CQUniversity creates course to support health educators in gamification
Engaging learners is the number one goal for tertiary educators and the gamification of learning content is increasingly delivering results when it comes to connecting students with theoretical and practical concepts.
This is one of the reasons CQUniversity has recently released a new microcredential for educators in the health disciplines to guide them through understanding and developing ‘escape rooms’ for simulation and health education.
Dr Colleen Ryan, Head of Professional Practice within CQUniversity’s School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Sciences led a team of designers and content developers to create the introductory Designing an Escape Room for Simulation and Health Education.
Dr Ryan said the microcredential is designed to introduce learners to the fundamental concepts of building and implementing escape rooms as pedagogy.
“Escape Rooms are a simulation technique using gaming concepts like clues and puzzles to engage students in skill, knowledge and confidence development.
“When the activities with the escape room are timed, students learn to collaborate better and develop communication and team building skills to ‘escape’.
“Escape rooms can be offered in face-to-face, online or even blended (combination of both) learning settings.
“The course we have developed uses a stepwise approach teach to health educators the fundamentals when it comes to how to plan, build and implement an escape room with their course content,” Dr Ryan said.
Dr Ryan also adds that while gamification helps to add an element of engagement to learning content, especially for students who are digital natives, it was still essential to ensure standards and evidence are included within the design of such activities.
“It is really important that as a simulation approach, escape rooms adhere to simulation quality and safety standards, and evidence-based simulation techniques.
“To assist with this the design team have provided access to International Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best Practice, (HSSOBP) simulation dictionaries and evidence-based scenario templates and planning tools.
“What’s more, whilst the course is introduced as a short course of two hours duration, the team have also designed and included templates for learners to download and build online escape rooms after undertaking the course.
“Learners who complete the course can then use these resources and the knowledge gained through the microcredential to build their own escape rooms as part of their unit.”
The Designing an Escape Room for Simulation and Health Education can be accessed via CQUniversity’s flexible Be Different learning platform and learners can enrol in and complete the course at any time.
