Introduction

Health and safety (H&S) knowledge is critical in a laboratory setting but is often taught passively (Kuzmina and Searle, 2024). Passive learning approaches are associated with lower student engagement and subsequent attainment (Minhas et al ., 2012). However, there is a growing body of evidence that active learning tools can improve knowledge retention (Odenweller et al ., 1998; Bochennek et al ., 2007; Barclay et al. , 2011; Freeman et al ., 2014). For this reason, higher education institutions are increasingly focused on developing more active learning methodologies, including gamification. Given their ease of implementation, card-based games constitute a highly accessible form of gamified learning (Bochennek et al. , 2007) but there is limited evidence of their use within laboratory education.

Study Aim: To enhance student engagement and understanding of health and safety information through active, game-based learning.

Methods: Game Design

Three card games based on essential H&S topics were designed:

1.Health and Safety Hazard Hunter: A Hazard Symbol Card Game Identifying and matching Globally Harmonized System (GHS) Hazard symbols with their name, definition and example chemical.

2. PPE Lab Gear Up: A Personal Protective Equipment Puzzle Game

Identifying appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) for various laboratory scenarios and prohibited items

3.Lab Equipment Identifier: An Interactive Card Game

Identifying common laboratory equipment and organising them according to their accuracy

Methods: Pre and Post Surveys

The games were delivered to undergraduate bioscience students as a part of compulsory laboratory health and safety inductions during the first week of term. Student's health and safety knowledge was evaluated using a 10-point scale before and after completion of all three games. Wider pedagogical impact on factors such as student experience, transferable skill development and gamified learning value were also evaluated using open-answer questions or a 5-point Likert scale (Ethics ID: 1035).

Results: Pedagogical Impact

A total of 146 bioscience and chemical science students participated. Positive feedback was high: 91.1% found the H&S card games a valuable addition to the induction events. Students liked the design (80.1-92.5%) and visual appeal (77.4-86.3%) , reporting significant positive impact on learning (82.9%) and enjoyment (89.7%) of key H&S concepts (Fig. 1).

Figure 1. Student’s enjoyment and perceived value of the card games. Students rated their enjoyment and perceived value of the games for skill development and their preparedness for futures studies, using a 5-point Likert scale.

Pre & post-evaluation revealed a significant increase in self-perceived knowledge of H&S (7.8±1.5 to 8.8±1.1, P <0.001), PPE (8.2±1.6 to 9.1±1.0, P <0.001), lab hazards (7.7±1.5 to 8.8±1.1, P <0.001) and laboratory equipment (7.5±1.5 to 8.9±1.1, P <0.001).

Figure 2. Self-perceived knowledge of PPE, lab hazards and H&S . Pre and post surveys (10-point Likert scale) were used to evaluate students self-perceived knowledge of key heath and safety concepts. Asterix indicate significant differences P < 0.001.)

Results: Equitable Student Experience

Students’ enjoyment, learning and self-perceived knowledge from the games was not impacted by their entry qualification (Fig. 5a), socioeconomic status (Fig. 5b) or monitory status (Fig. 5c)

Figure 3. Student enjoyment, learning perceptions and H&S knowledge stratified according to: Entry Level Qualifications (a), Socioeconomic Status (b) and Minority Status (c). Participant responses were stratified via entry level qualifications, socioeconomic according to TUNDRA and POLAR 4 and minority status to evaluate the equity of student game experience

Conclusion

These findings highlight the wide benefits of card games to enhance health and safety education whilst providing a positive and equitable student experience during the induction period.

References

Barclay, S.M., Jeffres, M.M. & Bhakta, R. (2011) ‘Educational card games to teach pharmacotherapeutics in an advanced pharmacy practice experience’, American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education , 75(2), Article 33.

Bochennek, K., Wittekindt, B., Zimmermann, S.Y. & Klingebiel, T. (2007) ‘More than mere games: a review of card and board games for medical education’, Medical Teacher , 29(9–10), pp. 941–948.

Freeman, S., Eddy, S.L., McDonough, M., Smith, M.K., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H. & Wenderoth, M.P. (2014) ‘Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 111(23), pp. 8410–8415.

Kuzmina, O. & Searle, D. (2024) ‘Health and safety performance of UK universities and how to improve it’, Safety and Health at Work , 15, pp. 139–146.

Minhas, P.S., Ghosh, A. & Swanzy, L. (2012) ‘The effects of passive and active learning on student preference and performance in an undergraduate basic science course’, Anatomical Sciences Education , 5(4), pp. 200–207.

Odenweller, C.M., Hsu, C.T. & DiCarlo, S.E. (1998) ‘Educational card games for understanding gastrointestinal physiology’, Advances in Physiology Education , 20(1), pp. S78-S84.

Disclosure statement: All materials included in the poster represent our own work, any ideas that are not our own have been referenced. The work has not previously been published and is not being considered elsewhere. There are no conflicts of interest that have influenced our findings.