Effects of Gamification on Student Success and Perception of Instruction in Neuroanatomy: A Retrospective Analysis

As a subset of active learning, gamification involves the application of gaming principles as a means of improving student outcomes in the classroom. Recent work has shown that such active learning strategies may be particularly effective at reducing the rate of failure in STEM courses. In this retrospective case study, I examined the effects on student exam performance, rate of failure, and perception of instruction following a semester-long course improvement project that involved implementing a novel tabletop style roleplaying game (Build-a-Zombie) during lab sessions in an undergraduate neuroanatomy course. The game I developed tasked students with using their knowledge from lecture to design their own pathological zombie nervous system. When compared to a previous cohort, students in the gamified version of the course showed significantly increased exam scores, a trend toward decreased rates of failure, and a more positive perception of instruction, even though lecture and exam content remained the same.