37 - Vessels Less Traveled: Learning Upper Limb Arterial Anastomoses Through Gamification in Graduate Gross Anatomy

Poster Board Number: 37
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Odd poster #s – first hour
Even poster #s – second hour

Abstract Body : Research has shown that gamification is beneficial in learning due to its capacity to motivate and engage students. Gamifying the circulatory system has demonstrated improved learning outcomes for high school and undergraduate students but has not been examined at the graduate level. The main purpose of this study was to create a blood flow video game for graduate anatomy students as a supplementary learning tool for the blood flow and anastomoses of the upper limb. This study was designed to assess the hypothesis that gamification will help graduate students retain information by learning through interaction and self-mastery Moreover, this project sought to ascertain anatomy graduate students’ perception on engagement and motivation while using gamification in learning the circulatory blood flow. Four stages were curated in establishing the methodology of this study: Analysis stage, design and development, distribution, and evaluation. Analysis stage: Unreal Engine 5 was chosen as the modality to create and package the game due to its accessibility, suitability, and availability of support. The Unreal Engine gaming platform is free to use and comes with features that empower beginner developers to create a functional game out of a mere concept. Design and development: The game design includes an environment that consolidates the anatomical representation of the human heart and branching arteries of the upper limb. A third-person character is launched in the blood vessel environment and is controlled by the player to explore the vessel and go through anastomosing pathways while interacting with non-player characters, colliding with red blood cells, white blood cells or viruses, and learning the teaching materials arranged in galleries. Gamification elements, such as achievement and rewards, storyline, time element, personalization, micro-interaction, and feedback, were incorporated as interactive engagement, and motivational strategies. Distribution: A packaged HTML project was created for the game to be distributed online. Evaluation: To evaluate the hypotheses, graduate anatomy students (n=20) will be invited to supplement their learning of the upper limb blood flow with this tool. A pre-test post-test design will be implemented to determine knowledge acquisition and retention. Multiple choice questions will be used in the pre-test and post-test quiz and exam scores from the upper limb unit and another unit that does not include the supplementary tool will be compared. A paired sample T-Test will be used to calculate the difference in scores using Jamovi. After using the tool, students will also take a survey to determine whether this gamification tool boosts satisfaction in learning. A combination of Likert scale, semantic, and open-ended questions will be used to measure overall perceptions of the tool and a thematic analysis will be performed. Results of this study will help determine whether gamification tools are useful for supplementary learning in graduate anatomical sciences.