The Impact of Puzzles on Learning and Motivation

Innovative Approaches in Medical Education: The Impact of Puzzles on Learning and Motivation

Innovative and interactive techniques are increasingly needed in nursing education to enhance students' comprehension and motivation. Puzzles are among the creative tools that may contribute to improved learning outcomes. This research offers practical implications for enhancing curriculum design and teaching practices in nursing education. This situation is aimed at increasing students' participation and motivation in the course.

Research Questions:

1. Does the use of puzzles in nursing education improve students' academic achievement?
2. Does the use of puzzles enhance students' motivation towards instructional materials?

There are minimal studies on the use of puzzles in the literature. On the other hand, the importance of using puzzles as a teaching technique in education is increasing daily. This study evaluated the effect of using puzzles as a teaching technique in a nursing practice course. Despite the increasing importance of using puzzles in education, the limited research in nursing education shows the gap in this field. Especially with this technique, the student's knowledge level is expected to increase, and learning will be permanent in a critically important course in which nursing practices are taught. On the other hand, learning will become fun using the puzzle.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Volunteering to participate in the research
• Being 18 years of age or older
• Being a first year student
• Taking the Basic Concepts and Philosophy in Nursing course for the first time
• Not being a student who came via horizontal or vertical transfer
• Not having taken Roper Logan and Tierney's Life Model for Life Activities course
• Not having been absent on the dates when the research data will be collected

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not volunteering to participate in the research
• Being under 18 years old
• Not being a first year student
• Being a student who came via horizontal or vertical transfer
• Being a health vocational high school graduate
• Being a student in the intervention group who did not solve the puzzles
• Being a student in the control group who reached the puzzle booklet and were found to have solved the puzzles.