GutMove: A New Educational Game for Active Learning and Assessment of Competencies on Gastrointestinal Motility

We described our first-ever gastrointestinal (GI) motility game (GutMove), designed to enhance teaching and assessment of knowledge on motility across the GI tract. The game has 7 sections: 1 (pre-gastric regions), 2 (upper stomach), 3 (lower stomach), 4 (small intestine and its transition), 5 (large intestine), 6 (stimulating hormones), and 7 (inhibiting hormones). Sections 1 – 4 have 8 cells each on the left side, and 12 e-tokens each scattered on the right side, though only 8 e-tokens are correctly matchable to the corresponding left cells, while the remaining 4 e-tokens are distractors to enhance critical thinking. Other sections have varying numbers of left cells and correctly matchable e-tokens vs. scattered e-tokens (16 vs 20 in section 5; 9 vs. 14 in section 6; and 18 vs. 23 in section 7). The game is played by a registered individual by tapping or dragging each e-token from the right repository and dropping it in the appropriate cell of the game board on the left, until completely filled. The game displays the play results after each round and reshuffles the e-tokens for the next rounds. The results can be verified via a dedicated link, and it provides feedback on right and wrong answers after every three wrong trials. Users of this game reported its positive impact on retrieval learning and assessments. This game can be used for improved teaching, assessment, and practical simulation of GI motility by tutors across the globe, irrespective of the structure of the curriculum used in an institution.