Improving learning by playing with an app: The FantaTraining ® experience with anesthesia trainees

Abstract

Background: FantaTraining ^® is an app that simulates a football league. Each participant represents a team, and the game is played with the opposing team by answering a questionnaire. In the intervals between games, participants can practice by consulting the educational material (films, short texts, or slides) in the app. Various prizes are offered to the winners of the championship. In this study, we aimed to evaluate whether the use of the FantaTraining ^® app could improve the learning of anesthesia trainees registered in an online obstetric anesthesia course. Methods: The study involved 282 trainees in anesthesia, from five Italian universities, registered in the Online Obstetric Anesthesia Course (OOAC) who were given the app. They were randomly allocated into two groups according to whether the app had been enabled to allow the participant to play the league (study group, n=137), or not (control group, n=145). All the trainees underwent entry and final tests, consisting of the same 40 multiple choice questions, respectively before and after completing the OOAC course. Results: There were no differences in the scores obtained in the pre-course test between the groups. The mean score obtained in the final test was significantly greater than that obtained in the entry one in both groups (P<0.05) but the final test score obtained by the participants of the study group was significantly greater than that obtained by the control group. (P<0.001), regardless of the university of origin and year of specialization. Trainees stated that the app had helped their study, improving understanding and motivation, without increasing the intensity of study. Conclusions: Using the FantaTraining ^® app greatly improved trainees' final exam performance after the online obstetric anesthesia course. The FantaTraining ^® app seems a promising tool to improve learning outcomes by strengthening learning behaviors and attitudes towards learning.

Keywords: anesthesia; app; education; gamification.

Figure 1.. Mean scores before and after the course with or without using of the FantaTraining ^® app.

Boxplot and distribution of the mean score before and after the course with (study group) or without (control group) playing the championship. The horizontal line displays 25 ^th, 50 ^th, and 75 ^th percentile, the red point and vertical bar indicate the mean and confidence interval.

Figure 2.. Linear regression model of the correlation between the average score, matches won, and the time of use of the FantaTraining ^® app in the study group.