Evaluating TESLA-G, a gamified, telegram-delivered, quizzing platform for surgical education in medical students: protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial

Abstract

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 2 weeks. Fifty full-time undergraduate medical students from a medical school in Singapore 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 five 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 of this pilot study will be determined quantitatively by participant enrolment, participant retention and degree of completion of the quizzes. The acceptability of the intervention will be assessed quantitatively by a postintervention learner satisfaction survey consisting of a system satisfaction questionnaire and a content satisfaction questionnaire. The improvement of surgical knowledge will be assessed by comparing the scores of preintervention and postintervention knowledge tests, which consist of separately created questions on endocrine surgery. Retention of surgical knowledge will be measured using a follow-up knowledge test administered 2 weeks postintervention. Finally, qualitative feedback from participants regarding their experience will be obtained and thematically analysed. Ethics and dissemination: This research is approved by Singapore Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Institutional Review Boards (Reference Number: IRB-2021-732). All participants will be expected to read and sign a letter of informed consent before they are considered as recruited into the study. 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.