Conference Paper/Proceeding/Abstract 66 views
Microbiology Scramble an interactive game to engage audiences with Microbiology
Zubeyde Bayram-Weston 
,
Geertje Van Keulen
,
Geertje Van Keulen
Microbiology Society Annual Conference 2024
Swansea University Authors:
Zubeyde Bayram-Weston , Geertje Van Keulen
Abstract
The use of games as an effective method of teaching microbiology has increased in various healthcare science subjects in recent years. Games can produce intense involvement and a quality of concentration no other teaching method can match. Increased interest and motivation via game playing can provi...
| Published in: | Microbiology Society Annual Conference 2024 |
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| Published: |
2024
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa68500 |
| Abstract: |
The use of games as an effective method of teaching microbiology has increased in various healthcare science subjects in recent years. Games can produce intense involvement and a quality of concentration no other teaching method can match. Increased interest and motivation via game playing can provide a positive feeling towards the subject area. The newly developed “Microbiology Scramble” aims to increase knowledge and understanding of the concept of microbiology through a modified version of the traditional game “Scrabble”. We have developed the game so that the target audience can learn microbiology through a fun, enjoyable and interactive activity which is accessible to a variety of audiences. The game contained 50-70 large wooden letter tiles to spell words without a board and be able to link as many words they wish and was performed at the Swansea Science Festival (SSF) 2019 and 2023. Players were also supplied with a ‘key terms glossary’ to help them come up with relevant words, although they were also free to come up with their own words such as bacteria, influenza, HIV etc. This game took approximately 15-20 min to complete depending on the group size. It was played as an individual or in groups racing against one another to come up with the most microbiological terms before the number of tiles ran out. whoever gets rid of all their tiles first, wined the game. At the end of the session, participants were invited to give feedback on the activity by writing down three words that they felt described their experience. The outcomes of the participant feedback (n= 13 at SSF 2019, n= 20 at SSF 2023) are reported as a word-cloud. The participants evaluated the activity by putting this one-piece paper comments into one of three boxes (Excellent, good and room for improvement). Our results show that participants mainly reported that the “Microbiology Scramble” game was very positive, with everyone who mostly participated rating it as ‘Excellent’ in 2019 (n= 13), (Excellent (n: 17), Good (n:3) in SSF 2023) Therefore, we have evidence that the games may provide a starting point for teaching Microbiology to varied audiences in an engaging, stimulating and fun way. This has shown that teaching through playing games promotes participant engagement and encourages teamwork among players which enhances participants learning. |
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| College: |
Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences |