Game-Based Learning: A Pilot Educational Strategy to Foster the Learning of Endodontic Terminology

Exploring the effectiveness of a game-based pilot educational strategy for learning endodontic terminology and assessing satisfaction among postgraduate students.

The study was conducted on the first- and second-year students of the postgraduate program in Endodontology (n = 12). A game-based activity, modelled on a television quiz show, was designed to facilitate the learning of endodontic terminology. Students were randomly allocated into four teams based on their course year. Each team answered 26 questions corresponding to definitions of endodontic terms, with correct answers beginning with or containing consecutive letters of the alphabet. Teams within the same cohort competed, and the team with the most correct answers was declared the winner. Students completed three tests at different time points (2 weeks, 1 month and 1 year) after the game-based educational session. A trained rater blindly scored the tests. Additionally, participants completed an anonymous satisfaction web-based survey. The survey included multiple-choice questions to be answered with a 5-point Likert scale to address satisfaction with the content and instructional methods and four questions assessing overall satisfaction on a scale from 0 to 10, along with open-ended questions for additional feedback. Scores of students and numerical responses in the satisfaction survey were compared between first- and second-year students with the Mann-Whitney U test. Scores obtained 2 weeks and 1 month/1 year after the instructional activity were compared with the Wilcoxon paired test. Responses to the multiple-choice questions, based on a 5-point Likert scale, regarding the impact of content and instructional methods were compared between first- and second-year students with the ordinal chi-squared test.

Students demonstrated high test scores and reported high satisfaction with the game-based learning strategy. No statistically significant differences in test scores or satisfaction levels were observed between cohorts. Additionally, test scores remained consistent regardless of the time elapsed between the activity and testing (p > 0.05).

The high scores and satisfaction reported by both cohorts suggest that game-based educational strategies are an innovative practical approach that may serve as an additional method to memorise endodontic terminology.