Evaluating TESLA-G, a gamified, Telegram-delivered, quizzing platform for surgical education in medical students: a protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial
Authors: Peng Ng Matthew Song , Jabir Ahmad Ishqi , De Rong Ng Tony , Ang Yi-Ian , Chia Jeng Long , Hao Tan Darren Ngiap , Lee James , Junis Mahendran Dinesh Carl , Car Lorainne Tudor , Khng Chia Clement Luck 
Published: September 2022

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

Strengths and limitations of this study

This study contributes to the growing body of literature evaluating the use of test-based learning, messaging apps and gamification in medical education.

The gamified, Telegram-delivered, surgical education-focused, quizzing intervention in this study will be structured in line with Bloom’s taxonomy.

We will use quantitative and qualitative approaches to assess our intervention with the aim of informing a future randomised controlled trial.

A potential limitation of this study is that 14 days of intervention may be insufficient to observe improvements in surgical knowledge.

The intervention will focus on endocrine surgery and the findings may not be generalisable to other surgical or medical subspecialties.