Background:Blended learning is an increasingly popular learning supplement for traditional classroom-based courses in medical education. Once implemented, many factors influence its success. This was demonstrated by Shivetts et al., who concluded that student motivation plays a major role. In particular, if a learner is not self-motivated, e-learning may not represent the best learning environment.1However, gamification methods are known to enhance motivation in medical education and, if used correctly, can overcome this deficit.2For this purpose, a quiz duel was created and used as a blended learning approach for health professional training in rheumatology. We hypothesize that the use of the quiz duel gamification technique improves learners’ motivation to successfully complete their blended learning course.Objectives:To investigate the potential of gamification methods in motivating health professionals to answer multiple choice questions (MCQs) in a pilot blended learning scenario.Methods:Four hundred and sixty MCQs were developed in accordance with the learning objectives of a certified training course and integrated into a learning management system (LMS). As a gamification technique, a duel mode was created. Course participants had access via an individual user account and used personal smartphones. After each answer was provided, the learners received corrective and explanatory feedback, as well as information on how the duel opponent answered. Incorrectly answered MCQs were repeated in further duels.Information on the number of MCQs answered (1), days learned (2), and learning time spent (3) was collected and analyzed. Each day on which at least one MCQ was answered counted as a learning day per user. The learning time was calculated with 1.5 min per MCQ answered. Analysis was performed over a 15-week period (08/19–12/19).The training event (“RFAplus”) was organized by the Rheumatologische Fortbildungsakademie GmbH and took place on three weekends in intervals of four weeks in Germany. The LMS used was Humeo (Humeo GmbH). All users agreed to the terms and conditions of use and data protection before participating in the blended learning intervention.Results:Nineteen female health professionals in rheumatology participated in the study. The mean age of participants was 43.5 years (range, 21–60 years). The 460 MCQs were answered 20,397 times, with 1039 MCQs per user (range, 247-1839 MCQs) during the 15-week period (105 days). Each MCQ was answered 2.33 times. In total, there were 1167 learning days, with 60.8 days per user (range, 15-95 days). The users spent 30,596 min (509.9 h) answering the MCQs, resulting in 1,610 min (or 26.8 h) per user. Furthermore, each user answered 17.5 MCQs and spent an average of 26 min per learning day.Conclusion:Blended learning is an interactive method to potentially extend learning time over several weeks. However, the success of this technique lies in motivating the participants to continue learning after the event. A quiz duel as a gamification technique proved to be effective in motivating participants to learn daily. In our study, learners spent an average of 27 h, i.e., almost half of the total attendance time of 60 h, learning. Correspondingly, this technique could also replace parts of lengthy face-to-face courses in an attempt to save costs in the future. Information drawn from the MCQs could potentially serve as promising learning analytics.References:[1]Shivetts, C. E-Learning and Blended Learning: The Importance of the Learner A Research Literature Review.Int. J. E-Learn.10, 331–337 (2011).[2]Pesare, E., Roselli, T., Corriero, N. & Rossano, V. Game-based learning and Gamification to promote engagement and motivation in medical learning contexts.Smart Learn. Environ.3, 5 (2016).Disclosure of Interests:Ruben Sengewein: None declared, Patricia Steffens-Korbanka Consultant of: Abbvie, Chugai, Novartis, Sanofi, Mylan, Lilly, Speakers bureau: Abbvie, Chugai, Novartis, Sanofi, Lilly, Joerg Wendler Consultant of: Janssen, AbbVie, Sanofi, Speakers bureau: Roche, Chugai, Janssen, AbbVie, Novartis, Max Kieslich: None declared, Erik Schmok: None declared, Georg Gauler Consultant of: Abbvie, Lilly, MSD, Speakers bureau: Abbvie, Celgene, Novartis, Sanofi,
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