Effect of an educational game on student's learning: different approaches for evaluation

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of an educational game about cardiac cycle, used as replacing or complementing activity for traditional teaching methods, on the learning of physiology students by using different evaluation approaches. The comparisons were made between the grades obtained in pre- and post-tests applied before and after the use of the game, and between the number of correct answers of groups that performed an activity with the puzzle or had a lecture or reading, in the same or different careers. In all these approaches, the students who performed the activity with the educational game had a better performance in the assessment tests in comparison with those who did not use the educational game. This effect was observed when the puzzle replaced a lecture or reading activity and also when it was used as a complementary activity after a previous lecture. In conclusion, the results of the present study showed that one educational game used as active teaching-learning method can improve the students' learning, and that its effect on student's learning can be evaluated by different approaches by the teacher during the classroom routine.