Abstract:

While many instructors are accustomed to teaching in person, there was a dramatic shift into an online environment during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It soon became apparent that stimulating interaction via video-conferencing platforms was a difficult task compared to the fluidity of in-person teaching. This dilemma left instructors feeling as if they were teaching to a blank screen while learners felt a loss of autonomy and personal connection in their education.

To solve these issues, sessions were designed using a new format: “Web-based Adventure for Retrieval Practice” (WARP’s). This format utilizes gamification techniques to overcome barriers of discussion in virtual settings as well as encourage “retrieval practice” which is well supported in educational literature. Designed in a similar vein to the nostalgic “Choose-Your-Own-Adventure” books of the 1980’s, learners are tasked with making choices based on their content knowledge as well as how they decide they want their adventure to unfold.

Split into groups of 3-5 learners, teams must debate amongst themselves which choices they will make and the reasoning they have to support their selection. Groups are faced with potential consequences of having made “bad” choices and then learn from those decisions as the story unfolds. An instructor for the session is present to debrief as learners progress through the adventure, but is encouraged to not to intervene in learner choices. Using storytelling to closely blend learning and game mechanics during these sessions, WARP’s prioritize transfer of knowledge from the semiotic domain of the game and into the practical settings. Surveys show learners endorse feeling more engaged with an increased value of their discussions during these sessions compared to traditional didactic sessions over a virtual platform.

WARP’s were created utilizing the free platform of “Google Forms”. Questions take the form of multiple choice or free-text with the platform directing players to different branching pathways based on their answers. Sessions typically begin by presenting a story’s scenario which range from mirroring real-life such as being the emergency physician staffing a music festival, to more fantastical scenarios such as trying to escape a haunted house, surviving the zombie apocalypse, or being stranded in the Peruvian jungle. Gameplay alternates between content questions and decisions that alter the storyline itself. This alternating format allows learners a sense of autonomy in their education as well as increased social engagement as teams bond over their shared storyline decisions. The benefit of the differing storylines also allows learners to replay the games as a new experience on their own at a later time for spaced repetition to help solidify their knowledge.

The WARP is a format that may be easily implemented by any educator with a bit of imagination and a desire to increase engagement with learners. Further, once the game itself has been initially crafted it is easily used again. Several of the WARP’s were implemented for synchronous sessions involving over 100 medical students during which they were divided amongst 10-12 faculty facilitators in Zoom break out rooms. Instructors especially commented on how easy and engaging the sessions were to run even though they did not design them themselves. This format provides an innovative method of increasing engagement in education, particularly over a virtual platform.

Keywords:

Education, technology, gamification, serious games, engagement, COVID-19, pandemic, virtual, web-based, retrieval practice, cooperative learning, storytelling.