Abstract
Large-group teaching is widely used in undergraduate medical education but can provide limited opportunities for active participation, feedback and application of knowledge. Gamification may offer a way to introduce interactive learning elements into classrooms. This study compared gamified and traditional teaching in first-year MBBS anatomy students and examined student perceptions of the two approaches. A quasi-experimental crossover study was conducted among 150 students at ESIC Medical College, Chennai, during the 2025-2026 academic year. Students were divided into two sequences of 75: Group A received gamified teaching for Topic 1 and traditional teaching for Topic 2, whereas Group B received the reverse sequence. Each session lasted 60 minutes. Gamified sessions used team-based and individual activities, diagram labelling, timed identification, clinical case-solving, mapping, online quizzes, scoring, immediate feedback and rewards. Topic-specific 10-item MCQ tests were developed from learning objectives and reviewed by three anatomy experts for content validity. Mean post-test scores were higher after gamified teaching for Topic 1 (9.0 ± 1.1 vs. 7.5 ± 1.7; mean difference 1.51; 95% CI 1.05-1.96; p = 0.0001) and Topic 2 (9.1 ± 1.0 vs. 7.4 ± 1.5; mean difference 1.72; 95% CI 1.30-2.14; p = 0.0001). Learning gains were also greater following gamified teaching. Feedback responses comprised 79 gamified and 31 traditional responses, with more favorable perceptions after gamified teaching. The findings support incorporating structured gamification in large-group anatomy teaching, while multicenter studies with longer follow-up and broader measures of higher-order cognition are needed.
Keywords: Cognition, Cross-over Studies, Educational Technology, Medical Education, Problem Solving, Teaching.