Choose the UNIFY GameLab game most effective for your training needs.
The Importance of Serious Games
Serious games that serve a specific educational or training purpose have proven to be effective tools for learners in healthcare.
Research into serious games has shown they can improve student performance in various tasks, cognitive skills, attention, creativity, knowledge retention, problem solving, and can increase perseverance and motivation.¹
When is just as important as what
But when you implement games matters just as much as what you release. To maximize impact for your learners and your organization, ensure your audience is ready to receive the information at the ideal time. Here are 5 scenarios to help guide you.
Scenario 1: When assessing confidence
Serious games can help you determine whether learners are confident and have the correct knowledge for a topic, concept, or skill
Suggested Approach:
- Use before deploying a more robust education program to ensure you are targeting the correct content to the learner
- Determine the most relevant content to evaluate, then organize by category of choice, such as topic, learner, region, etc
Ideal Games:
- You Know It! Learners compete to earn points by correctly answering questions and wagering points based on their confidence level. The game uses multiple-choice questions. The game also determines how confident they are of being correct—not sure, fairly sure, or positive.
- Chip Challenge An “Old West”-themed card game that has users place bets on how confident they are with their answers.
Scenario 2: Pre- and Post-Test
Assessing your learner’s baseline knowledge helps both your company and the learner have something to measure success against
Suggested approach:
- Deploy games before core education sessions to determine baseline knowledge, and again after to measure growth
- Can help identify any remaining knowledge gaps to deploy targeted learning
Ideal games:
- Are You Sure? A stepwise, highly interactive question-and-answer game that challenges users to progress to higher levels on a money ladder by correctly answering challenging questions.
- Bust the Banker An interactive, fast-paced game where the player chooses any of the 20 cases shown on screen, revealing a question behind each case and a point value for the question. If correct, the points are “taken” from the banker and given to the player, providing effective reinforcement.
- Par for the Course An interactive question-and-answer game with a golf theme. Depending on the number of questions used when creating the game, players are presented with 1-9 holes, with anywhere from 3 to 5 questions (or “pars”) for each hole.
Scenario 3: When Reinforcing Key Concepts
Extend learning and address the forgetting curve by using games to reinforce previous education
Suggested Approach:
Deploying a game related to the core educational content several weeks post deployment to have learners engage with it in a fun way
Ideal Games:
- Pyramid This game comprises 3 levels of questions: easy, medium, and hard. Users must progress through each level of the pyramid, starting with the easy level at the bottom and answering questions as they go.
- Quiz Cab A fun, interactive question-and-answer game where users answer questions while taking a ride. There are 5 different types of questions that can be included in this game: easy, medium, hard, red-light challenge, and bonus.
- Wheel of Knowledge An interactive, category-based game. As an admin, you will need to create from 2 to 6 categories and then assign the game’s questions to one of these categories. Players spin the wheel to see which category of questions they will receive.
Scenario 4: During monthly sales calls
Time is precious for sales reps, so quick, stress-free games focused on learning product and service content that is immediately actionable is best
Suggested approach:
District Business Manager/Regional Business Director selects topic for the meeting and uses questions related to the content for a quick game to play at the end of the call
Ideal games:
- Hip To Be Square A fun, high-stakes game where the player presses the game stopper to stop the highlighted square on the board. If the highlight stops on a point value, the player will answer a question. If the correct answer is selected, that point value is awarded. If an incorrect answer is selected, no points are awarded.
- Par for the Course An interactive question-and-answer game with a golf theme. Ideal for mid-to-large teams, players are presented with 1-9 holes, with anywhere from 3 to 5 questions (or “pars”) for each hole so everyone gets a chance to answer.
- Bust the Banker An interactive, fast-paced game where the player chooses any of the 20 cases shown on screen, revealing a question behind each case and a point value for the question. If correct, the points are “taken” from the banker and given to the player.
Scenario 5: Competition leading up to an event
Serious games can promote healthy competition and excitement—and games that use ranking, points, and leaderboards help motivate audiences before a big event
Suggested approach:
Before a national sales meeting or launch, deploy the prework along with a game for each topic so learners earn points along the way and announce the winner(s) at the event
Ideal games:
- You Know It! Check the confidence level of your team (not sure, fairly sure, or positive) as they compete to earn points by correctly answering questions and wagering points. The game uses multiple-choice questions.
- Chip Challenge An “Old West”-themed card game that has users place bets on how confident they are with their answers – great for friendly competition among sales teams.
- Wheel of Knowledge Players spin the wheel to see which category of questions they will receive - simulating the random questions they may need to be prepared for in event scenarios.
- Pyramid Perfect for warming up a team before an event, this game comprises 3 levels of questions: easy, medium, and hard. Users must progress through each level of the pyramid, starting with the easy level at the bottom and answering questions as they go.
Choosing the appropriate games for your team’s educational needs can make a significant learning impact for your students. But it’s important to consider where your team is in their learning journey. Making decisions about not only what you teach, but when you teach it is critical for educational success.
Are you considering a game for your team? Talk to us about UNIFY GameLab today.
Reference:
Zairi I, Dhiab MB, Mzoughi K, Mrad IB. The effect of serious games on medical students’ motivation, flow, and learning. Simul Gaming. 2022;53(6):581-601.