structure encouraged students to form groups for collaborative problem-solving.
• Students engaged in diverse learning strategies beyond course materials, such as consulting textbooks and seeking external help.

Conclusions:

• Metabolism Metro (Adventure Mode) effectively enhanced student motivation and engagement in learning complex metabolic pathways within an online educational context.
• Game-based learning, coupled with competitive elements, can foster collaborative learning and promote deeper self-directed study in biochemistry.
• The interactive courseware design offers a viable solution to mitigate the challenges of student engagement and interaction in online science education.