The emergence of Generation Z learners: Digital native's vs Traditional didactic teaching methods.

The Sun

17-07-2025

In the modern educational landscape, the expectations and learning preferences of students have shifted significantly. With the emergence of Generation Z learners: digital natives who thrive in interactive, visual, and engaging environments: traditional didactic teaching methods often fall short in capturing their attention and sustaining motivation. This is particularly true in highly technical and skill-intensive fields such as cardiovascular technology, where both theoretical knowledge and practical proficiency are essential for professional competency.
As educators strive to bridge the gap between passive instruction and active engagement, gamification has emerged as a promising pedagogical strategy. By integrating game elements such as storytelling, decision-making, and feedback into academic content, educators can foster deeper learning, enhance critical thinking and encourage collaborative problem-solving.
What's gamification?
Gamification refers to the incorporation of game-like elements into non-game contexts, including education. Within health sciences education, gamified learning has been found to improve student engagement, motivation and retention of information. For ECG education, which requires a strong understanding of anatomical landmarks, lead placements, procedural accuracy and clinical interpretation, gamified tools can make abstract and technical content more relatable and memorable.
This teaching innovation was developed in response to feedback from students and lecturers that traditional ECG instruction delivered through lectures and demonstration was often monotonous and did not cater to diverse learning styles. Inspired by the popularity of interactive web novels and branching storyline games among Gen Z students, the teaching team at MSU initiated the use of web novel-style PowerPoint games as an instructional tool. This approach combines clinical simulation, storytelling and user-driven pathways, encouraging students to engage with content in a dynamic and purposeful manner.
The groups were evaluated based on comprehensive rubric encompassing cognitive, psychomotor and affective learning domains. The cognitive domain focused on the accuracy and depth of clinical reasoning; the psychomotor domain assessed the sequencing and correctness of ECG procedure steps and the affective domain measured teamwork, creativity, and professionalism.
Positive Outcome on cognitive load.
The implementation of the gamified project yielded several positive outcomes, both qualitative and quantitative. Students responded enthusiastically to the assignment, often exceeding minimum requirements. Most groups incorporated vivid storytelling, original characters, and realistic hospital scenarios. Narratives frequently explore themes of patient anxiety, ethical dilemmas, and teamwork in a clinical setting: highlighting not just technical accuracy but emotional intelligence. From a learning outcomes perspective, students demonstrated improved comprehension of ECG fundamentals. Lead placements, which are often misinterpreted in traditional assessments, were clearly and correctly illustrated in the majority of presentations. The branching choices allowed students to understand the consequences of procedural errors, such as misplacement of electrodes or failure to check equipment calibration. The requirement to justify narrative choices and reflect on clinical implications prompted students to engage in deeper discussions during their presentations. Many reflected on what they learned through mistakes built into their stories. Group work also fostered peer learning, leadership, and communication: skills essential in clinical practice.
The success of the web novel game approach demonstrates the power of storytelling and interactivity in transforming ECG education. By allowing students to inhabit the role of a healthcare professional making real-time decisions, the activity fostered a sense of accountability and realism that is often absent in textbook learning. Moreover, the use of a familiar and accessible platform like Microsoft PowerPoint made the implementation feasible with minimal technological barriers. Contrary to assumptions that gamification requires expensive software or coding skills, this project illustrates that innovation in education often lies in how tools are used, not how advanced they are. Importantly, this approach aligns with constructivist learning theory, which emphasizes that learners build knowledge through experiences and reflection. In this case, the narrative structure and decision-making process served as a scaffold for integrating new knowledge with prior understanding, encouraging meaningful learning.
Conclusion
In conclusion, gamification, when thoughtfully integrated with storytelling and clinical reasoning, can significantly enhance the quality of learning in allied health education. The web novel game project empowered students to take ownership of their learning, apply theory to simulated practice, and reflect on the humanistic aspects of patient care. As educational institutions increasingly embrace digital transformation, strategies that blend narrative, simulation, and interactivity will play a critical role in preparing future healthcare professionals. The success of this project highlights that innovation does not require complex technology but a creative reimagining of how students learn best.
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