The Use of a Fast-Paced, Competitive Drawing Game as a Student-Approved Review Strategy for Microbiology

Abstract

This competitive drawing game, much like the “All Play” round of the popular board game Pictionary™, is a fast-paced, energy-rich review game, proven to keep students entertained, engaged, and learning. One representative from each of two competing teams simultaneously draw the same secret microbiology term, while their teammates frantically guess. The first team to correctly guess the word or phrase, wins a point. Unlike traditional Pictionary rules where only one team draws at a time, pitting teams against each other seems to increase the energy and engagement of student drawers and guessers, and allows every student to participate in each round of the game. Drawing microbiology terms not only helps strengthen associations between form and function, a crucial theme in microbiology, but also forces students to think differently and creatively about how to convey scientific terms through pictures. In addition, the game encourages simple recall of terms and definitions from past chapters. After one team has correctly guessed the secret term, all students participate in answering rapid-fire review questions related to the term. The result is a fun and stimulating review session of microbiology. In an anonymous survey administered after the game, about 94% of students found the activity to be an “effective” or “very effective” strategy to review previously covered material from the course. Out of those who participated in the survey, 100% rated the drawing game as a fun classroom activity, and 98% would recommend it for future semesters.

From Bored Games to Board Games: Student-Driven Game Design in the Virtual Classroom

“…Likewise, serious games (i.e., games with goals beyond entertainment) are prolific in the biology higher education literature. Since 2013, in the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education alone, 24 articles report on game-based learning activities, spanning from improvisation games ( 14 ), board games ( 15 , 16 ), physical matching (e.g., Twister) ( 17 ), and competitive drawing games ( 18 , 19 ). Examples of instructor-developed games to improve learning in higher education biology classrooms are not lacking.…”