Development of an innovative educational escape game to promote teamwork in dentistry

A scoping review of international allied health professions escape room practices and scholarship

PURPOSE

The purpose of this scoping review is to assess the literature on allied health professions escape rooms (AHPERs), investigating their common purposes and practices, and the trends in scholarship.

METHODS

This scoping review followed PRISMA-ScR guidelines to assess the size and scope of evidence in the literature, categorize common purposes and practices, and explore trends in AHPER scholarship. Two reviewers developed a review protocol, collected literature using a search strategy aligned with inclusion criteria, and charted review results.

RESULTS

The literature search yielded 6,170 articles. After the final review, 34 unique records met inclusion criteria. Studies were conducted in the United States, Spain, Australia, France, Brazil, and Canada. Most escape rooms reported participants, team size, puzzle type, and outcomes, but few used causal research designs, primarily using pre-post with no control designs. AHPERs represent an increasingly popular pedagogical approach. AHPERs tend to be simply structured, patient themed, and convey either disciplinary or interprofessional lessons. Generally, AHPERs were self-reported as effective and satisfying, but scholarship supporting AHPERs was insufficient in design for causal claims.

CONCLUSION

Developers and scholars may benefit from considering frameworks and guidelines for consistent creation and increased trustworthiness in the AHPER practice and knowledge base. Where AHPER scholars can increase attention to learning outcomes, and plan scholarly works in advance of the escape room, the AHPER body of knowledge will increase.

Creation and evaluation of an educational escape room for preclinical training on 3D printing in dentistry

INTRODUCTION

The benefit of pedagogical escape rooms for dental students' stimulation, interest and knowledge strengthening has been suggested by several studies. However, in previous studies, only a few students were evaluated. This study aims to confirm the purpose of this innovative pedagogical tool in terms of learning consolidation and team building from students' perceptions. We directly incorporated an educational escape game into the fundamental academic formation as a practical-work course for fifth-year dental students.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present escape game focused on 3D printing, whose implementation fit the different steps of an escape game well. This study was conducted in March 2022. All fifth-year dental students (n = 212) were divided into 5-6 student groups to match the conditions of an escape game. Before entering the room, each student had to complete a cross-sectional knowledge true/false test of 8 questions to assess their general level. Additionally, an 18-question appreciation survey was completed when leaving the room.

RESULTS

The students perceived the 3D-printing escape game to be relevant and especially expressed the benefit of being part of a team to exchange and build knowledge. These results suggest knowledge strengthening. The instructional benefit of this process seemed to exceed its mere fun and appealing aspect.

CONCLUSION

Our results with a large number of students showed that, from the students' perception, the educational escape game significantly improved knowledge and team-building. It created a supportive learning environment and increased students' motivation. It can provide a fun and effective way to diversify instruction.

Educational escape rooms for healthcare students: A systematic review

OBJECTIVES

To synthesize evidence on the implementation and evaluation of educational escape rooms for healthcare students.

DESIGN

A systematic review.

DATA SOURCES

A search of seven databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Education Resources Information Center was conducted for published studies from inception to January 2023. The selected articles were assessed by two independent researchers for meeting the inclusion criteria and methodological quality. The data was narratively synthesised.

RESULTS

Fifty-two studies were included in the review. Escape rooms were employed as learning and assessment strategies for the delivery of diverse topics within dentistry, medical, nursing, pharmacy and physiotherapy pre-registration healthcare education. Most were conducted on nursing students with learning topics focusing on the development of knowledge related to patient care management. Virtual escape rooms became more prevalent following the COVID-19 pandemic. The specific design features of escape rooms were based on the elements of game-based learning including team learning with appropriate size, time limit and sequential path-design of puzzles. Applying the experiential learning approach, the facilitators played a pivotal role in pre-briefing, facilitating the gameplay, and debriefing. Escape rooms were evaluated to be enjoyable and have an impact on students' cognitive, psychomotor, non-technical and affective skills learning outcomes. However, the learning outcomes compared with conventional learning strategies were inconclusive due to lack of randomised controlled trials.

CONCLUSION

Escape rooms are increasingly being used as experiential and game-based learning in healthcare education. It will continue to evolve with virtual technology advancement and is a promising tool to provide virtual team training within interprofessional education for the development of teamwork and communication skills. While more rigorous research using a randomised controlled trial design is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of escape rooms and their design features, qualitative studies, particularly on the perspective of facilitators are needed to unravel the learning process.

An evaluation of undergraduate student nurses' gameful experience whilst playing a digital escape room as part of a FIRST year module: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

The circumstances arising from the COVID-19 pandemic have accelerated the use of digital teaching and learning in health professions education. Digital gamification-based teaching and learning activities are innovative and versatile tools for the acquisition of professional competencies in higher education, which can be used on a range of topics and can be supplemental to other teaching methods.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to investigate nursing students' gameful experience whilst playing a digital escape room. In addition, we aimed to analyze the students' motivation, learning experience and outcome of the activity, and the students' perception of the degree of achievement of the intended learning outcomes.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional descriptive study.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 136 undergraduate first year student nurses enrolled in a "Fundamentals of Nursing" course.

METHOD

The digital escape room game took place online during the academic year 2020-2021. The measures included the GAMEX scale in its Spanish version and a self-reported questionnaire to evaluate the outcome of the scape room game and the degree of achievement of the intended learning outcomes.

RESULTS

More than 80 % of the participants were moderately to very motivated to play the game. Three GAMEX dimensions achieved a mean score of 3 or above 3, namely Enjoyment, Creative Thinking and Absence of Negative effects. The mean score for each of the outcome variables was over 3. However, the degree of achievement of the learning outcomes after exiting the digital escape room was uneven.

CONCLUSION

Gamification-based teaching and learning activities, such as digital escape rooms, can be effective in fostering specific skills, including teamwork, communication and critical thinking. However, they should be designed carefully, and used as a complement, rather than a substitute, of other educational activities.

Emerging simulation technologies in global craniofacial surgical training

The last few decades have seen an exponential growth in the development and adoption of novel technologies in medical and surgical training of residents globally. Simulation is an active and innovative teaching method, and can be achieved via physical or digital models. Simulation allows the learners to repeatedly practice without the risk of causing any error in an actual patient and enhance their surgical skills and efficiency. Simulation may also allow the clinical instructor to objectively test the ability of the trainee to carry out the clinical procedure competently and independently prior to trainee's completion of the program. This review aims to explore the role of emerging simulation technologies globally in craniofacial training of students and residents in improving their surgical knowledge and skills. These technologies include 3D printed biomodels, virtual and augmented reality, use of google glass, hololens and haptic feedback, surgical boot camps, serious games and escape games and how they can be implemented in low and middle income countries. Craniofacial surgical training methods will probably go through a sea change in the coming years, with the integration of these new technologies in the surgical curriculum, allowing learning in a safe environment with a virtual patient, through repeated exercise. In future, it may also be used as an assessment tool to perform any specific procedure, without putting the actual patient on risk. Although these new technologies are being enthusiastically welcomed by the young surgeons, they should only be used as an addition to the actual curriculum and not as a replacement to the conventional tools, as the mentor-mentee relationship can never be replaced by any technology.