Issues with Tissues: A Tale of Gameful Learning in an Introductory Undergraduate Biology Laboratory Course.

An introductory undergraduate biology laboratory session about vertebrate tissues was gamified to elucidate the effects of gameful learning on students' perceptions of their own learning and motivation. Student groups were randomly assigned a vertebrate tissue, including corresponding slides and content from the laboratory manual, and tasked with developing higher level questions from the content and compelling responses to answer them. After each group presented their questions and answers, an audience of their peers provided both written and verbal feedback. On completion of the activity, each group used their feedback sheets to score their peers' groups on the basis of predetermined criteria. The average of scores was used to rank each team and determine a winner, as well as the allotment of points each team received. All students reported enhanced motivation in this environment compared with their motivation in the traditional learning environments they had previously encountered in the course. Several students perceived the development, presentation, and critique of higher level questions to enhance their understanding. All but a few of the higher achieving students preferred the gameful learning environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]