Assessment of Cognitive Engagement and Interest of Medical Students in a Serious Game Design Activity

This study aimed to assess the cognitive engagement and interest of third-year medical students by offering them an educational activity in the designing of a serious game. Methods: four successive groups of twelve students each (a total of 48 students) in the third year of medical training participated in an activity of designing serious games. This study was carried out during a summer internship in the cardiology department of Habib Thameur Hospital. The course of the designing of serious games with students spread over 4 weeks with 10 hours faceto-face and 10 hours of remote work. Results: a total of 48 students were enrolled. Of these 48 students, 36 were female. The means and standard deviations of the cognitive engagement scale experienced by the students were high. The means and standard deviations of the interest scale experienced by the students were high. There are significant and positive relationships between sustained and maintained situational interest and the different cognitive engagement scales. The correlation between individual interest and peer collaboration, cognitive problem solving, interactions with instructors, and learning management was significant. Conclusion: using serious game development-based learning as a learning method for medical students' suggests a promising approach for developing cognitive engagement and interest.