Introduction
Online multiple-choice question (MCQ) quizzes are popular in medical education due to their ease of access and ability for test-enhanced learning. However, a general lack of motivation among students often results in decreasing usage over time. We aim to address this limitation by developing Telegram Education for Surgical Learning and Application Gamified (TESLA-G), an online platform for surgical education that incorporates game elements into conventional MCQ quizzes.
Methods and analysis
This online, pilot randomised control trial will be conducted over two weeks. Fifty full-time undergraduate medical students will be recruited and randomised into an intervention group (TESLA-G) and an active control group (non-gamified quizzing platform) with a 1:1 allocation ratio, stratified by year of study.
We will evaluate TESLA-G in the area of endocrine surgery education. Our platform is designed based on Bloom's taxonomy of learning domains: questions are created in blocks of 5 questions per endocrine surgery topic, with each question corresponding to one level on Bloom's taxonomy. This structure promotes mastery while boosting student engagement and motivation. All questions are created by two board-certified general surgeons and one endocrinologist, and validated by the research team.
The feasibility and acceptability of the pilot study will be assessed by participant recruitment and retention rates, acceptability of the intervention, adherence and task completion rate, fidelity of the intervention delivery, and perception of the intervention. The effectiveness of the intervention (TESLA-G) compared to the control will be assessed by improvement in knowledge from pre- to post-intervention, learner satisfaction post-intervention, and retention of knowledge 2 weeks post-intervention.
Ethics and dissemination
This research is approved by Singapore Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Institutional Review Boards (Reference Number: IRB-2021-732). This study poses minimal risk to participants. Study results will be published in peer-reviewed open-access journals and presented in conference presentations.
Trial registration number
NCT05520671