A typical video gamer tries to complete tasks for trophies and other in-game rewards. The benefits of “gamification” also extend to education, as this sense of micro-mastery helps students get through hard tasks like remembering technical terms.
That’s what Carleton researchers are finding after a unique faculty-student collaboration – the Students as Partners Program (SaPP) – created a cross-platform anatomy app for third-year biology students learning the parts of living organisms. Rather than memorization from textbooks, the app provides a sense of fun that keeps students engaged.
Developed by fourth-year computer science student Skyler Bruggink, the app was popular this winter in biology instructor Iain McKinnell’s class. McKinnell plans to use a second iteration of the app in winter 2022.
“It’s all about the thought of taking strategies of game design and applying them to student engagement,” McKinnell said.